Tories storm out of legislature over HST

The Opposition walked out of the Ontario legislature en masse Monday to protest the government's refusal to hold public hearings on its bill to create a 13 per cent sales tax that would go into effect in July.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak tried five times — to no avail — to get Premier Dalton McGuinty to agree to public hearings on the plan to merge the eight per cent provincial sales tax with the five per cent federal GST.

"If he has that kind of contempt for taxpayers, I see no point in continuing with question period today," Hudak said before leading his caucus in a walkout.

Each Opposition member walked across the aisle and presented McGuinty with one of his own decade-old quotes: "Public hearings; those two words go together nicely if you believe in true democracy."

With only the Liberals and New Democrats left to finish the morning question period, McGuinty quipped: "I sense a greater intimacy with the NDP these days."

Outside the house, Hudak said people across the province view the HST as a "greedy tax grab," and are encouraging his party to use every tactic it can to force public hearings.

Tories aggressive against HST

The walkout came four days after a series of Tories were ejected from the legislature for using unparliamentary language when addressing the premier about the HST issue.

Sarnia Progressive Conservative Bob Bailey was the first to be ejected on Thursday when he said McGuinty was a "cowardly liar" for blocking the hearings.

"That's the way I feel," Bailey said later. "He's not taking the opportunity to go out and do what he knows is right."

Two more Opposition members, Ted Chudleigh and Peter Shurman, were also thrown out by Speaker Steve Peters on Thursday when they too called McGuinty a liar and refused to retract their statements.

The Conservatives said they will use every delaying tactic they can to force public hearings on the HST, and continually disrupted proceedings Thursday by banging their desks, repeatedly interrupting the Speaker and shouting down government ministers.

The government is expected to extend the fall session to very near Christmas so it can pass the HST legislation in time to deliver personal and corporate tax cuts set to start Jan. 1.