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Friday 26 August 2011
So irate voters in BC, the greatest of the Canadian provinces, have risen up and cast aside the HST decision made by the Liberal government:
In this referendum, 1.6 million voters — about 51 per cent of the registered voter base in B.C. — rejected the HST. Elections B.C. released on Friday results from the mail-in ballots from earlier this summer with 54 per cent voting to get rid of the HST and 46 per cent in favour of keeping the tax.Falcon thanked voters for casting their ballots in the first-ever referendum held in Canada on a tax policy.
Staggering turnout – more than half the voters cast a vote, and a large majority voted to nix the HST.
Now Premier Christy Clark is trying to distance herself from the Liberal government decision to introduce the HST weeks after an election campaign in which that party had told voters it had no intention of introducing it.
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| Christy Clark: Is she next on the chopping block? |
Not so fast, Premier Clark!
A significant number of the voters were sending a message to the former premier of the province, Gordon Campbell, and his Liberal caucus, that they did not like being taken for fools by their elected politicians. The sudden turnaround so soon after the election made many believe the Liberal leader and caucus probably had decided before the election that they would slip the HST in if they won a majority, ride out the storm, and rely on voters having short memories.
The vote against the HST was as much a vote against the perceived duplicity of the Premier and his caucus, as it was against the increase in taxes for ordinary people.
Those same voters should not forget why they voted to teach the Liberals a lesson. They voted in favour of politicians having respect for voters, and sticking to their promises on the campaign trail.
That same disgust the voters showed for Campbell's sleight of hand with the HST should be shown for Christy Clark's equally disrespectful campain in favour of keeping the HST.
What did Clark do?
In essence, she tried to bribe voters with their own taxpayers money, to vote No. She did this by promising a reduction in the HST within a year or so if the No forces nixed the recall of the HST law:
During the voting period Premier Christy Clark tried to sweeten the pot by promising to cut the tax back to 10 per cent by 2014 if it was supported.
But notice the omission.
She did not offer voters a reduction in the provincial sales tax if the Yes forces nixed the HST. Oh no. If you do what I want, I will reward you, but if you don't I won't offer you a reduction in the PST.
Why the promise to cut the HST if she won the referendum, but not to cut the PST if she lost it? Why favour just one outcome?
Was this not just a continuation of the disrespect for the voters, similar to what Campbell showed when he slipped the HST in?
Let's hope voters remember today when the next provincial election comes around, and reward Clark's disrespect in a similar way to the reward just handed to Campbell.
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