March 02, 2010

GOLDEN OLYMPIC LINING PRECEDES DARK CLOUD FOR AMATEUR SPORT

Thibeault congratulates Olympians, raise sport tax concerns


SUDBURY– On the heels of an historic level of success by Canadian Olympic athletes at the Vancouver Olympics, Sudbury MP Glenn Thibeault congratulated local gold medal winners Tessa Bonhomme and Rebecca Johnston, plus the great efforts turned in by Devon Kershaw and Chris Del Bosco  that helped make the 2010 Winter Games a huge success. 

“An entire country stood up and cheered” said Thibeault.”Who wasn’t proud to be a Canadian over the past two weeks?  This proves what great heights we can reach when proper funding and resources are given to our athletes.”

Thibeault wants to maintain local conditions that foster amateur sport. Unfortunately, there are dark clouds gathering on the horizon. The new Harmonized Sales Tax will sabotage the entire sport and recreation sector, including the amateur sports that so many young people built our Olympic success on.

Sports and recreation is one of the largest economic sectors in Ontario, contributing over $4 billion to the economy annually. It is also the province's largest volunteer enterprise, with over a million volunteer little league coaches, instructors, support personnel, and others devoting their time. 

Thibeault added "I am very concerned about the HST's impact on amateur sports in Canada. Participation will decline due to increased registration costs under the harmonized tax, our non-profits will have to pay more for rink rentals, gasoline, and devote more time to paperwork, and the HST will hike taxes on sports safety equipment. We need to have exemptions in these areas so Ontario families continue to receive the health benefits of participation in amateur sport."

The HST is scheduled to come into force on July 1 of this year. Thibeault noted that "Federal legislation authorizing a $4.3 billion payoff to the province to implement the HST is the final legal piece needed to steamroll ahead with this new tax. I will be watching to see if Harper tries to sneak this into the upcoming Budget."

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For further information, please contact:

Brian Band, Communications Director/Outreach Coordinator (Glenn Thibeault) 705-673-7107 or thibeg1a@parl.gc.ca
AT YOUR SERVICE:
40 Elm Street, Suite 103a
Rainbow Centre
Sudbury, ON P3C 1S8
Tel: 705.673.7107
Fax: 705.673.0944
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