Momentum is building for a province-wide vote on the HST, with a giant rally planned for Saturday to push for the referendum.
Activists across the political spectrum say they’ll be demanding a vote unless Premier Gordon Campbell backs off on the Harmonized Sales Tax.
Organizers are checking their calendars to see which 90-day period will be best to launch an initiative to defeat the “Hated Sales Tax” that has united former political opponents in an all-out bid to defeat the tax.
“The fairest thing is to have a referendum,” said insurance agent and tax activist John Wong, who wants a province-wide referendum on the HST.
“If Mr. Campbell is so sure about the HST, he should let the people of B.C. vote on it.” Wong and other business leaders joined with NDP MLA Jenny Kwan in encouraging the public to vent their anger Saturday at noon at Canada Place, where a surprising coalition of politicians of every stripe will speak against the HST.
Many will argue that Campbell vowed not to bring in the HST during the election, then broke his word after the election.
Former Social Credit premier Bill Vander Zalm, NDP leader Carole James and B.C. Conservative deputy leader Chris Delaney are among 10 diverse speakers already confirmed for the rally, one of about a dozen to be held across B.C. on Saturday.
The introduction of the HST — and the fact that Campbell earlier promised not to bring it in — has triggered widespread opposition and has been a disaster for the B.C. Liberals at the polls.
Gordon Campbell and the Liberals held a nine-point lead in the polls in May, but after a remarkable turnaround the Liberals trail the NDP by nine points just a few months later. Political commentator Bill Tieleman said his Facebook page — NO BC HST — now has 122,000 members, making it the largest B.C.-based Facebook page just two months after he started it up.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Tieleman, also a communications consultant.
“To have politicians of different parties united is very unusual in B.C.
“I’m going to have to charge my clients seven per cent more, and they’re not going to get anything more for it.”
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If Government still increase the tax in BC, the sellers will reflect the price of products into the purchase of customers. As a result, the high cost, such as rent, food and fuel, of living in Vancouver, undoubtly, will make the amount of homeless people gradually soar.
We already know the living cost and fuel tax in Vancouver are the highest in Canada, even the price of commodities higher than the capital city, Toronto. It is unreasonable to draw more tax from the residences of BC. I believe the policy of increasing tax on another way of combining tax to HST will make the people of BC poorer and the poor and homeless more suffer and unaffordable to buy food, and how dare can they imagine the hope of house?
Depose Golden Campell!
I vote NO to HST
Thanks
I have much more information to share with anyone with an open mind and wants to better understand what the HST in Canada is all about. The message will take up to 45 minutes to read (about 5500 words) It will also try to explain the root of this particular, hated, oppressive tax grab, and then its part in an ultimate, country-wide, destructive purpose. It was not written by a professional writer, but by a Canadian with knowledge from lifelong experiences.
Please send me your name (optional) or initials, and e-mail address and I will gladly e-mail the informative message back to you.
Thank you for your work, efforts, interest, and / or concern in this urgent matter.
G.C.S.