Manitoba Tory MLA plans marathon speech against PST hike

A Manitoba Progressive Conservative MLA is gearing up for a lengthy speech in the legislature in opposition to the government's proposed PST increase.

Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen has been granted unlimited speaking privileges on Bill 20, which would allow the NDP government to raise the provincial sales tax from seven to eight per cent and avoid a referendum on the increase.

If approved, the PST increase would take effect July 1. However, the Tories have been employing stalling tactics to prevent that from happening.

Goertzen said when his opportunity comes up, he will get on his feet and talk about Bill 20 for as long as it takes.

"I think there's lots of things to talk aboutabout how this is going to hurt Manitobans, the different ways it's going to hurt Manitobans, the different people in different occupations that are going to be hurt," he told CBC News on Thursday.

Goertzen said he plans to speak "for a long time, to give the government some opportunity to change their mind."

The government will decide when Goertzen's marathon speech can begin, but he said he hopes to change the NDP's mind about the PST hike before then.

If the government does not change its mind, he said he expects the debate to last through the summer.

Goertzen added that he and pretty much everyone else at the legislature have cancelled their summer holidays.