B.C. First Nations want HST exemption

The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs says its members want the same harmonized sales tax exemption that First Nations in Ontario will receive.

On Thursday, the federal government agreed to Ontario's request to give First Nations a point-of-sale exemption on the provincial portion of the HST.

The new tax, which blends the five per cent federal GST with the PST, comes into effect July 1 in B.C. and Ontario. The PST is seven per cent in B.C. and eight per cent in Ontario.

Grand Chief Stewart Philip, the president of the union of B.C. chiefs, said First Nations in his province want the same exemption.

"We are continuing our opposition to the HST and at the moment, the strategy that we have undertaken is our mandate and we will continue pursuing that mandate until such time as there's a change," he said.

"At the moment we are looking at legal options."

B.C. Finance Minister Colin Hansen said implementing such exemptions are too complicated and expensive.

Hansen said Ontario has always provided point-of-sale exemptions for the provincial sales tax to First Nations, while that has never been the case in British Columbia.

"In British Columbia, that benefit has never extended to off-reserve sales," he pointed out.

The B.C. chiefs' organization says it will continue to fight the HST until it gets the same deal as First Nations in Ontario.