Tories will scrap tampon tax. Period
COMMENT
Stephen
Harper is set to reveal
that a Conservative government would scrap the GST on tampons and sanitary napkins — if his image makers can overcome their fear of what editorial cartoonists might do with such material.
The move is being pitched internally as symbolic of the new, modern and increasingly female face of the party, aimed at a constituency that has proven resistant to the Conservatives’ message in the past. However, some senior Tories are understood to be uneasy about how to sell such a policy. Prescription drugs, basic grocery items and some medical devices are exempt from the federal goods and services tax but the government has long argued that removing the GST on women’s hygiene products would lead to calls for other goods like diapers and condoms to also be excluded.
For the Conservatives, the tampon tax plan is only the latest in a series of announcements targeted at key groups of voters. Over the summer, Mr. Harper said his government would offer a tax rebate for Canadians who use public transit. Today, he will unveil a tax credit on tools for tradespeople.
However, party sources suggest these are only a warm-up for more broad-based tax cut announcements planned after Christmas to tap into what the Conservatives hope will be a growing sense of economic disenchantment among middle class voters. The party’s research suggests that 85% of voters see themselves as middle class and 95% think of themselves as overtaxed.
Voters already seething at higher gasoline prices could turn incandescent when their heating bills arrive in January and February. The U.S. Department of Energy said yesterday that consumers whose homes are heated by natural gas will see their bills rise 50% over last year.
“I would say that the same situation will apply in Canada,” said Richard Zarzeczny, president of energy forecasting firm Canadian Enerdata.
“By February, we should see the peak of the pricing situation, which could be quite a shock for a lot of consumers.”
The Liberal government has already unveiled a $2.3-billion package that will rebate some cash to seniors and the poorest families. However, the Conservatives have criticized this plan as not being broad-based enough. There are no details on their own energy strategy but it is expected to be aimed at helping middleclass Canadians, particularly those in vote-rich Ontario, where the cap on electricity prices is scheduled to come off early next year.
“ Those people are going to face a double whammy,” said Mr. Zarzeczny, who said that the current regulated rate could double when the price cap comes off.
The Conservatives’ plans to roll out major announcements in the new year suggests the party has given up on its attempts to bring down the government before Christmas, despite continuing to pay lip service to the idea. Mr. Harper was in Calgary yesterday, where he told reporters that he was prepared to have an election if he could be guaranteed NDP support in a confidence vote.
The Conservative leader said the party’s election chances will be improved by the release of the Gomery report on the sponsorship scandal, which is due early next month. However, senior Conservatives concede that Gomery is unlikely to bring about a sea change in the attitude of voters.
“It will be a wash for Martin,” said one Tory, pointing to Liberal plans to flood the airwaves with the message that the Prime Minister was the man who called for the inquiry and that he will enact Justice John Gomery’s recommendations to clean up government in Canada.