Gas prices jump by up to 13 cents a litre in some markets

Motorists in many cities in Canada received a sharp surprise early Friday when they discovered the price of gasoline had risen by as much as 13 cents a litre. Liberal MP Dan McTeague, a critic of the oil industry, said he cannot recall a time when gasoline prices rose by so much in such a short period of time.

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Mayor David Miller calls on federal leaders to ante

They cannot ignore us anymore! Toronto can have something to say in this election. However, will we even bother to show up at the polls? This remains to be seen!

Quotes from the Mayor….“We need those permanent investments in infrastructure, we need investments in public transit, we need investments in housing, culture, the environment. And that’s about our country, it’s not just about Toronto,” he said. “I think it shouldn’t be a partisan issue. I think every single party should support the future of Canada…”

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Mayoral smackdown: Miller wins, but compromises

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion has backed down over her attempt to supplant the “One Cent Now” campaign led by Toronto Mayor David Miller to wring one cent of the federal GST from Ottawa to fund Canadian municipalities. Ms. McCallion emerged from a lengthy meeting today of the mayors of Ontario’s 15 biggest cities to announce that she is now willing to support the campaign, although she won some concessions from her fellow mayors.
The final resolution from the Large Urban Mayors Caucus of Ontario calls for the federal government to share the “equivalent of one cent of GST with Canada’s cities and communities,” with the word “equivalent” underlined. It also recognizes that the national campaign should support local initiatives “including the Cities Now! Campaign in Mississauga.” In return, Ms. McCallion agreed to lend her support to the One Cent campaign, which Mr. Miller has championed for the past year. “It was a hot meeting, but a cold seat,” Ms. McCallion told reporters gathered at the chilly Oshawa hockey arena where the meeting was held. “But I want to assure you that the decision … was unanimous.”

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Awash in cash, Tories expected to cut GST to 5 per cent

The Harper government is expected to announce plans to cut the GST to 5 per cent when it updates Canadians this afternoon on Ottawa’s swelling budget surplus. The timing of the fall economic statement has been moved up, sources say, to give the Conservatives one last chance to goad opposition Liberals into triggering an election.

Today’s move also helps the Harper government drown out anger expected to surface tomorrow, the first anniversary of its controversial income trust tax, when the Tories broke an election pledge to protect trusts.

Ottawa is awash with cash because a commodity price boom for resources such as oil is swelling its coffers with corporate and personal income tax revenue. Toronto-Dominion Bank chief economist Don Drummond now forecasts Ottawa is headed for a surplus of $14.5-billion this year, before any measures announced today – up from the $3.3-billion the Tories forecast in March.

Mr. Drummond, who met with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on the fiscal outlook last Friday, said he expects tax measures because the Tories are anxious to unload an embarrassment of riches. They attacked the former Liberal government for hoarding surpluses and do not want to be painted as hypocrites. n fact, Mr. Drummond says, Ottawa has enough surplus cash in years ahead to afford to cut the GST to 5 per cent from 6 per cent, and still have room for an across-the-board one-percentage-point cut to personal income tax rates, as well as a one-point reduction in the corporate tax rate.

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