Manitoba Liberals promise municipalities PST rebate if elected

Manitoba's Liberal leader says if her party is elected it would rebate the eight per cent provincial sales tax that municipalities pay.

Rana Bokhari made the promise at a leaders' debate in Brandon Wednesday, hosted by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities during its annual conference.

Manitoba Liberal leader Rana Bokhari's PST election promise

Manitoba

5 years agoVideo

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Manitoba Liberal leader Rana Bokhari opened the Association of Manitoba Municipalities' (AMM) pre-election provincial leaders' debate with a promise: If elected, the Liberals would phase out the PST increase over five years. 1:10

"We're going to make sure that your roads, your highways, your water treatment, your recreational centres, your community centres are thriving. Because you know what, we're not going to be able to keep doctors in rural Manitoba if they don't have the infrastructure that they need to be there. They need their community centres. They need all this stuff. That's just reality," she said to applause. 

The AMM has lobbied for the rebate, saying the PST they pay amounts to one level of government taxing another. 
The rebate would be worth $25 million a year. 

But Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger, who sparked public outrage when his government increased the rate from seven to eight per cent in 2013, defended the money it brings in, saying the results are visible throughout the province.

"You can see it everywhere you drive in Manitoba," he said.

Premier Greg Selinger on the PST debate

Manitoba

5 years agoVideo

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Manitoba Liberal leader Rana Bokhari opened the Association of Manitoba Municipalities' (AMM) pre-election provincial leaders' debate with a promise: If elected, the Liberals would phase out the PST increase over five years. 1:21

Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister responded to Bokhari's promise by saying the NDP government can't be trusted.

Pallister said the Conservatives are "committed to finding waste in government."

"There is waste in old, tired governments," he said.

But Selinger insisted there is a lot of work left for the NDP in Manitoba.

"The more we continue to grow the province together, the more we have to share with [Manitobans]," he said.

If there was one thing that Bokhari and Pallister agreed on, it was that Selinger and the NDP must go.

"[The infrastructure deficit] didn't just magically occur," Bokhari said, later adding that Selinger has been "inconsistent with the finances in the province."

Manitoba Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister on PST debate

Manitoba

5 years agoVideo

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Manitoba Liberal leader Rana Bokhari opened the Association of Manitoba Municipalities' (AMM) pre-election provincial leaders' debate with a promise: If elected, the Liberals would phase out the PST increase over five years. 1:19
Meanwhile, Pallister stayed with his first point.

"This is about trust," he said.

"You have to look at their record of keeping their word."