By Katie Strachan
The Oshawa Express
Hannah Lee says the livelihood of her local convenience store relies hugely on the sale of cigarettes.
And come July, when the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) comes into effect, she says sales could plummet drastically.
Lee, like hundreds of other convenience store owners, says the new tax will push the cost of tobacco products up, forcing more people to buy illegal contraband products.
“I feel bad because it’s already expensive for cigarettes. So with the HST, how can we survive?” says Lee, adding she estimates more than 30 per cent of her sales is for tobacco products.
But Wendy Kadlovski, chair of the Ontario Convenience Store Association (OCSA), says many storeowners across Ontario say tobacco sales account for nearly 60 per cent of total sales.
“In Ontario, one out of two cigarettes is actually a contraband product,” she says, adding the government loses when these illegal products are purchased too.
“The Ontario government is losing out on millions in taxes. And it’s certainly a concern for parents. We don’t want our kids to have access to contraband tobacco. Contraband cigarettes also rob small store owners.”
Kadlovski along with members of the OCSA recently collected cigarettes butts at eight high schools across the region – two of them in Oshawa - and she says the results were alarming.
“We found that the average contraband use in this region is 20 per cent,” she says.
The rate of contraband use at Durham Alternative High School was 20.2 per cent and the rate at Oshawa Central Collegiate Institute was slightly higher at 20.4 per cent.
The association is now asking local politicians to take action and put a stop to contraband sales.
“We want to see the unacceptable use of contraband down 10 per cent by 2010,” explains Kadlovski.
She says politicians need to start lobbying in the House of Commons for change.
“Since smuggling is happening where they live, in their own backyards, it’s their responsibility. It’s their corner store retailers that are suffering from it, and it’s the minors in their riding who are being provided cheap cigarettes daily by criminals,” says Kadlovski.
The association says the use of contraband products has heightened over the last seven years.
“They need to also look at the tax issues,” she says of the HST.
“It’s a complex issue. It encompasses a number of different areas of government.”
The ‘10 per cent – 2010 Contraband Objective Campaign’ which is led by the organization, is a 25-city Ontario tour aimed at pressuring members of both the federal and provincial governments to intensify the fight against these products.
“We’re trying to raise awareness and work together to find a solution,” continues Kadlovski.
“The bottom line is that we don’t want to see our youth smoking. Now is the time to eliminate the ease in which minors can access contraband tobacco.”
Over the past couple of years, 2,400 convenience stores have been forced to close their doors. That’s three every day, says the chair.
For Lee, it’s entirely about keeping afloat and beating the odds.
“We have to carry cigarettes,” she says, adding customers often purchase cigarettes along with candy, milk and other products she sells in her store.
“We’re already losing customers. I’m not happy about it.”
In an effort to encourage local politicians, the association has created 10 suggestions to tackle the problem and allow them to achieve the goal of 10 per cent. |
