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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-09-28, Page 38 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, September 28, 2016 MP Lobb's bill to reduce tax for distillers defeated 156-136 MP Ben Lobb's Private Member's Bill C-232 to reduce tax on Canadian distillers. The vote was cast Sept. 21, in the House of Commons, and Canada's Members of Parliament voted 156-136 to defeat the motion. "It is disappointing a bill that would have such a positive impact on small and medium spirit producers in Canada, but also the Cana- dian agriculture and tourism industry was voted down by the Liberal Government" said MP Lobb. Bill C-232 was an effort to reduce the rate of Excise Tax paid by Canadian distillers. Currently all distilleries, regardless of size or produc- tion output are taxed at the same rate of $11.696 per litre of absolute ethyl alcohol. Bill C-232 would have set the Excise Tax rate to $6 per litre of absolute alcohol for the first 100,000 litres of produc- tion and $11 for all produc- tion past 100,000 litres. A reduced Excise Tax rate Troy Patterson/Editor Sunny skies over the weekend still brought out visitors to Point Clark for the sunsets, though the beach was all but deserted as the season changed into fall last week. The sun shines nicely looking south west at the point. HODGINS 2Ot ANNLVEBSARI' 626 Campbell St. Lucke N. Ph: 519-528-3008 ,nua nvNrwICtir 44 DOOR Bale Latex Ceiling Paint Low VOC, low spatter and 2 high hiding. 3.64 litres. 1852-151# SAVE 25% 99Reg. 9 SIGNATURESERIES Interior Acrylic Paint Eggshell 2 49 3.78 litres. 1852-410# 8 Reg. 37.99 SIGNATURESERIES Kitchen & Bath Paint 3149 Semi gloss '3.781itres. Reg. 41.99 1 853-621 # *When Tinted SEE OUR ANNIVERSARY FLYER FOR MORE SAVINGS SALE RUNS SEPT. 30th - OCT. 1st CUSTOMER APPRECIAT BBQ! Saturday, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. would have allowed for greater growth and opportu- nities for reinvestment for overly taxed spirit producers in Canada. QUICK FACTS: • In 2015, only 18 distillers produced more than 100,000 litres of alcohol each for total production of 99,561,590 litres • In 2015, 118 distillers produced less than 100,000 litres of alcohol each for total production of 599,013 litres • The Spirits industry con- tributes $5.8 billion annually to Canada's GDP • Exports $600 million worth of Canadian whisky and other spirits around the world • The sector employs nearly 8,500 Canadians full-time • Canadian distillers pur- chase approximately 320,000 metric tons of corn annually, making them the 4th largest corn buyer in Ontario • Nearly 100% of their grain is sourced from Cana- dian Farmers • Spirits generate the high- est value -add on goods made from Canadian agriculture Wynne booed at International Plowing Match in Harriston over hydro rates Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was heckled and booed Tuesday when she broached the subject of hydro prices in the province during her remarks at the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo's opening ceremonies. "We are working to bring those electricity costs down," she said, before being inter- rupted for a moment by the crowd, including by one woman who shouted "liar" at Wynne. Asked about the reaction at a press conference later, the Liberal premier said the Ontario government has heard concerns over rising hydro expenses and has pro- posed measures to reduce those costs. But, she said, those details were only announced during last week's throne speech and perhaps people in the crowd were unaware of them. "I think there are people that don't yet know whether they're going to qualify, whether they will get the reduction that we talked about or they may not know that they may be eligible for a 20 per cent reduction. Our job is to make sure that eve- ryone understands what they're eligible for;" she said. As was announced in the throne speech, Wynne said Ontarians will receive an eight per cent cut in their hydro bills, equivalent to the provincial portion of the har- monized sales tax, starting Jan. 1. "Many" people in rural Ontario, she said, will qualify for another 12 per cent reduction through a rural or remote electricity rate pro- tection program. "But that's new informa- tion. Not everyone has that information yet," she said. "I think what's important is that we are working very hard to support people exactly where they are challenged and we've heard the concems - we've heard it from small businesses, we've heard it from individuals and we've heard it from rural communi- ties - and so that's why we're making the changes that we're making„ But Progressive Conserva- tive Leader Patrick Brown and Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who were also at the IPM on opening day, said the Liberal government is not doing enough to assist people with skyrocketing hydro rates. Brown said the eight per cent reduction on hydro bills is nothing more than a "shell game," since the government got rid of the Green Energy Benefit, which provided a 10 per cent cut. "Ontario families are still going to see their hydro bills go up each month. We're going to see another rate increase on Nov 1," he said in an interview. "The government, after los- ing a byelection in one of their safest ridings in Toronto are, I think, in an act of desperation trying to trick the public." He said if the Liberals were really serious about dealing with hydro prices they would stop signing contracts for new green energy projects and pull the plug on the sale of Hydro One, "which is going to lead to Submitted no control over future increases:' Horwath, during a media scrum, said she was not sur- prised by the cold reception Wynne received during the opening ceremonies. "People are very upset and they're very worried, not only for their own ability to pay their bills today but par- ticularly for the future of their kids and the next gen- eration here in the province," she said. Horwath said the sale of Hydro One will only make matters worse. The first day of the IPM included a parade, opening ceremonies and a VIP plow- ing competition between the leaders of Ontario's four political parties, including the Green Party of Ontario. Each year, the Ontario Legislature suspends sitting for two days so politicians can take part in the IPM. Most of Wynne's cabinet was at the event Tuesday, including Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault. The Sudbury MPP was on hand for an announcement by Hydro One that it has cre- ated a Farm Rapid Response Team to help farming cus- tomers identify, assess and mitigate on-farm electrical issues, such as stray voltage. The IPM ran all last week.