Ontario’s provincial Tory caucus chairman plans to have a private members’ bill up for debate later this month to cut tobacco taxes by a third.
Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett, who’s also the party’s environment critic, said in a release last week that his bill’s fate now rests with Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government.
The party said in its release that the bill “would be a great opportunity for Mr. McGuinty to do something right for the people of Caledonia, for hard-working corner store operators, and tobacco farmers.”
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Caledonia, south of Hamilton, has become known in recent years not only for land disputes and blockades but for a proliferation of roadside smoke shacks selling tax-free or discount tobacco.
Barrett said his bill would see tobacco taxes cut to 8.23 cents per stick, down from 12.35 cents, “on the understanding that the federal government would follow suit.”
Barrett, in his release, cited “the spirit of co-operation there was in 1994 when the federal government, along with five provinces, slashed taxes and shut down hundreds of smoke shacks overnight. It’s up to both levels of government to address the criminal networks that have set up shop across the country.”
Ontario has the highest percentage of illegal tobacco of almost anywhere in the world, he said, at almost 50 per cent of all tobacco sold in the province.
“The province has spent over $13 million over three years on Smoke-Free Ontario and $7 million on smoking cessation programs, and yet there is evidence, at least locally, that smoking has gone up 33 per cent,” the party said.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that people are accessing cheap smokes close to home from smoke shacks or trunks of cars,” Barrett said.
“All the while, corner stores who rely on smokers to pick up other items, are experiencing a decrease in traffic to the point where many of them have had to permanently close their doors.”
