Former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm speaks at an anti-HST rally in Vancouver in this 2009 file photo.KIM STALLKNECHT
Five years ago, British Columbia's economic development minister told business leaders he was looking forward to the day his B.C. Liberal government would eliminate the provincial sales tax. This week, he'll get his wish.
But the bill that will be introduced as early as Monday is not what Rick Thorpe had in mind in 2005.
The bill to be introduced by B.C. Finance Minister Colin Hansen will set out how the PST will be repealed - in order for it to be replaced by the 12-per-cent harmonized sales tax this summer.
In 2005, Mr. Thorpe, who has since retired from politics, told the Vancouver Board of Trade that he wanted to see the province's 7-per-cent sales tax eliminated. He also said at that meeting he couldn't imagine B.C. following some Atlantic provinces in adopting the HST. "The answer is a simple 'no,' and the reason is we feel we do not want to give our sovereign tax rights away to the federal government," Mr. Thorpe said at the time.
The B.C. Liberals maintained that position publicly until last July, when Mr. Hansen announced that the HST was the single most important move B.C. could make to revive an economy in recession. By then, Ontario had jumped on the HST bandwagon and Ottawa was holding out a $1.6-billion incentive to cash-strapped B.C. to make the switch.
Mr. Hansen said in an interview that it has been a difficult sell because of the "misinformation" his opponents are spreading. Since the fall, he has been touring the province, trying to win over support on a meeting-by-meeting basis.
Recently, he met with a group of 172 people in Salmon Arm. "They sat there with their arms firmly crossed in front of them, scowling back at me," he recalled.
By the time he had finished the 90-minute meeting, he believes, the crowd had come around on the benefits of the HST. "At the end, they were nodding their heads."
That leaves, he noted wryly, another 4.4 million British Columbians who still need persuading.
For every stop he has made, his political opponents have already been in the field.
The political battle that has been building since last summer has divided the business community and built odd alliances. Opposition to the HST has put B.C. New Democratic Party Leader Carole James on the same stage as former Social Credit premier Bill Vander Zalm.
While industries like mining and forestry have applauded the tax shift, the hospitality sector is continuing its fight against it because it will increase the cost of restaurant meals and bar tabs. The so-called No Meal Tax campaign has collected more than 200,000 signatures.
The introduction of the legislation will bring the focus, at least for the next few weeks, back to the capital.
Mr. Hansen said he relishes the notion that the NDP Opposition will be voting against the bill: "What the NDP are proposing to do is vote against the elimination of the PST," he said.
NDP House Leader Mike Farnworth said the Opposition will use every trick it can to stall passage of the bill, which must be introduced by Wednesday and passed by the end of April.
The legislative framework to introduce the HST has already been passed in Ottawa. The province's part is simply to repeal its own sales tax.
But that is a complicated feat. The legislation is expected to be close to 100 pages long. It will set out what happens, for example, to a new home that is half-built by the time the HST comes into effect. There are rebates for some sectors, like schools and hospitals. It also allows for the HST to be charged before July 1 in some circumstances, for example, on gym and shopping club memberships.
That offers plenty of scope for debate and proposed amendments. "We will use every conceivable tool against this bill," vowed Mr. Farnworth. "Do I care when they have to pass it? No. We intend to be debating for a long time. Everyone knows this is the cornerstone of the government's agenda - a bill to do what they said they wouldn't do before the last election."