WHEREAS the education of our children affects the future of our country; AND WHEREAS School Boards, universities, colleges and technical institutions across Canada are faced with reduced funding that has resulted in some school closures and reductions in some programs; AND WHEREAS communities are adversely impacted by such initiatives: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities request that the federal government apply a 100 Goods and Services Tax rebate for all tax-supported institutions, including schools, hospitals and post-secondary institutions.
Ministry of Finance With respect to resolution B69, which supports an increase of the GST rebate for all public sector bodies, including schools, hospitals and universities, to 100 per cent, I would like to note that the rebate rates for each sector were originally designed to ensure that the sales tax burden for the sector did not increase as a result of the transition to the GST from the previous Federal Sales Tax. The government recently increased the rebate rate for municipalities from 57.14 per cent to 100 per cent as a means of providing an immediate down payment towards a national priority: namely, helping to fund much-needed municipal infrastructure spending, which is essential for the well-being and prosperity of all Canadians. That being said, health care and learning are the cornerstones of Canadas economic and social foundations and as such are also clear priorities for this government. While the government has decided not to support these priorities through a similar increase in the GST rebate for other public sector bodies, health care and learning priorities have been, and will continue to be, pursued through other initiatives.
Federation of Canadian Municipalities At its 2005 Annual Convention, the FCM classified this resolution as a category C resolution, meaning that it is considered to be outside municipal jurisdiction and no action will be taken.