With the Olympic Games now a fading memory, opponents of the Harmonized Sales Tax in British Columbia are kicking their campaigns back into gear to fight the BC Liberal government on its planned introduction of the HST. The provincial NDP is at the centre of the anti-HST campaign, although they have recruited some strange bedfellows to the cause – namely, former Social Credit Premier Bill Vander Zalm. He resigned as Premier in 1991 following a conflict of interest inquiry over the sale of his Fantasy Gardens property in Richmond, and was later found not guilty of criminal charges in the matter.
Last summer, British Columbians were treated to the odd sight of NDP Leader Carole James and “the Zalm” side by side on stage speaking out together against the introduction of the HST. Time will tell if the NDP’s alliance with Vander Zalm will help or hurt them. Industry groups such as the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, who would typically side against the NDP on issues like raising the minimum wage, are also joining the chorus of opponents who say tax harmonization will hurt key business sectors and threaten service worker jobs.
Rather than rely on traditional campaign tactics to raise awareness, the NDP’s anti-HST campaign is turning to social media to spread the word. They have created an online “Stop the HST” petition with downloadable storefront posters, stickers, and an anti-HST image that people can post as their Facebook profile photo. The tactic that’s getting the most attention is an automated system that allows people to barrage BC Liberal MLAs with Twitter messages urging them to vote against the HST legislation. Here’s an example:
“@eliseqby To MLA @Richard_T_Lee I won.t forget the HST on election day. Stand up for your constituents http://bit.ly/9KrwQ4”
While these tactics may appear to be progressive and grassroots, some elements of the campaign ring hollow. The Twitter outreach, for instance, seems to be largely fueled by newly established Twitter accounts set up simply for the purposes of issuing the tweet-spam targeted at Liberal MLAs. There are far fewer anti-HST tweets coming from legitimate Twitter account holders.
Meanwhile, Vander Zalm’s group Fight HST is serving up a more traditional tactic. They are going door to door across the province starting April 6, asking citizens to sign an actual printed petition. In an apparent jab at the NDP’s campaign, Vander Zalm’s website states: “We ARE NOT collecting signatures on any online petition. If you signed a petition online, your signature will not be valid and your opinion will be ignored by our Government. There is only one valid, legal, authorized petition… you will need to sign ‘an Initiative to End the Harmonized Sales Tax’ petition when we knock on your door.”
On the other end of the spectrum, various industry associations and economic pundits are coming out in favour of the HST, arguing it will save B.C. businesses billions of dollars and result in more investment, jobs, higher wages and lower prices for consumers. In recent days, the BC Liberals have issued a variety of talking points to counter the anti-HST campaign, and posted videos on YouTube ahead of the vote on the HST legislation.
As spring marches on, this fight should continue to be interesting. I’m particularly looking forward to the next episode of ‘Carole and the Zalm’… coming soon to a community centre or computer screen near you.
