It's never been much of a secret that the HST has been at the centre of the NDP's message to defeat Harper Cons in British Columbia. But with the party having just released a new ad on the subject, it's worth noting that for all the frustration over the tax itself, the greatest impact of any discussion of the HST may be to turn the tide against the Cons on their choice of ballot question.
Keep in mind that the decision to impose the HST was made after an election campaign where Gordon Campbell ran as a steady-hand economic manager, promising no nasty surprises for the province while trying to portray the alternative as too risky to justify public support. Sound familiar?
Needless to say, it took approximately .5 nanoseconds for Campbell to decide that his majority in the Legislature meant all previous promises - including his commitment not to impose an HST - were inoperative. And so B.C. was plunged into the political chaos and public outrage that's marked the last two years.
Now, Harper is trying to win a majority off of exactly the same message that proved so dishonest and destructive the last time B.C. voters heard and accepted it. And reminding voters about the HST serves two strong purposes in helping to avoid that outcome: not only does it direct anger over the HST itself toward one of the parties responsible, but it also serves as Exhibit A as to why it's dangerous to hand a majority mandate to a government which has proven that it can't be trusted.
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