Will definitely drop PST to 7%, Pallister tells chamber debate

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This article was published 14/04/2016 (3483 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brian Pallister says he will stick by his promise to lower the PST during his first term in office no matter what challenges he faces as premier.

Pallister made the commitment during the final leaders debate of the provincial election campaign, a nearly 90-minute affair at the RBC Convention Centre Thursday that also saw the election front-runner take a shot at one of Manitoba’s largest public sector unions and its relationship with the provincial NDP.

On a day in which he was repeatedly accused of failing to answer questions, the Progressive Conservative leader did not hesitate in his response to one: he would reduce the sales tax to seven per cent within four years.

Pallister refused to commit to annual education funding increases tied to inflation or economic performance. Nor would he commit to matching all infrastructure dollars that may be on offer from Ottawa. And he wouldn’t be tied to an NDP pledge to contribute $150 million to the University of Manitoba’s capital campaign.

He said he had to take a look at the government’s books first, reminding the more than 600 in attendance at the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce event that Manitoba was coming off an estimated $773 million budget deficit.

“When I find out what the books are in this province, I’ll be able to start making realistic and honest commitments,” the PC leader said.

“He’s shopping for votes but he’s shopping with money taken from our future,” Pallister complained to the crowd after he was pressed by NDP Leader Greg Selinger about the U of M capital pledge.

But there was no caveat when it came to the PST, one of the big wedge issues Pallister is counting on to vault the Tories back into government after a near-17-year hiatus on April 19.

The debate format gave equal opportunity for each of the candidates to respond to questions and challenge their opponents. Mostly, they stuck to their campaign pledges and talking points.

However, in response to a question on the rules around union certification in workplaces, Pallister took the opportunity to veer the conversation to last year’s divisive leadership competition and the role played by the Canadian Union of Public Employees and organized labour in general in supporting Selinger.

“The leadership contest of the NDP was decided by CUPE. It’s the only reason why Mr. Selinger hung on to his leadership. This is not right,” he said, referring to the fact that the New Democratic Party allocates a significant percentage of convention delegates to unions.

While Pallister said it was up to the NDP to set its own rules, he remarked, “I do not believe in a province that is run by CUPE.”

It wasn’t the first time in the campaign that Pallister had taken a shot at organized labour. He also has pledged to remove a provision that allows for automatic union certification of a workplace in which 65 per cent workers sign union cards. The PCs would require a secret ballot vote in such instances, a pledge that has angered union leaders.

Asked to comment on the CUPE remarks afterwards, Selinger said everybody deserves to be treated with respect.

“Mr. Pallister always looks for one person or one group that he can punish and make a victim, and he demonstrated that again today. Very unhelpful,” the NDP leader said.

Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari admonished Pallister for the union remarks, noting there were CUPE representatives in attendance.

The largely business crowd gave each leader polite — if not enthusiastic — applause. There were no questions from the audience. Instead, a half-dozen business representatives posted questions in a pretaped video link.

Selinger continued to argue, with interest rates at all-time lows, that now is the time to make big infrastructure investments that will stimulate the economy and create jobs. He attacked the Conservatives for failing to match the NDP’s infrastructure spending plans — although the Tories are committing $1 billion a year — and he bashed the Liberals for proposing to eliminate the payroll tax on large companies, which adds $450 million a year to provincial coffers.

Asked by moderator Richard Cloutier of CJOB to differentiate between a good tax and a bad tax, Selinger said a good tax was one “that allows us to have a sustainable green economy going forward.” He referred to the PST as “a reasonable tax” because it is consumption-based and is not applied to certain essentials, such as food.

Bokhari, appearing more relaxed and self-assured than in previous leaders forums, was the only leader to raise poverty as an issue. The Liberal leader, who has promised to explore offering Manitobans a guaranteed annual income, asked her two opponents to name two tangible ways to reduce poverty.

Selinger said education, early childhood development and job opportunities were key, as are continued increases to the minimum wage. Pallister talked about growing the economy and making tax changes that can benefit low-income people, such as raising the basic personal exemption on income tax.

Later, commenting on her performance, Bokhari said: “I decided to walk in and be my feisty self and not the cool, calm collected (self). I also knew it was a crowd that wanted to see some conversation that wasn’t talking points.”

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

kristin.annable@freepress.mb.ca