Proponents of the harmonized sales tax in B.C. will continue to face an uphill battle to convince British Columbians of the merits of the tax despite Premier Gordon Campbell’s resignation.
In Campbell’s speech Wednesday morning, he said, “I hope that my announcement today will allow British Columbians to move forward and fully consider the HST and the alternative on the merits between now and September 2011” when British Columbians will vote in a referendum whether or not to keep the HST.
Jock Finlayson, executive vice-president at the Business Council of BC, questioned whether Campbell’s resignation will help sell the HST.
“It’s going to be an uphill battle, in my opinion, for supporters of the HST to persuade people to back it. That’s true whether Campbell is around or not. How that will be affected by Campbell’s departure is too early to say.”
Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association told BIV he was a bit more optimistic saying, “I think any new leader that wants to have a future is going to have to get re-engaged with the small business sectors, especially industries that are negatively impacted by the HST.”
Tostenson said he was sad to see Campbell resign, however, “the fact is, we became so splintered that I suppose there is no way out as a leader to keep trying to sell something that the public wasn’t buying. I have huge respect that he’s taken one for the team, but I think it was necessary.”
Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, hoped that a new premier and leader of the BC Liberal Party would provide an opportunity for a fresh debate on the merits of the HST.
“From our perspective, there are many positive elements to the HST; and if we can get over how it was implemented and brought about, and get on to the discussion about the merits of the HST itself, I think a lot of British Columbians will realize it’s the right thing to do.”