Answerable Questions

You know Carole, the trouble with your questions is that you've got to remember the issue is not "listening." You were annoying Carole when you "looked at the facts." Of course everyone is against the HST. It means more paperwork. It means changing the system. People don't like change. I didn't like your second question either Carole: "When will the BC Liberals do the right things and scrap the HST?" I mean like, how silly are you Carole? When will the Liberals do the right thing? They already think they are doing the right thing. If you'd wanted your questions to be at all logical, you would have had to have said: "When will the Liberals do [what I consider to be the right thing] and scrap the HST?"

As for what Mr. Hansen said in return, I had to check out his sources. I found Mr. Hansen's reference of support from the retail council of Canada, they praise the exact same thing that I mentioned. Unlike the unqualified support Mr. Hansen talks about, the support offered by the retail council of Canada appears to be singular and a product of blind faith in economists who say the HST will be a good thing. I found a PDF, associated with the BC Chamber, praising the HST. Of course the chartered institute of accountants and the certified general accountants support the HST, the implementation of the HST will make it more important than ever to file tax returns and it also allows our accountant friends to profit from hosting a series of events in advance of the HST's implementation. Ah capitalism and profit: what the HST is all about. Concerning Mr. Hansen's mention of ShelfSpace and their representation of tens of thousands of businesses who support the HST, I checked ShelfSpace's website, and they themselves say they only represent thousands of businesses, that is thousands across Canada, not thousands across BC like Mr. Hansen suggested. Concerning ShelfSpace's support of the HST, I found an ad warning businesses about the new hst charges to their memberships, and a letter saying yes to the HST but only at a rate lower than 12%. Finally, yes, small businesses are "benefiting" from the Liberal government, what with the always changing levels for income tax exemptions, but this "benefit" is definitely not specific to the HST.

This argument is frustrating. Why can't someone just put up their hand, patiently wait to be called upon, and then ask "How about retailers just fold the cost of the tax into the price of the object, or the service?" At least then we know how much things cost, and as for the niggling concerns of the rate of taxation, give people a month and I'm sure people will forget all about what percent we're paying.

For her final question Carole played the ultimate fool by relating a comic bookstore owner whose doors will close with the HST when Mr. Hansen was quick to point out that books are already exempt from PST and so the tax rate slapped upon them will go unchanged. AHAHAHAHA. Perhaps, what the owners of Legends Comic Books were trying to allude to, was that the HST will eat up people's monies for comic books. Or maybe, the fact that comic books are going extinct thanks to technology and such things as web comics.

Bruce then stepped in and could have asked an interesting question but he lost focus. He meant to ask one about HST and how it will affect the commissions small businesses used to be able to collect from the BC government in exchange for collecting the PST. Although Mr. Hansen recognizes the compliance costs that small businesses used to pay and will supposedly no longer pay after July 1st, he failed to mention whether small businesses will still be eligible for PST commissions. He did seem to suggest though that such commissions will no longer be necessary as the introduction of the HST will seemingly eradicate the high compliance costs that small businesses used to have to deal with. Hmmm...... unnecessarily complicated.

Dougie D then stepped up to be the useless smuck of the day. Of course the Liberals aren't going to just stop the HST. What planet did you grow up on? Optimismville? Same for Norm M. Mr. H was quick to pick up on Norm's rhetoric and easily used it to his advantage. I still don't understand where the new jobs will come from, but like I mentioned a few days ago, we low income folks will be fine under the HST so long as we remember to sigh up for our HST/GST credits. Good thing my dad does my taxes!

Cary Coons then stood up and tried to ask a focused question on the impact of the HST on ferry prices but ended up generalizing to an increased burden on coastal communities which just allowed Mr. H to again expound upon how the HST will result in the creation of new jobs. I found yet another generic looking PDF supposedly associated with the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association that Mr. H talked about. Gary then pulled a Carole and directly asked about HST and ferry fares, just to find that ferry fares don't have GST so they will be exempted from the HST. Hmmm.... apparently BC Ferries has to pay GST, but as a transportation service are not allowed to charge GST. Or maybe they can just charge GST on cabins and reservations? Is this some sort of hotel thing? I thought hotels would cost less under the HST? Reservations too should cost less b.c the service should be cheaper to provide right?

Urgh, Jenny Kwan then asked her first question in a long time. Thankfully she doesn't get to stand up as often as she used to. She gets angry very quickly and can be difficult to listen to. True to form her question was useless and silly. She asked which Liberal would have courage to go against the HST? See Jenny, I don't think opposition to the HST is a courage thing for the Liberals. It seems to be more of a need for brains and an understanding of social class, economic efficiency, and utilitarianism. Liberals definitely don't have any of these. Not sure the NDP do either, but hey, at least they have the worthy position against the tax. Jenny K's question was rewarded with no one raising to acknowledge her. Ooooooo snap. Legislative fail for you Jenny K. You are not allowed to talk again in QP for 1 year! I wish............

Shane Simpson then got up to talk about an interesting issue, how Elections BC have rebuked the Liberals for wanting to send distribute a pro-hst mailout so that we poor citizens could have the facts. AHAHAHAHA. I don't think the Liberals even have the facts to mail out but whatever. Shane wanted to know if the Liberals will respect Election BC's ruling, and if they will, how much taxpayers money has been wasted in creating such spin. Well, first off, I just read in the TYEE today, that the Libs are planning on sending their pro HST mailout in July, after the initiative campaign is over. And I also read in the TC, an editorial on how ineffective our HST initiative will be. Perhaps we should look forward to reading the truth about the HST while we're all enjoying the sunshine later this summer and some government representatives are busy tallying the millions of signatures that are sure to be gathered in the initiative drive.

QP then ended with a spirited and highly irrelavent back and forth between Mike F. and Mike DJ. I had to check back to the video from QP to even get an idea of the tone of their conversation. Mike F gave quite the emotional tirade just to sit down with a very smug look on his face after not even asking a question, and Mike DJ, well, he is just a very sexy beast. MDJ was going on about an email he supposedly had from Vander Zalm talking about safe sex and how "The province needs to degrade itself more and sink further into a mindless immoral state with its sad and dire consequences."

Alright kids, whats the first lesson and smear tactics 101. Take a full length document, chose one isolated sentence and read it aloud.

On the positive side, watching QP allowed me to bask in the glory of Ida Chong's supreme 1980s outfit.

Questions they should have asked:
1) Who are the vast majority of businesses who will benefit? What are the minority who will not? How will this benefit/lack of benefit occur? Can you provide us with detailed information on this?
2) Why are you able to spin the removal of the PST? Under the HST will the Province not still collect 7% tax?
3) Comparing the current costs and commissions system faced by small businesses, under the HST will the current ratio of costs to commissions be affected? Will this be in a positive or negative direction? Can you please explain why?
4) How will the manufacturing and exporting of our natural resources be more competitive under the HST? (Perhaps b/c foreign companies can take advantage of purchasing lower cost machinery for the purposes of manufacturing our natural resources elsewhere? YAY)


Opposition members take note, at the end of a daily blog, I should have more than 4 questions for you. My only having four questions seems to indicate that you truly wasted QP yesterday.

Here is website against the HST if anyone is interested.