XPost: can.politics, ont.politics, bc.politics   
   From: kenny58@excite.com   
      
   Federal NDP leader Jack Layton says it’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s   
   HST By Matthew Burrows   
      
   Federal NDP leader Jack Layton believes Prime Minister Stephen Harper “has   
   been quite skilled at coating himself in Teflon” when it comes to the   
   harmonized sales tax in B.C.   
      
   “But I’m not sure how long it’s going to last,” Layton told the Georgia   
   Straight via cellphone from the House of Commons. Layton, who arrives in   
   B.C. today (June 10), said he will speak about the HST at the national   
   convention of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union in   
   Whistler this weekend.   
      
   “I hope it will cost him in the next election,” Layton said. “I think it   
   should, and most importantly, Mr. Harper, who claims to be a believer in   
   grassroots democracy, should clearly indicate to the people of B.C. that   
   he will respect their decision in this whole [provincial] referendum   
   business, and that he won’t penalize the people of British Columbia if   
   they decide they want to keep the taxation the way it was.   
      
   “It’s quite remarkable how he’s escaped the blame,” Layton added.   
      
   Norman Ruff, professor emeritus in political science at the University of   
   Victoria, told the Straight he didn’t “initially” think about the   
   political implications of the HST for the Conservatives.   
      
   “But when they were putting their part of the legislation through in   
   December, I thought, ‘Well, somehow they’ve managed to keep it purely a   
   provincial issue, and there has been no pressure at all,’?” Ruff said by   
   phone. “I know that Layton and the federal NDP opposed it.”   
      
   In December, Conservative and Liberal MPs supported the federal   
   legislation to harmonize the seven-percent provincial sales tax with the   
   five-percent federal GST. Starting July 1, the federal government will   
   collect the new 12-percent HST, which will apply to many goods and   
   services not currently taxed provincially.   
      
   “The chambers of commerce and the largest corporations in the country have   
   been fighting for this shift off of their books and onto the backs of   
   consumers for a very long time,” Layton claimed. “Lobbyists run this   
   place. The most powerful interests in our country—oil companies, banks,   
   and chambers of commerce—unfortunately have far too much sway with this   
   Conservative government.”   
      
   Asked if Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff missed a chance to bolster   
   himself in the polls by opposing the HST in B.C., Layton claimed the   
   Liberal party is swayed by “the same very powerful forces”.   
      
   “Unfortunately, Mr. Ignatieff doesn’t really believe in the philosophy   
   that says that grassroots voice should be respected,” Layton said. “He’s   
   decided to side with the big players that are going to benefit from the   
   HST.”   
      
   SFU political science professor Patrick Smith told the Straight that “the   
   Liberals becoming anti–HST federally would be useful, interesting, but not   
   likely earth-shattering” because the federal Conservatives already tend to   
   win half of the seats in this province.   
      
   Ruff said the HST is a “delicate issue in B.C.” for Ignatieff. “The B.C.   
   Liberals are an amalgam of federal Liberals and Conservatives,” he said.   
   “So, again, that would affect the way in which the Ignatieff Liberals   
   would handle things in B.C., because many of them are [Premier Gordon]   
   Campbell supporters.”   
      
   Ujjal Dosanjh, the Liberal MP for Vancouver South, told the Straight that   
   the federal NDP is not going to form the government anytime in the near   
   future. Dosanjh said he wondered if, in the event that Layton were to   
   become prime minister, he would rescind the federal legislation enabling   
   Ottawa to collect the HST on behalf of B.C.   
      
   “Are you then going to leave Ontario intact and the Atlantic provinces   
   intact?” Dosanjh continued. “Are you then going to single out the province   
   of British Columbia and say, ‘No, no. We will collect it for everybody   
   else and not for you?’?”   
      
   Layton responded that the anti–HST initiative is “a remarkable   
   illustration” of grassroots democracy. “I’m calling for Mr. Harper, and in   
   particular the Conservative MPs of British Columbia—who ran on the old   
   Reform ticket and said they would stand up for the people—to stand up and   
   say, ‘Yes, it’s true, we pushed this tax forward, but if the people don’t   
   like it, we’ll respect that,’?” the NDP leader said. “That’s all we’re   
   saying—respect the people.”   
      
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