Where there is little or no public opinion, there is likely to be bad government, which sooner or later becomes autocratic government.
- Former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
On June 30 the Fight HST citizens Initiative petition signed by over 700,000 British Columbia voters demanding the Harmonized Sales Tax be killed will be delivered to Elections BC in Victoria.
And on July 1 the B.C. Liberal government will ignore that unprecedented and historic exercise in direct democracy, imposing the new 12% HST to shift $2 billion in taxes onto consumers from big businesses.
Premier Gordon Campbell and B.C. Liberal MLAs will show contempt not only for the Initiative process that obtained almost as many signed petitions as their party got votes in the 2009 provincial election but for poll after poll showing overwhelming opposition to the HST.
Instead of listening to the will of the people, this bad government will push ahead with a tax that will dramatically hurt B.C. consumers, with a Statistics Canada study estimating average households will pay an extra $521 more in HST yearly.
Rather than respecting public opinion, this autocratic government will push an extra 7% tax down British Columbians’ throats on everything from restaurant food right down to vitamins.
There is now only one answer to such an autocratic, undemocratic government – to recall its elected members.
I proposed recall in this column August 11, 2009, arguing that: “The appropriate response to abuse of power is to remove power.”
And the Fight HST citizens’ Initiative petition led by former B.C. Premier Bill Vander Zalm that I support showed just how angry British Columbians are with the HST.
Despite this, the B.C. Liberal government has rejected every indication that the HST is despised.
The Initiative process has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams since I first proposed it here on August 18, 2009.
But because the Initiative results in either a non-binding vote in September 2011 or the introduction of the Initiative’s HST Extinguishment Act in the B.C. Legislature, the government is under no obligation to kill the HST.
So now is the time for even more dramatic action – to the recall MLAs who voted to impose the HST.
Recall is very tough – removing an MLA requires the signatures of 40% of riding voters registered during the 2009 election, within 60 days.
But it definitely can be done, starting November 15.
I predict a firestorm of anger starting Canada Day as British Columbians discover that hundreds of goods and services they buy cost 7% more.
And then there’s the one-cent-a-litre carbon tax increase at the pumps July 1, literally throwing gas on the HST fire.
Life in B.C. is getting a lot more expensive – and Gordon Campbell and his MLAs will pay a high price for imposing the HST.
Read more from Bill Tieleman at thetyee.ca Email: weststar@telus.net Website: billtieleman.blogspot.com
