Twice now, the people of B.C. have had their say on the HST. The first time, was the very successful initiative petition which set up the referendum vote, the results of which were released last week. However, unlike the initiative petition, the referendum outcome compels the government to get rid of the HST and restore the PST and GST. Hopefully this ends more than two years of political bickering about a single tax policy. More importantly, hopefully, we can now apply the same amount of interest and energy to other critical issues.
And, I mean “we;” as in “we the people.”
The one lesson we should take away from the HST debacle is the citizens’ right to vote does matter -- your vote does count (or can count if you didn’t vote!). Think about it. Mr. Campbell thought his 2009 election success gave him the right to impose a tax that he promised he wouldn’t impose during the election. The people rebelled against that abuse of power and, two years later, Mr. Campbell is no longer premier and his HST will be extinguished.
This demonstrates the power people have in a democratic society when they exercise their voice through petition and ballot box. Pundits, economists and partisans can split hairs about whether the people voted correctly, or why they voted the way they did. They can argue about the relative merits of the HST over the PST/GST regime. But, the people have spoken and the government is compelled to reverse a major tax policy by the majority of voters.
That’s democracy in action. However, voters/citizens must now continue to stay awake to the actions of government and give the same energy and attention to other issues that are just as important as the HST decision. The foundation of a functioning democracy is an attentive, informed citizenry that takes its responsibility seriously and exercises its right to vote and its responsibility to engage politicians through petitions, letters and town halls between elections.
I hope the recent demonstration of “people power” in the HST referendum encourages British Columbians to become more attentive and active citizens on all issues.
Bob Simpson MLA Cariboo North