Burnaby NewsLeader, April 03, 2013

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LOCAL REFINERY REFINES POSITION

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GREENHOUSE GAS LEAKS FROM TRUST

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JUST DON’T SAY YOU’VE SMOKED POT

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WEDNESDAY

APRIL 3 2013 www.burnabynewsleader.com

A local barber has proven himself a cut above as an independent film maker. See Page A3

MP’s e-petitions bill to be debated in House Aims for support across partisan lines Wanda Chow

wchow@burnabynewsleader.com

MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER

Ross Spence says the HST didn’t have much of an impact on his Chez Meme Baguette Bistro in Burnaby Heights, so he suspects the return to PST, which doesn’t apply to restaurant meals, won’t help his bottom line too much.

PST’s return a boost to restaurants Average family to save $200 on dining out Wanda Chow

wchow@burnabynewsleader.com

The return of the provincial sales tax system will be a welcome respite for the restaurant industry, says the British Columbia Restaurant & Foodservices Association (BCRFA). The industry has taken a hit in recent years, not least of which was the Harmonized Sales Tax which added seven per cent to restaurant meals, which were previously not subject to PST, said association

president and CEO Ian Tostenson. When the HST came into effect in July 2010, “we probably saw in the first month a drop off of sales of seven to nine per cent,” Tostenson said. “That wasn’t surprising because when we woke up and HST was implemented I think everybody had a little bit of sticker shock.” In 2011, the industry was at minus two per cent in sales. “Basically the industry has not seen any growth since the HST was introduced.” Tostenson noted that the impact was not all due to the HST but a

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number of factors including the recent recession and new drinkingand-driving regulations. With the return of the PST system, and no sales tax on restaurant meals, the forecasts are for the industry to see growth in the four to six per cent range. That’s due to a combination of the tax cut—“we never see taxes going down so that’s quite something, that’s a first actually”—and the fact the BC economy is starting to show signs of strengthening. The BCRFA estimates the average

family will save $200 a year while dining out as a result of the tax going down, he said. As for the HST, often it was servers who felt the brunt of it, with customers reducing their tips to reduce the hit to their wallets, he said, noting people started to budget more and increase expectations, seeking value. Servers also saw reduced hours as business declined. And while the HST provided efficiencies and benefits to some sectors, the restaurant industry wasn’t one of them. Please see RESTAURANTS, A3

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Kennedy Stewart appears to be putting his political science background to good use in an effort to secure support across party lines for electronic petitions to Parliament. The New Democrat MP for BurnabyDouglas has tabled a motion to allow the use of e-petitions to open up the democratic process to ordinary Canadians. Currently, Canadian residents can only submit printed petitions with 25 or more signatures to their MP, who then submits it to the House of Commons. If the petition meets certain criteria the government is required to respond within 45 days with a letter. Meanwhile, online electronic petitions are used in the U.K. as well as in Quebec. Stewart’s proposal would see e-petitions with a minimum number of “signatures” collected within a time limit trigger a debate in the House. Such petitions would have to be sponsored by at least five MPs as a check against frivolous or extremist petitions. Please see BACKED, A8


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