Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 18, 2013, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A8 A 8 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013 MANITOBA winnipegfreepress. com 204- 697- 1400 1400 McPHILLIPS WINNIPEG MB SAVE TIME . SHOP ON- LINE www. jimgauthierchevy. com www. jimgauthierchev. com * All prices are plus freight, taxes, fee's, boxliner and boxrails. Factory orders or locates may be required. See dealer for details. THE GAUTHIER AUTO GROUP IS PROUD TO BE THE # 1 VOLUME DEALER IN WPG!! General Motors wants to Liquidate 500 New cars, trucks & SUV's by July 31 st , so they chose Winnipeg's largest GM dealership to do it at. 0 % Financing on almost everything New Car payments as low as $ 24 / wk Discounts over $ 16,500 Jim Gauthier Chevrolet's Air Conditioned 55 Car Showroom wa s the only choice when it came to where to have this sale with prices so low it wouldn't be fair to print them! MANITOBA'S LARGEST SALE EVER! Loyalty & Conquest Credits up to $ 1500 Leases as low as $ 99 / mth Sale Dates: July 18th through July 31st RAIN or SHINE! Everyone can see every ve hicle we have to offer inside 0 % Lease Rates Absolutely no reasonable offers will be refused T HE Selinger government is into its 18th day of collecting a new, higher retail sales tax, yet the public debate over the controversial move continues on the street and in the legislature. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation delivered a petition Wednesday morning with more than 8,000 signatures protesting the PST hike to Premier Greg Selinger's office. " Plain and simple, we needed to hold him ( Selinger) accountable for breaking his promise and raising the sales tax," CTF Prairie director Colin Craig said. He was flanked by Opposition MLAs, who continue to denounce the government for increasing the sales tax to eight per cent on July 1 without a provincial referendum. Inside the legislature, the bells rang for a third day in a row Wednesday as the Opposition Tories continued to delay approval of the NDP spending plans - a delay the NDP portray as reckless and edging the province toward a " fiscal cliff." For a second day, NDP House Leader Jennifer Howard tried to introduce an interim supply bill to keep money moving to government departments in the absence of final budget approval, beyond July 31 - when a special warrant expires. Howard said the PCs appear to have plenty of time on their hands as they're willing to waste about two hours a day on bell- ringing votes that could take a couple of minutes. Speaker Daryl Reid also expressed some frustration, telling Howard and Tory house leader Kelvin Goerzten to discuss the business of the house privately rather than engaging in debate and groundless points of order. PC Leader Brian Pallister said last week his Tories would not stall an interim supply bill or risk the government running out of money, but would only agreed to it at a time of their choosing, not the NDP's. The Tories have delayed approval of departmental spending this week by forcing house votes on motions to have ministerial salaries reduced to $ 1.08, the eight cents symbolically representing the eight per cent provincial sales tax. Craig said the taxpayers federation's petition was mainly gathered online, but added several Manitobans contacted the CTF to lend a hand by delivering flyers promoting it or taking a paper copy of the petition and gathering signatures. Bill 20, which would allow the government to raise the PST without a public referendum, is also stuck in the legislature three months after it was introduced. It has yet to receive third reading. The bill would remove the need for a referendum before raising major taxes. The requirement was put in place by the Filmon Conservatives in the 1990s. Brandon MLA Reg Helwer, one of several Progressive Conservative legislators who joined Craig for a news conference in front of the Manitoba Legislative Building, said his party still hopes the Selinger government will change its mind and holds a public plebiscite on the tax increase. " We hope that they will see the light and listen to Manitobans as opposed to continue to force their way into the pocket books of every Manitoban," Helwer said. The Tories say the government has collected almost $ 13 million through the increase. Liberal MLA Jon Gerrard congratulated the thousands of Manitobans who signed the petition for exercising their democratic rights. " To have this expression of popular opinion - 8,000 people - speaks volumes," he said. Meanwhile, Helwer brushed off suggestions the government was in danger of running out of money due to the paralysis gripping the legislature. The Conservatives have used various procedural delays - in protest of the PST hike - to block passage of nearly four dozen government bills since the legislature resumed April 16. larry. kusch@ freepress. mb. ca Debate over PST increase rages on Tories continue to stall house business By Larry Kusch ' Plain and simple, we needed to hold him ( Selinger) accountable for breaking his promise and raising the sales tax' - Colin Craig JESSICA BURTNICK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Colin Craig ( right), Prairie director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, shows off a petition with more than 8,000 signatures against the recent PST hike to Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard ( left) and PC MLA Reg Helwer ( centre) on the steps of the Manitoba legislature on Wednesday. A_ 08_ Jul- 18- 13_ FP_ 01. indd A8 7/ 17/ 13 9: 31: 33 PM ;