For Immediate Release
April 28, 2009
More bad news for car industry
Barrett questions what’s being done for dealerships in Ontario
Queen’s Park – What is the Ontario government doing to keep car dealerships open? Will Ontario reconsider a sales tax holiday on vehicle sales?
These were the questions Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett had for the McGuinty government today.
“General Motors announced yesterday that 300 car dealerships would be closing across Canada,” Barrett said in the Ontario Legislature. “That means 6,000 direct jobs slashed and another 14,000 slated to disappear, plus 18,000 in the auto parts sector. “Minister [Finance], this is happening on your watch. What have you done, what are you doing to keep car dealerships open here in the province of Ontario?”
The question was deflected to Economic Development Minister Michael Bryant who gave a very vague and confused response.
“The province has been, since December, working with the car companies to keep them viable,” Bryant began. “The best thing that a government or investor or lender can do for that company to speak to the health of those dealerships is to in fact have a healthy company. So these are the kind of significant changes to the company that were deemed by the company to be necessary.”
Barrett, not impressed by the answer pressed on by saying that this is a Finance matter.
“This is about tax policy. I’ve written you twice, Minister of Finance, with regard to the benefits of a tax holiday with respect to vehicle sales,” Barrett said. “You chose to ignore the warnings, and today we see the results of your inaction. Each dealership will be firing between 50 and 150 employees. Each dealership will no longer be contributing up to $100,000 to sports and charities within their communities.”
The local MPP then asked Finance Minister Dwight Duncan if he would reconsider a tax holiday on vehicle sales to which he answered, “No, we won’t.
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