If you’ve watched TV or opened a newspaper over the last number of weeks, you’ve seen the ads attempting to sell you on the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). More than $5 million worth of those ads were purchased using your tax dollars; using your money to convince you to vote against your best interest.
And then there are the Smart Tax Alliance ads, paid for by the big corporations that get the most benefit from the HST. Under the HST, corporations pay less tax, and you pay more. Of course, they want you to vote to keep it.
So, do you believe the ads when they tell you that voting for the HST will save you money? Do you believe the BC Liberals and the big corporations who are desperate to save the HST?
I believe that the HST referendum is about more than just a tax. It is a question of trust. And it is an opportunity for us to send a very strong message to a government that has lost touch with the voters it is supposed to work for.
The BC Liberals were elected in 2009 based on the promise that they would not bring in the HST. They broke that promise.
The BC Liberals were forced to hold this referendum on the HST by the more than 700,000 British Columbians who signed the Initiative Petition to get rid of the HST. You are not being asked your opinion on this matter because the government cares what you think.
You are being asked because they had no choice but to ask.
Now the BC Liberals are promising to ‘fix’ the HST with rebates and rate reductions, but we already know just how much a BC Liberal promise is worth.
This is our one chance to make our voices heard. This is our chance to demand a higher standard from government. If we allow this government to continue to fool us, we are saying that misleading the public is okay.
So when you receive your HST ballot in the mail, ask yourself this question: Do the BC Liberals deserve our trust?
Send a strong message. Vote ‘Yes’ to scrap the HST.
Norm Macdonald is the NDP MLA for Columbia River – Revelstoke. His website is at www.normmacdonald.ca and you can contact him toll-free at 1-866-870-4188
