Tory HST protest bears no fruit

A sit-in by two members of the Progressive Conservatives at the Ontario legislature has come to a close with both MPPs having little to show for their efforts.

Bill Murdoch and Randy Hillier left Queen's Park on Wednesday morning after spending almost two days holed up inside the House.

They were hoping to force the Liberal government to hold additional public consultations on merging the provincial sales tax with the federal goods and services tax to create a single harmonized sales tax (HST).

"I'm going to have a shower," said Murdoch Wednesday after leaving the legislature, clad in the same clothes he was wearing on Monday.

The MPP for Bruce Grey-Owen Sound admitted his protest failed to accomplish his goal.

"Well we didn't get any hearings … but when you got a government that isn't democratic, you're not going to get that," he said.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said Monday the public will be able to comment on the HST on Thursday during a five-hour legislative committee hearing in Toronto.

But the Conservatives accuse the Liberals of intransigence, saying one hearing is not enough. They wanted the government to hold additional consultations on the road.

The sit-in was in defiance of an order by Speaker Steve Peters, who suspended both MPPs from the House for the rest of the legislative session for using unparliamentary language and disrupting debate on Monday.

That means they can' enter the House until the next session of the legislature, which may not come until after the 2011 election.

'Extraordinary circumstances'

But Hillier brushed off concerns they will not be able to represent their constituents at daily question period or challenge any bills at Queen's Park.

"Listen, we still have lots of tools available to us, we are still the representatives for our ridings. We will continue to represent our constituents in all fashions."

Conservative Leader Tim Hudak dismissed a suggestion that the sit-in was a stunt that brought politicians into disrepute.

"I stand with our members who for nearly 48 hours took part in protest," Hudak said. "Sometimes in extraordinary circumstances you need to rise to the occasion and stand on principle."

The New Democrats say the Tory protest was aimed at helping the Conservatives distract voters from the fact they once supported harmonization.

Like Ontario, British Columbia will harmonize its PST with the GST next July 1, something Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador have already done.