Concerned members of the Brantford sports community gathered at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre on Friday to hear what Ontario PC Party Leader Tim Hudak had to say about the provincial Liberal government’s proposed Harmonized Sales Tax.

The HST would combine the five per cent Goods and Services Tax with the eight per cent Provincial Services Tax as of July 2010.

As the PST currently does not apply to sports fees such as venue use, the HST would basically mean an eight per cent increase on all sports- related costs.

Brantford Minor Hockey Association (BMHA) president, Carolyn Rollins invited Hudak as well as Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett to speak on the issue and also encouraged local community members to attend.

Around 20 people gathered, including former TCO chair Bob Coyne, current TCO chair Bill Harding, Brantford Church Hockey League president Thom Foster, BMHA’s Dale Parker, Brantford Parks and Recreation’s Eric Burke, Brantford Inter-City Soccer chair Andrew Pilkington, local developer Mike Quattrociocchi and city councillors Dan McCreary and Greg Martin.

Hudak, who spoke for about half an hour before taking questions from the group, said the HST, or the Dalton [McGuinty] Sales Tax, as his party has dubbed it, would be a cash grab that would leave minor sports and so many other things worse off.

“It’s a $2.5-billion tax grab that’s basically unaffordable at any time,” he said. “Minor sports organizations will have no choice but to pass those costs on … so, we want to fight this tax grab tooth and nail.”

Hudak heard concerns from those present that the HST would likely have a ripple effect, not only increasing fees through ice and field rentals but also through equipment, gas and insurance costs.

Over the course of a season, an organization such as the Brantford Minor Hockey Association would be looking at an increase in costs of around $45,000 on ice rental fees alone, according to BMHA’s Parker.

Earlier this year, in June, Brantford city councillors expressed their concerns, supporting a resolution asking the province to provide exemptions for recreational facility rental fees and minor sports registration fees.

At the end of the session, which Hudak said was designed to “host families that will be affected and hear their concerns,” the leader of the provincial opposition asked residents to go to www.daltansalestax.com and fill out the online petition opposing the HST.

“I think that’s very helpful. It will put pressure on the local MPP and MP … We’ve already seen signs of progress … I believe I’m bringing pressure to bear in order to cause Dalton McGuinty to back down from this,” Hudak said.