Yay its about time something like this happened or is being planned.
Irritates the crap out of me when looking for flights advertised at $649 then only to find out you need to add another $349 in various taxes

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/...vertising.html

The look on Expedia first. The prices listed are total cost and, in my experience, usually no different to what you'll pay via an airline website.

I book all my flights etc on Expedia usually but its those annoying ads in the local papers or even on the airline websites that piss people off.
Just look at the Westjet site today for seat sales as an example.
Some of us do read the fine print but remember not everyone does

By the same token, perhaps any organisation in Canada selling something should be forced to advertise the total cost?

Agree wholeheartedly... all pricing should be inclusive of all taxes.

That is a bit annoying until you get used to it. Doesn't bother me now although to include it just seems like fair business practice.

Do you seriously think Canadians would agree to the VAT system
They would complain about hidden taxes though the VAT isnt a hidden tax.
They would complain that they are being ripped off as the item might only attract GST and no PST etc
The thought of seeing a price tag and only paying that price is ALIEN to them
I find it quite amusing when Brit travellers go into a store mentally calculating their purchases then getting hit with the taxes.

Im all for the inclusive tax system.

Or just get rid of sales tax altogether.

A bit early in the day to be smoking that stuff

They do, Canada has a value added tax system, it is called GST or HST in some provinces!

True but not all are equal unlike the VAT, then bring in the PST and it does become somewhat confusing

I like the tax exclusive system. It is way more open/honest for those that aren't clever enough to know what their government is charging them.

Confusing? I'd say that not letting people know much something is going to cost them is confusing. Receipts give the GST/PST/HST/HRT breakdown anyway. Why not just state the total price at the outset?

Most of the stack of receipts I have from my last UK trip seem to show what the VAT element was. That seems rather simpler than forcing people to do mental arithmetic (which most people are shit at).

Actually knowing what the tax is really only serves two purposes:

1) creative tax returns
2) working out the tip when you're pissed

Just to clarify my point on not all being equal the GST I agree is a standard 5% the others have varying rates BC 12% HST Nova Scotia HST15% etc

I don't, but the case of airline tickets is unusual in that there's so much tax involved. The actual fare from Toronto is usually about twice the advertised fare making the advertised price useless for budgeting and for comparison with the advertised fare from Buffalo which is all-in.