CARP HALTON CHAPTER 1265 Ontario Street, Suite 1809 Burlington, Ontario L7S 1X8 May, 6, 2009

Premier Dalton McGuinty Government of Ontario Queens’ Park, Toronto, Ontario

Dear Premier McGuinty:

SALES TAX HARMONIZATION IN ONTARIO

As chair of the Halton Chapter of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), I have been instructed by resolution of my Executive Committee to write to you on behalf of our six thousand, five hundred (6,500) members in Halton to advise you that we are totally opposed to the expanded provincial sales tax base for goods and services which you propose to introduce with the harmonized tax system in July 2010.

Our membership is totally dependent on fixed incomes, and the vast majority have reached that stage in life where they no longer have the physical ability to increase their income, in order to cover the additional 8% sales tax, which you plan to levy on a greatly expanded list of essential goods and services.

Further, the life savings of our entire membership has just been dramatically reduced by approximately 40% by the global investment market crash, with little likelihood of any recovery in the next 5 years. On top of that, most of the pension plans of the fortunate few who still have such a thing are presently seriously ‘under water’, with several bordering on insolvency. And the Ontario Pension Benefit Guarantee Fund is also insolvent.

Premier McGuinty, we are the men and women who built this Province. We recognize the business sense of a harmonized tax system for our business and industries in Ontario. However we submit that its is severely unjust to hit us with an additional 8% sales tax in our retirement, when we no longer have the ability to gain the added income necessary to cover your tax

We ask that you simply harmonize the existing provincial sales tax base, and immediately announce that the expanded tax base proposed in the budget has been rescinded.

Yours sincerely,

Greg Metrakos, Chair – Halton Chapter of CARP

cc: All Halton MPP’s

CARP is a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to enhancing the quality of life for all Canadians as we age, by advocating for social change that will bring financial security, equitable and timely access to health care, and freedom from discrimination. CARP seeks out and provides value-added benefits, products and services to our members. Through our network of Chapters across Canada, CARP builds a sense of community and shared values in support of it’s mission.