On fixed rates

Jane Taber rightly points out Con MP Patrick Brown's misleading claim that he and his government had nothing to do with the HST despite voting for it twice personally. But that isn't the only glaring flaw in his attempt to distance himself from his government's policies.

Brown spends most of his column space criticizing the province for not lowering the HST rate while implementing the tax. But there's just one slight problem with that complaint: it's the federal government which has insisted that the province keep the rate right where it is.

I've noted before that the preliminary agreement between the Harper Cons and the McGuinty Libs provided that the province would be required to keep the HST rate where it is for at least two years following implementation. And that's made all the more clear in the comprehensive agreement that's since been signed between Jim Flaherty and Dwight Duncan:

15. The Parties agree that the PVAT Rate in respect of the Province will be 8% as of the Implementation Date.

16. The PVAT Rate in respect of the Province may be increased, or decreased, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement after a minimum period of two years from the Implementation Date. Following that two-year period, any change in the PVAT Rate in respect of the Province, as permitted under the provisions of this Agreement, will not occur more often than once in any twelve-month period.

So if Brown wants to know why Ontario isn't talking about lowering its HST rate, at least part of the answer is that the Con federal government won't let it. And whether Brown is ignorant enough not to know that or dishonest enough to pretend his government hasn't tied the province's hands, it's fairly clear that his constituents don't have much reason to believe what he has to say on the subject.