The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
A cash-strapped city council wants to impose a new tax on all hotel stays in Flin Flon, but the Manitoba government will have the final say. Council on Tuesday approved initial reading of a bylaw to implement a five per cent accommodation tax, with at least some of the proceeds helping to promote the city to tourists. 'I'm kind of excited about this, that we can use this to get Flin Flon seen and heard on the tourism side, which I think could be a very big market for us up here,' said Coun. Karen MacKinnon. The bylaw must still pass two more readings and gain the consent of the provincial cabinet. All councillors supported the initial reading. Promotion Coun. Tim Babcock, who introduced the motion, said revenue from the tax would be used for 'promotion and community enhancement.' When asked to specify what that includes, Mayor George Fontaine said the d e f i n i t i o n w o u l d 'evolve.' 'So we don't want to be hog-tied to too tight a definition of where we're going,' he added. David Brooks, general manager of the Victoria Inn, Flin Flon's largest hotel, is not necessarily against the tax. 'If the money is used for the right reasons, which is to promote tourism and to put heads in beds for us, the hoteliers in Flin Flon that are going to collect the tax on behalf of the city, I am all for it,' he said. 'If we are using this money to put flowers in flower beds and stuff like that because the city can't afford to do it, that's not what this tax is for. T h e t a x should be u s e d t o make the world more aware o f Flin Flon and try to draw conventions and bigger events to Flin Flon. That's what the money should be used for.' But would the tax, amounting to several extra dollars per hotel stay, put Flin Flon hotels and motels at a disadvantage compared to competitors in Creighton and Denare Beach? Mayor Fontaine doesn't think so. 'There's a big price d i f f e r - e n c e between t h e mo t e l s to begin with, so they say they're different m a r - kets,' he said. Coun. MacKinnon said she personally never asks whether the hotels at which she stays charge an accommodation tax. 'Just about every community I go to now has an accommodation tax,' she said. Council has no projections in terms of how much revenue the tax, if approved, would bring into municipal coffers. The City of Thompson began charging a five per cent accommodation tax in 2009, putting the cash into reserve funds to supplement its municipal budget. includes GST $1.00 Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada Friday, June 7, 2013 Serving Flin Flon & Area for over 65 years June 28 & 29 Main Street Committee and Trout Festival present Saturn Shows Afternoon and evening both days Celebrate with Main Street Main Street Committee Presents June 11 & 12 Canuck Amusements starting at 4pm both days Whitney Forum parking lot PHOTO BY JONATHON NAYLOR 99 Candles ' 'Just about every community I go to now has an accommodation tax.' _ Coun. Karen MacKinnon
