Theresa Oswald promises PST rebate if chosen to lead NDP

Theresa Oswald is promising to create a PST rebate for low-income families if she wins her bid to become the leader of the provincial NDP.

The former health minister is gunning for current Premier Greg Selinger’s job in a leadership race for the top spot in the Manitoba NDP.

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Oswald said Monday, if she wins, she’ll help offset the impact of the PST increase for low-income and working families by between $75 and $125 per year.

Oswald said the rebate is part of a plan to fight poverty in Manitoba.

MLA Steve Ashton is also running to lead the NDP in the province. He has already promised to hold a referendum on the PST if elected.

Last week, the former transport minister said he thought the PST increase was the right thing to do, but he wanted Manitobans to have a say in it.

Oswald criticized that plan on Monday, calling it “reckless.”

“To throw that now into complete uncertainty by way of referendum, I think it’s the wrong path. It’s the path that the Conservatives advocated for,” said Oswald.

She said under her plan, about 150,000 Manitobans would qualify for the rebate, and it would cost the province between $10 and $15 million per year.

Only families who earn less than $35,000 per year would qualify for the rebate.

Oswald said the impact on low-income families wasn’t considered when the PST hike was announced in 2013.

“Most provinces that introduced tax increases in recent years did offer a low-income rebate of some kind, but Manitoba did not and I think we need to fix that,” said Oswald.

She would want the change implemented as soon as possible.

Political scientist Raymond Hebert said he wasn’t sure the plan would help Oswald in the leadership race.

“I’m not sure this position will resonate with the entire party because you still have to think of the electorate a year and a half from now – the general electorate and not the NDP membership,” said Hebert.

Meanwhile, some local business owners are still looking for incentives that resonate with them.

Boon Burger owner Anneen Duplessis said she would rather see a rebate for some of the green initiatives her business undertakes.

“One per cent makes a big difference when you already have such low margins to start with,” said Duplessis. “There’s also people in the [industry] … that really struggle to make it and that’s their livelihood.”

The deadline to join the provincial NDP leadership race is Jan. 6 and voting is expected to happen in March during the NDP convention.