Chretien: No truth to reports of tax hike

Tax-burdened Canadians are being told there's no truth to reports the federal government plans to increase the Good and Services Tax to 10 percent from seven percent.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien ended the speculation by saying the plan has never been seriously considered.

Montreal's La Presse newspaper reported the Liberal government was considering an increase in the tax to raise money that would be passed on to the provinces to fund growing health care expenses. The newspaper said such an increase would generate an additional $9-billion a year.

"It is not a serious proposition at all," Chretien said, adding that his government believes in lowering taxes, not raising them.

There has been speculation Chretien is looking for ways of raising additional money in order to launch a series of social programs as his legacy as he approaches retirement in 18 months.

The federal tax, which is in addition to provincial sales taxes, was implemented by the former Conservative government in the mid 1990s. Chretien had vowed to repeal the tax when elected but it remains in place.

Victims' families honored

Silver medals were presented Friday to the families of four Canadian soldiers killed by an American bomb in Afghanistan.

Governor General Adrienne Clarkson presented the medals in a ceremony in Ottawa.

Sgt. Marc Leger, Private Richard Green, Corporal Ainsworth Dyer and Private Nathan Smith were killed and eight other members of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry were wounded.

The two U.S. pilots who dropped the bomb on April 18 during a live-fire exercise at a former al-Qaida training compound near Kandahar face criminal charges.

In brief

-- Accused serial killer Robert Pickton faces four more counts of first-degree murder in the case of missing Vancouver prostitutes and drug addicts. Pickton, a pig farmer from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, is being held on 11 murder counts. Police say the list of missing women who fit the profile of Pickton's alleged victims since 1978 has grown to 63.

-- Two elderly Canadians have died of the West Nile virus transmitted by infected mosquitoes. The victims were an 83-year-old Montreal man and a 70-year-old man from Mississauga near Toronto. Confirmed cases of the virus in birds have also now been found in Atlantic Canada.

-- A strike was averted by 19,000 workers at General Motors of Canada with a three-year contract providing pay increases totaling eight percent. GM also agreed in the pact with the Canadian Auto Workers to invest $800-million in its Canadian operations.

-- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was among the guests partying with Canadian rock-and-roll singer "Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins" in Toronto last weekend. The private party, also attended by actors Kris Kristofferson, Beverly D'Angelo and Whoopi Goldberg, and composer David Foster was to celebrate Hawkins' release from a hospital after cancer surgery. Hawkins, like Clinton, is a native of Arkansas. Reports said Clinton sang My Way at the tribute.

Facts and figures

A surprise increase in Canada's annual inflation rate in August to 2.6 percent from 2.1 percent will put pressure on the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates, economists say.

So far, there's no change in the bank's key interest rate of 2.75 percent or the prime-lending rate of 4.5 percent.

The Canadian dollar is higher at 63.53 cents US, while the U.S. dollar returns $1.5740 Canadian before bank exchange fees.

Stock markets are again lower, with the Toronto exchange index at 6,203 points Friday while the Canadian Venture Exchange was 988 points.

Lotto 6-49: (Wednesday) 4, 14, 39, 42, 46 and 48; bonus 26. (Sept. 14) 6, 16, 23, 31, 34 and 39; bonus 24.

Regional briefs

-- Prime Minister Jean Chretien's proposal to ratify the Kyoto climate accord by the end of the year is the "goofiest, most devastating thing ever contemplated by a Canadian government," said Alberta Premier Ralph Klein. There are concerns the accord will hurt the oil-rich province as it requires major expenditures to reduce carbon emissions. Developers of a proposed $3.5-billion Alberta oilsands project have announced major cuts fearing the restrictions would impact the plant's economic viability.

-- The strike by health-care professionals across Saskatchewan has grown to include respiratory therapists and public health inspectors. Also off the job are paramedics in Regina and patient care coordinators and social workers in Saskatoon who are seeking a 34-percent pay hike.

-- A breakdown in a treatment plant in Winnipeg resulted in more than 100-million gallons of sewage pouring into the Red River. It took a day to make emergency repairs. Environment Canada is investigating as city officials said they were aware the design of the plant was flawed and vulnerable to a "catastrophic" failure," but they felt the chance was remote.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright