But keep your eye on him to see where he tries to hide the next tax grab

(Kanata, Ontario) – Today McGuinty’s Minister of the Environment was forced to admit they had lost control of their Eco-Tax grab and misjudged how angry it would make taxpayers.

“Now the Environment Minister is saying he will spend 90 days consulting with business and consumers about how to fund hazardous waste diversion,” said Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling.  “They should have consulted first and explained the program to taxpayers and consumers before it began.”   

The McGuinty Government’s so-called Eco Fees were introduced with no warning on July 1 – the same day McGuinty’s HST took effect.  The fees were applied to more than 9,000 common household items which have been designated as hazardous.  The list included some truly hazardous items like single-use batteries and aerosol containers but also included prescription and over-the-counter medications, sun block and grass seed.

Almost everyone agrees with the goal of keeping hazardous waste out of landfill but taxpayers need to be able to see how a tax or fee is contributing to that goal.

“It appears that McGuinty is running our province on the very juvenile theory that it is easier to ask for forgiveness afterwards than ask for permission before hand,” said Mr. Sterling.  “I don’t believe this will be the last time he will try to sneak a tax grab by Ontarians, we’ll just have to keep a close eye on everything he does.”

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For more information, call Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling at: (613) 599-3000

Gasoline among costs that will jump 8% with HST tonight

(Kanata, Ontario) – Norm Sterling, MPP for Carleton-Mississippi Mills reminds his constituents to be sure to fill up their gas tanks tonight before the price of gas jumps 8% with the imposition of McGuinty’s HST at midnight.

The HST is going to hit a lot of Ontarians hard, but few harder than commuters who live outside the city and can’t access public transit to get to and from work.

“If you live in Almonte and work in downtown Ottawa, you probably drive 500 km each week just to go to and from work,” said Mr. Sterling.  “Even in a compact car you’d use about 40 litres of gas per week.  With the price of gas at roughly $1 per litre, you’ll pay an additional $166 per year in HST on the gasoline you need just to get to and from work.”    

“To add insult to injury, the McGuinty Liberal government will be collecting 8% not just on the cost of the gasoline but also on the 14.7 cents tax we already pay to the province for every litre of gasoline,” said Mr. Sterling.  “In other words the McGuinty government is charging tax on a tax!”

And gasoline isn’t only necessity that will be hit by the HST.  The McGuinty Government’s HST will add an 8% tax on a wide variety of goods and services including electricity, home heating fuel, internet services, hair cuts, gym memberships, legal and accounting services, construction and renovations, plumbing and electrical services, landscaping services, leisure activities, hotel rooms, veterinary services and even funeral services.  As a result, starting tomorrow the McGuinty Government will collect an additional $2.2 billion in sales tax per year. 

The Ontario PC Caucus and PC Party leader Tim Hudak did their best to make the McGuinty government see how this tax grab would hurt average Ontarians, but McGuinty refused to listen.    

“I want to thank my constituents who signed and submitted hundreds of pages of petitions opposing the HST,” said Mr. Sterling.  “Unfortunately this McGuinty government doesn’t listen to Ontario residents who are worried about making ends meet.”

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For more information, call Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling at: (613) 599-3000

 Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak, Carleton - Mississippi Mill MPP Norm Sterling and Nepean – Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod were at Amsted Design in Stittsville today to highlight how Dalton McGuinty’s greedy $3 billion HST tax grab will hit family budgets in Stittsville and Kanata and fuel the black market for home renovations.

 According to an Altus Economic Consulting Group Report, the HST “shifts more activity into the “underground economy,” with implications on government tax revenue, renovation quality and homeowner liability.”  The Altus report says 37 per cent of residential renovations are through the “underground or cash economy” representing $5.2 billion in unreported economic activity.  A 1998 study found the GST was the principle driver in the underground renovation economy in Ontario and the HST threatens to make the problem even worse.

 The HST is just the latest in a string of broken Dalton McGuinty promises not to increase taxes. Ontario families’ budgets are already stretched to the brink with the McGuinty Liberals increased health taxes, taxes on computers, TVs, and iPods, electricity taxes, taxes on tires, plastic bags, and small business taxes.

QUOTES:

 “Not only will the HST punish the family budget, it will also devastate the $20 billion home renovation sector and the jobs that depend on it .”

– Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

 “The legitimate renovations sector represents 195,000 real jobs in Ontario.  The HST threatens those jobs by increasing costs for homeowners to the point that they use the underground economy or not bother with the renovations at all.”

– Norm Sterling, Ontario PC MPP for Carleton – Mississippi Mills and Critic for Intergovernmental Affairs

QUICK FACTS:

“It’s going to be like throwing gasoline on a fire in fuelling a boom in the black market renovations.”

–James Bazley, President of the Ontario Home Builders Association, The Toronto Star, Nov. 14, 2009.

 When the HST was implemented in Atlantic Canada it drove one third of the existing home sector out of business and another third into the black market.  

The residential renovation sector accounts for $20.3 billion in investment activity in Ontario with approx $14 billion in contractor renovations and some $6 billion in the “do it yourself sector”. It supports 195,000 legitimate jobs in Ontario.

CONTACT:

 Christine Bujold

416-325-1330

christine.bujold@pc.ola.org

(Kanata, Ontario) – Norm Sterling, MPP for Carleton-Mississippi Mills, today joined Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien and Ward 6 Councilor Shad Qadri in calling for an end to any plans to expand or extend the life of the Carp Dump.

“Enough is enough,” Mr. Sterling told the crowd gathered at the Ultramar Gas Station next to the Carp Dump.  “The residents of this area have accepted garbage in their community for almost forty years.  There are roughly 7 million tonnes of garbage in the Carp Dump now and Waste Management wants to add another 4 million tonnes over the next ten years.  That’s roughly 525 million garbage bags worth of garbage already there and another 300 million garbage bags coming[1].   To put it another way, that is 128,906 garbage bags for every one of the 6,400 homes within 4 km of the Carp Dump.”

Right now the Carp Dump is scheduled to close for good in September 2011.  Many of the newer residents purchased their homes believing that the dump would close and they wouldn’t have to put up with the smell or the endless parade of garbage trucks in their community for much longer.

In 2006 Waste Management released a plan to more than triple the capacity of the Carp Dump and extend its life by 25 years.  The opposition from the community was overwhelming and Waste Management eventually withdrew it plans.

“When will Waste Management get the message?,” said Mr. Sterling.  “The community rallied to stop the last proposal and we’re here again to tell Waste Management to stop talking trash in this community!”

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For more information, call Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling at: (613) 599-3000

(Queen’s Park, Toronto) – Four years after he marched in an Earth Day rally to stop the last proposal to expand the Carp Dump, Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling celebrated Earth Day by questioning the Minister of the Environment about another proposal to expand the same dump.

Despite having withdrawn its earlier expansion plan in the face of overwhelming local opposition, Waste Management last week announced a new plan to double the size of the Carp Landfill.

According to the new plan this expansion will accommodate industrial and commercial waste. According to a 2009 Ministry of the Environment report, only 12 percent of industrial and commercial waste is diverted from landfill, and only 22 percent of all garbage is diverted, despite a 2003 McGuinty election promise to achieve a 60 percent diversion rate by 2007.

“The problem is that the diversion rate today is worse than it was 10 years ago. You have done nothing to fulfill your promise in the 2003 election,” Mr. Sterling told the McGuinty Government. “As a result of your dismal record, the people of West Ottawa and Stittsville and Kanata are forced again to fight for their community because of a proposal to double the size of the Carp Landfill.”

According to the Ministry of Environment permit issued in 1994, the Carp Landfill had been expected to reach capacity and be closed this year. Since then hundreds of homes have been built in the area. In 2006 Waste Management released a plan to more than triple the capacity of the Carp Dump and extend its life by 25 years despite the proximity to residential neighbourhoods. The opposition from the community was overwhelming and Waste Management withdrew it plans.

In an effort to rally the community and offer residents a way to express their disapproval of the new proposal, or any proposal to expand the Carp Dump, Mr. Sterling today launched a petition calling on the McGuinty Government to stop this expansion and find ways to divert more industrial and commercial waste.

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For more information, call Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling at: (416) 314-7900

“It was four years ago this month I joined more than 300 residents of Stittsville at a rally to oppose the dump expansion,” said Mr. Sterling.  “That spring I also introduced petitions opposing the expansion signed by almost 10,000 people.  I will be drafting a new petition and working with the Stop the Dump group again to make sure the landfill is closed for good.”

According to the Ministry of Environment permit issued in 1994, the Carp Landfill had been expected to reach capacity and be closed this year.  In 2006 Waste Management released a plan to more than triple the capacity of the Carp Dump and extend its life by 25 years.  The opposition from the community was overwhelming and Waste Management withdrew it plans.

Now, four years later, Waste Management is trying again, albeit with a plan that involves more positive environmental initiatives but still includes a huge expansion of the landfill site. 

“I don’t object to the development of a recycling facility at this location, but it is an inappropriate place for a landfill,” said Mr. Sterling.  “When the dump was originally opened, it was in a rural, undeveloped area, but now it is in a fast growing suburb of Ottawa close to hundreds of homes.  We need to fight to protect these communities.”

According to the plan this expansion will accommodate mainly industrial and commercial waste.  Currently only 12 percent of industrial and commercial waste is diverted from landfill through recycling or reuse programs.

“That dismal diversion rate of only 12 percent is the main reason for expanding the Carp Dump,” said Mr. Sterling.  “If the McGuinty Government had even tried to accomplish its promised 60 percent diversion rate then the people of Stittsville and Kanata wouldn’t be facing another fight to protect their community.”

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For more information, call Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling at: (416) 314-7900

(Queen’s Park, Toronto) – Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling today introduced a Bill to proclaim April 9 as Vimy Ridge Day and require flags at the Legislative Building to be flown at half-mast.  Mr. Sterling invited Liberal MPP Mr. David Zimmer and NDP MPP Mr. Michael Prue to co-sponsor the Bill.  As a result, all three parties agreed to pass the Bill immediately so that Vimy Ridge Day could be recognized on April 9^th this year.

 “The Battle of Vimy Ridge should be remembered not only for the sacrifice made by the 3,598 Canadian men who died during the Battle and the 10,600 who were injured, but also for its importance in the evolution of Canada as an independent nation,” said Mr. Sterling.  “The Battle of Vimy Ridge was the first time that four Canadian divisions fought together under Canadian leadership.”

As there are no Canadian veterans of World War One still living, it is more important than ever that Canadians make a point of remembering our World War One Veterans and the honour they brought to Canada. 

The Vimy Foundation has been set up to maintain and enhance the memory of Vimy Ridge and Canada’s contribution to World War One.  The Vimy Foundation has created the Vimy Pin which depicts the towers of the Vimy Memorial in France in front of a maple leaf and includes four colour bars representing the four Canadian Divisions involved in the Battle.  Mr. Sterling distributed Vimy Pins to all Members of the Ontario Legislature.

 “On Feburary 27^th I joined a group of local Sea Cadets for the launch of the Vimy Pin at Hazeldean Mall in Kanata,” said Mr. Sterling.  “I was inspired by the Cadets and by the work of the Vimy Foundation to introduce this Bill.  I am thrilled that my colleagues in the Legislature were willing to work in a non-partisan way to pass this Bill so quickly and to know that as a result the flags outside the Legislative Assembly of Ontario will fly at half mast on April 9^th.”

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For more information, call Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling at: (416) 314-7900

Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling asked McGuinty why anyone should trust his health care promises after he promised to hire 9000 new nurses in his last Throne Speech. 

“As the Ottawa Hospital just learned, you’re firing nurses, not hiring them,” Mr. Sterling told McGuinty during Question Period.  “Now you say you’ll hire the nurses by 2011.  Why should Ottawa patients believe you?”

Mr. Sterling went on to demonstrate where the Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee have found that the McGuinty government has misspent taxpayers’ money, either intentionally as in the case of the eHealth scandal, or carelessly in the case of the abuses of the Assistive Devices Program. 

“This afternoon, the public accounts committee is going to hear about the waste in the Assistive Devices Program which cost Ontario taxpayers $350 million a year. The auditor tells us the abuse in this program is in the tens of millions of dollars,” said Mr. Sterling.  “This program could provide the same or better service at a lower cost if the waste was eliminated.  That would leave more money available to hire nurses at the Ottawa Hospital.”

In typical McGuinty style the Premier refused to answer the questions. 

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For more information, call Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling at: (416) 314-7900

(Queen’s Park, Toronto) – More than a year after Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection and Nortel pensioners and pension plan members started pleading for help, the McGuinty government is just now announcing it will live up to its existing obligation by funding the Pension Benefit Guarantee Fund. 

“This government’s slow response has left Nortel pension plan members in limbo for a full year,” said Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling.  “And even after a year, the McGuinty government is only announcing it will live up to existing legal obligations when a more creative solution like that taken in Quebec would have offered more security at a lower cost to taxpayers.”

According to news reports, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan will announce funding (in the form of either a loan or a grant) to the badly underfunded Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund (PBGF) so that Nortel Pensioners will receive up to $1,000 per month should their pension plan fail.  The PBGF has been so badly underfunded since the McGuinty government took power in 2003 that in the 2009 Budget the government changed the law to allow the Finance Minister to unilaterally make loans or grants to the fund and at the same time stipulated that the government is not obliged to bail out the PBGF.  These contradictory changes left Nortel pensioners wondering what their futures would hold.

“This solution, funding the PBGF, is the easiest and most expensive solution the McGuinty Liberals could find,” said Mr. Sterling.  “Quebec has found a better solution whereby the provincial regulator will take over the management of the remaining pension assets so the plan will continue to exist.  I offered another solution which would have allowed pensioners to transfer their share of the plan into a RRIF or another prescribed retirement savings arrangement instead of being forced to put it into an annuity which offers a very low benefit right now.”

Coincidentally this announcement is being made during by-elections in the two Eastern Ontario ridings of Ottawa West-Nepean and Leeds-Grenville. 

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For more information, call Carleton-Mississippi Mills MPP Norm Sterling at: (416) 314-7900