For immediate release:
October 28, 2009

Barrett decries higher taxes for small business
Minister calls blue box fee hike for business, “good economic policy”

Queen’s Park – Higher business taxes apparently make good economic policy according to the McGuinty Government.

That’s what Opposition Environment Critic Toby Barrett was told in the Legislature today when he spoke out against McGuinty Government plans to further dig into the pockets of small business by forcing them to pay 100 per cent of blue box fees.

“If anyone had any questions about whether this government is hard-wired to taxing and spending – Minister Gerretsen’s response makes it crystal clear,” Barrett later stated. “To further hamper small business with ever increasing fees at a time when jobs and businesses are being lost to this government’s downward economic spiral and call it ‘good economic policy’ is quite frankly a little insulting.”

Barrett questioned Environment Minister John Gerretsen following a Stewardship Ontario news release announcing the Minister would be providing details in the coming weeks of a, “new waste diversion strategy [that] will be based on 100% EPR (extended producer responsibility)”.

Gerretsen’s assertion that the plan was “good economic policy” came in response to Barrett’s query about the timing of adding more fees to a sector that is struggling to keep afloat.

“How can you justify imposing 100% of costs on business? They can’t even access the aluminum or the steel recycling,” Barrett pointed out. “So, Minister, in the midst of a recession, when your government has overseen the loss of 330,000 manufacturing jobs, why would you add yet another tax on business in Ontario?”

While the Minister also suggested that business groups, “are onside”, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business submission to the Ministry Waste Diversion review clearly indicates otherwise:

“A new formula, at this time, will only encourage costs to spiral upward….
 It is questionable whether 1662 firms who reported in 2007 can sustain 100% of the cost of the Blue Box Program.”

In a supplementary question, Barrett asked whether the new plan would also remove the threshold under which smaller business are exempted from fees.

“When economic conditions deteriorate, truly it’s the optimism and resilience of small business that get us through the tough times - Small businesses create jobs.” intoned Barrett. “The saving grace for many of these small businesses is the threshold that exempts those with under $2 million in sales from paying blue box fees. This is my question: Are you now planning to tax them into closing up shop for good?”

The Minister refused to directly answer the question, instead falling back on his position that the new plan would be a, “good economic instrument.”
Following Question Period, Barrett pointed out that if higher fees are what the government considers “good economics”, it’s no wonder Ontario has been saddled with a McGuinty $24.7 Billion Deficit.

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For more information, please contact

MPP Toby Barrett at: (416) 325-8404,
(519) 428-0446 or 1-800-903-8629