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Ms. Lisa MacLeod: My question is for the Premier. We are now 79 days away from the HST being applied to gas, home heating, fuel and other items that Ontario families rely on every single day. Not only did Andrew Steele, a top Liberal adviser and your former so-called strategic adviser, let on that you will be raising the HST, but my colleague from Thornhill yesterday gave the finance minister the opportunity to deny you would be raising the HST.
He didn't take that opportunity, so we're going to ask you again: Are you going to raise the HST?
Hon. Dalton McGuinty: No, we will not be raising the HST.
The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?
Interjections.
The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Start the clock. The members will please come to order; the minister of economic development and the member from Halton, as well.
Supplementary?
Ms. Lisa MacLeod: I wish we could believe, every time Mr. McGuinty said he would not raise our taxes, that he wouldn't. But each day that the HST is closer to kicking in, Ontario families learn a new deal about the McGuinty Liberals and their greedy tax grab. One day, it's that you are using the first $25 million collected to pay so-called severances to HST tax collectors who are not losing their jobs; the next day, your so-called top Liberal adviser, Andrew Steele, is letting on that you're going to hike the HST the first chance you get.
Today, we learn that the Ontario PCs were right all along about the HST applying to rent. So back to the Premier: Why did you say that the HST would not apply to rent when it will?
Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Revenue.
Hon. John Wilkinson: Let's be very clear in the province of Ontario: There is no PST or GST applied to rent and there will be no HST applied to rent. That's very obvious. Again, it's part of a campaign of people who are not telling the entire story. Let's remind people that by filing their income tax return there are millions of Ontarians who are going to receive billions of dollars' worth of transitional payments merely by filling in their tax return, which is due at the end of April.
I know that the members opposite are opposed to some $3.9 billion worth of transitional payments being made to the people of Ontario, and they are quite surprised when they find out that that party voted against that, as well as $400 million to our small business owners, whom they purport to represent-but they are opposed to that $400 million. By filing their tax return, people today will be receiving-
The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Thank you. New question.
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