Dear Mr. McGuinty,

I’m wondering what type of jobs would be created as a result of the HST being implemented. If most of these jobs are government positions, then I cannot see the benefit to Ontario’s taxpayers.

I believe that the tax is solely there to increase revenue for the province. It is one way to pay down some of the debt that the provincial government has incurred due to the mismanagement of funds.

For this reason, I do not think that our economy will be strengthened. Ontario’s consumers will have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for basic services that used to be taxed at either a provincial or federal level, not on both.  

In my house, the purse strings will be tightened considerably.

I’m also concerned about our seniors and other Ontario citizens that are on a fixed income. Following an economic meltdown that was experienced not only in Ontario but all across the world, with the higher jobless rate as a result, is this the time to raise taxes?

In my opinion, this is a huge tax grab and let’s face it, the tax would not be worth implementing unless there were great benefit to the provincial government. In my circle of friends and family that live in Ontario, there is not one person who thinks that he or she would benefit from this tax implementation.  

It would be safe to say that the Ontario Liberal government is not gaining any popularity by doing this.  Which leads me to the following question: Do you truly have the best interests of Ontario citizens at heart?

Cathy Vandermeulen
Millgrove