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Petitions being circulated at local McDonald's restaurants have rallied hundreds of Kamloops diners against a harmonized sales tax.
The B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association has delivered the petition to restaurants across the province as part of its No Meal Tax campaign.
Layne Clow, office manager at the Aberdeen McDonald's, said Tuesday all eight area restaurant have had the petition since the week before Christmas.
Clow said employees and customers have signed. About 30 pages a day are faxed to the Aberdeen location and then forwarded to the BCRFA office in Vancouver.
"That's a lot," she said, adding there are 15 signatures on a page.
Benjamin Holt, the assistant manager of the downtown McDonald's, said the franchise supports the No Meal Tax campaign because a harmonized sales tax and provincial sales tax will hurt the restaurant industry.
"It was something we thought we should support," said Holt.
He said McDonald's weathered the economic downtown well, but adding another seven per cent tax to menu items will hurt business. Many customers are on a fixed income and cannot afford to pay more for a coffee, hamburger or fries.
Restaurant association statistics show that when an extra seven per cent tax was introduced with the GST in the early 1990s, restaurants experienced a comparable decrease in business. Ian Tostenson, CEO of the BCRFA, said a similar decline is expected when the HST takes effect July 1.
That means restaurants will likely cut staff in order to save money. About 10,000 of the province's 173,000 restaurant employees will be out of a job, said Tostenson.
"Those are primarily first jobs or student jobs," he said.
The campaign has collected more than 60,00 signatures from 1,000 restaurants and more are expected to join the fight.
"It's just picking up steam," said Tostenson.
For more information, or to sign the petition, go to www.nomealtax.ca. The website also lets residents send a message of protest to their MLA and MP.
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12GaugePump says... 
0Nice to hear what the Young and Rich have to say.
Seniors on fixed incomes are paying more for medical services, Living Accommodations, etc.
Your measely 70 cent increase can mean a lot for seniors whose only chance of getting out of their lot, is being able to interact with other's daily at a Restaurant, and feel connected to the world.
But pay no mind to these souls, they can rot in their little trailer or small apartment. Luckily, the uncaring can still keep these restaurants going.
Posted on December 30, 2009 @ 9:36 pm PST | Report post to Editor | 3058419