Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives Meeting

I attended the Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatvies Meeting this afternoon.  It's the first time the committee has ever met.  I don't think anyone expected that the HST pushback would result in this.  I arrived early.. or at least what I thought was early...  I was told no passes would be handed out until 30 minutes prior.  I waited and at 12:30, I was the only one in line.

If I counted correctly, attendance was 18 members of the media, 10 members of the public, 3 observing MLA's and 10 Committee members.  There were too many security staff to count....

As you might appreciate, this was a difficult meeting for the government members and a winfall for the opposition.  For the most part everyone was polite and pleasant during the first part of the meeting.  After our first recess  things got a bit more 'testy' and after about 20 minutes there was another break.  (There were two recesses in about 75 minutes.. I wish they would have been that frequent when I was in school!)

The end result today was that the committee will meet again on Monday, Sept 13 and the Elections Officer will be present to answer questions from the committee regarding their options.

I've wrestled with trying to find an appropriate response to this dilemma from a ministry perspective.  We are non-partisan and so we don't take political sides in any debate.  I fully appreciate that no one wants a new tax and by all appearances, at least some people were in the know that the HST was a distinct possibility even while they were saying it wasn't.  At the same time, I am fully aware that the government has experienced a tremendous loss in revenue and needed to find a way to replace that quickly.  The bottom line is that we want the best of everything but don't want to pay for anything....

Politics aside, this is a tremendous challenging time for the individuals involved on a personal level.  Everyone on both sides of the issue needs tremendous wisdom and humility as they navigate through this dilemma.  It's easy to throw stones and pass judgement.  It's another to pray for those who tax you and ask God to help them walk in integrity and righteousness. 

Someone has to, it might as well start with you and me....

If you are interested in reading the Hansard transcripts from today's meeting.  Click here