XPost: bc.politics, van.general, vic.general   
      
   May 21, 2010   
   B.C. Liberals popularity slide deepens   
   CBC News   
   B.C. Liberal MLAs admit the groundswell of opposition to the HST is hurting   
   them in   
   opinion polls.   
   B.C. Liberal MLAs admit the groundswell of opposition to the HST is hurting   
   them in   
   opinion polls - and a recent survey hammers home just how much damage has been   
   done.   
      
   The Liberals slid 15 per cent in voter preference since May 2009, when they   
   won their   
   third consecutive election victory, according to a poll conducted by the   
   Mustel Group of   
   Vancouver.   
      
   On provincial voter intention, the survey puts the governing party at 32 per   
   cent while   
   the opposition NDP has risen to 44 per cent in decided voter support.   
      
     'The groundswell in B.C. is certainly unprecedented.'-Liberal MLA John Slater   
   The poll found that the HST was the No. 1 issue among those surveyed, followed   
   closely by   
   the economy in general.   
      
   "The HST is certainly a huge factor in my riding. People are upset about it,"   
   said Liberal   
   MLA John Slater, who has reason to be worried.   
      
   Poll Particulars   
   The Mustel Group poll was conducted May 6-16 from a random sample of 500   
   British Columbia   
   adults 18 and older.   
      
   The margin of error was plus or minus 4.4 per cent, 95 per cent of the time.   
      
   Those surveyed were asked their voting intention and whether they approved,   
   disapproved or   
   had no opinion on the leaders of the two parties in the legislature.   
      
   Slater won the riding of Boundary-Similkameen by only 800 votes last year.   
      
   Huge response to petition   
   As of May 16, anti-HST petition canvassers in Slater's riding had collected   
   more than   
   10,000 signatures.   
      
   That's more than twice the 4,000 signatures needed to satisfy the rules of the   
   petition   
   initiative under way across the province. The petition, which could prompt a   
   referendum on   
   the HST, requires participation of 10 per cent of the voters in each of the   
   province's 85   
   ridings.   
      
   "The groundswell in B.C. is certainly unprecedented," said Slater.   
      
   But the backbencher said despite the opposition he still believes that once   
   people have   
   all the facts about the HST, they'll come around.   
      
   B.C. Energy Minister Blair Lekstrom represents Peace River South, a region   
   that usually   
   votes solidly Liberal. But anti-HST canvassers have exceeded their target in   
   Lekstrom's   
   riding, too.   
      
   "The issue that I hear more than anything is not so much about the tax, as   
   saying, 'Gosh,   
   we thought that this wasn't on the agenda before,' and it wasn't."   
      
   Lekstrom said the government's priorities changed after the election. Six   
   weeks after the   
   2009 ballot, the Liberals announced they would introduce the HST, but prior to   
   the   
   election Premier Gordon Campbell said the blended tax was not on their radar.   
      
   He and other Liberals are still trying to make that case to a skeptical   
   electorate.   
      
   The poll also indicates that Campbell's approval rating dropping sharply.   
      
   While 46 per cent approved of Campbell's performance in May 2009, 28 per cent   
   do now,   
   according to the poll. Sixty-one per cent said they disapproved of the premier.   
      
   Opposition NDP Leader Carole James has not been able to capitalize personally   
   on   
   Campbell's falling fortunes. Her approval also is down, from 44 per cent in   
   May 2009 to 40   
   per cent in the May 2010 survey. Her disapproval stood at 36 per cent.   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)