Mr. Speaker, Ottawa area residents were generally pleased by yesterday's re-announcement that the province will allow property tax relief for the Corel Centre. That will provide some, but only some, tax relief for the Ottawa Senators.
However, as Senators' owner Rod Bryden has said, “This issue is all about tax fairness”. Where is the fairness in requiring the Senators to pay for their own exit ramp off Highway 417? Where is the fairness in declaring a Senators game non-Canadian and subjecting it to a 10% amusement tax? Where is the fairness in using their games to make money on a lottery without giving them a share?
Local provincial minister John Baird should get his facts straight when he says that the federal government has not put anything on the table. This government has contributed $6 million to the Senators, along with allowing the benefits associated with “distress preferred shares”. Come on, Ontario, you can do better.