The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) received two thumbs down in the recently completed mail-in ballot.
Despite throwing every resource the B.C. Liberals and their business allies could think of to convince the unwashed masses to vote against extinguishing the controversial tax shift, the Christy Clark government got spanked.
The whole HST debacle is not Ms. Clark's fault. No, that lies squarely on the shoulders of former premier Gordon Campbell.
We also give her credit for not following through on the veiled threats to make drastic changes to the Provincial Sales Tax (PST).
Before we all embark on the debate about the end of the HST and how it will be surgically removed from the current tax system, let's talk about why it was shot down and what the electorate thinks about having things shoved down its throat.
While there was a lot of jubilation and doom-and-gloom from the anti-HST and pro-HST camps respectively when Elections BC announced the HST had been defeated 54.73 to 45.27 per cent, the big city media outlets were calling it a victory by a slim margin.
In terms of population base, it was only a 10 per cent victory by the anti-HST supporters despite the millions of dollars the B.C. Liberals threw at the problem, starting with the education tour by B.C. Liberal cabinet ministers in the summer of 2010.
They tried to convince the "uneducated" folks who lived outside of the concrete jungle with its skyscraper and cappuccinos that the HST was good for us.
This carried on until the stickman advertising campaign that went from unbiased to nauseatingly biased, as the referendum deadline loomed closer.
Some have noted that if the referendum were conducted under the rules of the act, the anti-HST push would have been defeated. That's true, but Mr. Campbell set the bar at the point where a simple majority would be victorious. He knew it was going to be close but expected a "squeaker" going the other way.
So, folks can push the numbers around all they want, but the real number the B.C. Liberals have to pay attention to is the fact 60 of British Columbia's 85 constituencies voted against the government.
We believe it had more about sending a message about how we want to be governed than how we want to be taxed.
That's why premier Clark wants to tour the province to seek input and provide education.
