‘They’re taking us for a ride’: Gym goers disappointed in PST expansion

Starting in October, the Saskatchewan government will be expanding the provincial sales tax to more services.

That means people will be forced to pay more for gym, golf and curling memberships, among other entertainment activities like concerts and sporting events moving forward.

Cody Wallace is an active gym member and says it feels wrong for the government to be taxing extra for simply trying to stay in shape through exercise.

“I don’t think gyms should be grouped with entertainment venues with the tax increase,” Wallace said. “As far as I’m concerned, they’re taking us for a ride.”

Wallace mentioned he believes it’s going to be even more difficult to convince people to join a gym facility.

“You would think the government would want us to be healthy as it puts less stress on the health-care system,” he said.

A group of students at the University of Saskatchewan is taking action against the new 2022-23 budget implications.

Josh Wiebe is originally from Rosetown while Grady Hawkins hails from the Yorkton area.

Together, they’re arranging a strong case to send to local MLAs on why taxing those looking to get exercise sends the wrong message.

Wiebe says he understands the government is trying to make up some lost ground from the pandemic but says this is going to have a long-term negative effect.

“Obviously they have some costs from COVID that they are trying to allocate for, but our stance is that this taxing — specifically of outlets of physical activity — is going to cause a lot more negative issues as we move forward,” Wiebe said.

A study from Dalhousie University says 42.3 per cent of Canadians have gained extra weight unintentionally from the pandemic.

Now that gyms are starting to get back on their feet, Wiebe says the timing of this just doesn’t make sense.

“The timing could be better and that seems to be the general consensus with rising inflation,” he said. “People are coming out of COVID less active than they were before.”

Wiebe says people can already be a little uneasy to join a gym from the beginning.

“It’s a big obstacle in the first place. To go to a gym, (there’s) a lot of anxiety, a lot of stress involved for that, especially if you have someone who’s a beginner,” he claimed.

“You add this (and it) is just another determinant that’s kind of pushing it away.”