The B.C. Liberal government's latest effort to sell the harmonized sales tax - establishing an information centre and appointing a cabinet minister responsible for the effort - is a waste of time, says a Prince George anti-HST organizer.
Eric Allen, who helped organize an anti-HST effort in the Prince George area, says it will not sway those that are opposed to the HST. He questions why the provincial Liberals would even use their energy to do so. The anti-HST group in Prince George have, instead, has advocated for moving up the date of a province-wide referendum on the HST which is scheduled for September 2011.
The information centre was announced as part of a cabinet shuffle this week, and before a rare televised address by B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell Wednesday evening.
The B.C. Ministry of Finance, headed by Colin Hansen, says the centre has been created to help British Columbians access information about the HST, so that they can have a meaningful dialogue and debate in the lead-up to the 2011 referendum.
The information centre, which starts up on Monday, is meant to provide a "broad spectrum of factual information" on why government introduced the HST, the benefits and how the September vote will impact consumers, employees, employers and the economy, according to a statement from the finance ministry.
How information will be available - whether on a website or by phone, for example - is not known yet. B.C. Finance Minister Colin Hansen said it will be Tom Syer's job to determine how to best make information accessible, including providing a timeline. Syer, a former provincial bureaucrat, will head the information office.
Hansen said it has been the government's experience that when the HST is fully explained more people are supportive.
Campbell and Hansen have acknowledged numerous times that his government did a poor job of introducing and explaining the HST.
The B.C. Liberal government says introducing the HST is the single biggest action the government can take to boost the ailing economy. The Liberals say the savings from the HST to the business sector - including the forestry, mining, and oil and gas sectors - is estimated at $2 billion which will be reinvested in the economy and passed on to consumers.
Opponents say the HST is a huge tax burden shift onto the backs of workers, professionals, students and the elderly.
The NDP Opposition wasted no time in criticizing the creation of the information centre, calling it a ridiculous waste of public funds. "The B.C. Liberals have clearly lost all reason, especially when it comes to the HST," said New Democrat house leader Mike Farnworth. "The government should be moving the referendum forward so that B.C. can have the economic certainty it needs to thrive.
