There has been a lot of uninformed opinion by people in distant parts of Canada about the meaning and significance of the referendum in which a majority voted to repeal British Columbia's harmonized sales tax. Usually these critics take the HST in isolation, as a stand-alone issue. In that lies their profound ignorance.
The HST was merely the straw that broke the camel's back and nothing more. It was a referendum that was as much about the government of the day as it was the tax itself. There is a lot of anger toward our corporatist provincial government, probably the second-most corporatist provincial government in Canada. To make any sense of the HST vote you would have to grasp the public anger over this government's handling of BC Ferries, BC Hydro, BC Rail, its unaccountability and secrecy on everything from gas fracking to the Tar Sands pipeline and supertanker port. Stephen Harper would be quite at home with a government of the style of British Columbia's.
Remember that Gordon Campbell had to resign over his botched HST coup. He was driven from office by his own party long before the voters had a chance to toss him out. The premier's party ditched Campbell out of sheer self-preservation.
Now some may deride British Columbians as "hippy dippy" for trying to dodge a viable sales tax but that's an opinion mired in abject ignorance. There's an air of civil disobedience building in British Columbia, a discontent that the provincial NDP has, so far, failed to engage. The HST referendum did very little to vent that discontent.
4 comments:
Harper is a mega problem for Canada. He has lowered Canadian standards to the point, other country's no longer have any respect for our country. Harper is doing to Canada, as Campbell did to BC.
Campbell has always worked for Harper. Campbell, Hansen and Harper colluded on the HST long before the BC election.
Campbell's reward from Harper, for doing his dirty work for him, is the cushy appointment of High Commissioner to England.
Europe has no use for Harper. He lied about the dirty tar sands oil. He was trying to con Europe into accepting the dirty oil, as clean energy
Harper needed someone with, no ethics or morals. He chose Campbell to con Europe, into accepting the dirty oil.
You damned right, there is anger seething right under the surface. Citizens all over the world, are fed up with evil, corrupt, thieving and politicians lies and deceit.
There are very few politicians, worth the powder to blow them to hell.
@anonymous..my god, I hope you are right. We need to wake up.
There couldn't have been a worse time for Jack Layton to die, whether or not you agree with his politics, he would have taken the Harper government to task, the MSM could not have ignored it forever.
NN, Layton's death leaves a huge hole in progressive ranks. The NDP theme in the last election was all "Jack." I think Jack was to the NDP what Preston Manning was to Reform. He drew a lot of votes to the NDP but never got the chance to consolidate that support. I think the NDP may struggle to find a leader who can hold national support for a party that is now Quebec-centric. Jack had the charisma to bridge that chasm but it's unclear his successor will have the same public acceptance.
Unfortunately the cost of the NDP's success was Harper's even greater success that now threatens our country. Without Jack, that trade off seems something of a rout.
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