Harper must come clean on $1.6 billion HST compensation

VANCOUVER – New Democrat MPs are congratulating the people of British Columbia for their historic victory over the Liberal-Conservative HST.

Now that the people have spoken, New Democrats are demanding the Harper Government listen and stop their plan to punish British Columbians for rejecting his attempt to raise taxes on almost everything they buy.

“This referendum was a great victory for British Columbians who believe that honesty is important in politics,” said NDP Deputy Leader Libby Davies. “They have clearly said they want to reverse the Harper government’s cynical move to force the HST on the people of our province. Conservatives better listen.”

While the Harper government, with the help of the Liberals, were happy to quickly ram the HST legislation through the House of Commons, New Democrats fought against this unfair tax shift onto consumers.

“Small businesses of all types suffered significant losses due to the HST,” said NDP BC Caucus Chair Don Davies. “It would be both spiteful and damaging for Harper to now force BC to pay back $1.6 billion, after it was already invested in things like health care and education.”