Thursday, April 29, 2010

BC Liberal Finance Minister Colin Hansen goes bonkers - tries to stop Fight HST Initiative after Elections BC outlaws government HST $1 million mailer



BC Liberals go crazy after Elections BC stops them from sending out pro-HST propaganda during Fight HST Initiative period

To my amazement, BC Liberal Finance Minister Colin Hansen has gone off the deep end, filing a complaint with Elections BC about the Fight HST citizens Initiative petition campaign the same day his government invoked closure to stop MLAs debating the government's HST legislation!

The reason for Hansen blowing a head gasket? Elections BC ruled Thursday that the government cannot send out a $1 million HST propaganda mailer to every BC household while the Initiative campaign led by former BC Premier Bill Vander Zalm is underway.

So the government is trying now to attack a small, grassroots campaign with over 5,000 volunteers who have the audacity to say "No!" to the Harmonized Sales Tax with a "people's petition".

I truly think the BC Liberals have lost it - neither the government, nor the BC Liberal Party nor their big business HST supporters bothered to even register as official opponents to the Fight HST Initiative with Election BC - now they don't like having to play by the same rules!

Here is Fight HST's news release from Thursday April 29.

* * * *

Campbell Government trying to smear and intimidate volunteers

Delta – Former BC Premier Bill Vander Zalm calls an official complaint filed by BC Finance Minister Colin Hansen with Elections BC over the Fight HST citizens Initiative petition an example of a government “totally out of control”.

Hansen says he filed the complaint over what he is calling “misinformation” by the all-volunteer Fight HST group in a pamphlet titled the “HST Hit List”.

But Vander Zalm, Fight HST Leader, says it is clear from the government’s actions that they are angry at his group for thwarting the government’s plan to do a mass mail-out to try to sway voters from signing the petition.

Elections BC today ruled that the government cannot send out the pro-HST mailer until after the Initiative signup period ends July 5.

“Attacking the people’s petition, using the undemocratic motion of closure to stop debate in the Legislature on the HST – this is a government that is totally out of control,” Vander Zalm said.

The HST Hit list, first compiled by a group calling themselves angryformerliberals.ca, was posted by Fight HST on its web site and distributed to BC voters at meetings and rallies. It contains over 77 items that will be affected by HST after the new tax is implemented.

Fight HST made numerous public requests to government to publish a definitive list of items affected by the HST, but have not received a response to date. The list has a qualifying statement that says “This list is a rough guide only and may change depending on what the Liberals decide to do.”

“Without a clear list from government, we were forced to use the best information available to compile the items. We have never said it was definitive, and have been constantly updating it as new information has come to light, both adding items that were left off, and removing items that proved to be incorrect, or clarifying them,” explained Vander Zalm.

“There has been no intention to mislead anyone. Out of 77 items, only four or five have been incorrect, and even those only partially. To see the government trying to use its power and resources to beat up on a small band of volunteers, including seniors, young people, small business people and working families who are trying to assert their democratic rights borders on totalitarian demagoguery,” Vander Zalm fumed.

“This government is so mad that they are losing public support on this issue that they have turned on the very people who elected them. It is outright dictatorship and they must be stopped before this peaceful revolt against them turns ugly. They are doing everything in their power to try to intimidate people from participating in democracy, and it is frankly quite scary.”

“In all my years in politics, I have never seen anything like it,” Vander Zalm concluded.
.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed the squirming display on the late news tonight. Hopefully it will be followed by a sharp rise in blood pressure, then a lousy week of sleep, followed by a complete and utter breakdown and finally, a resignation.

Run for the hills!

Willy P said...

We need a Colon,um,Colin cleansing in BC. Excuse my confusion as both are full of $&^t and attached to a$$(*&$$.

dpl said...

Hansen really was getting quite shrill. He has gotten used to his leader Gordo getting his way all the time.If Gordo survives we can expect to see Elections BC losing some funding or authority as it seems Gordo always has to be the winner along with his weird bunch of pals. This latest tantrum should make for larger numbers in the fight HST lists

Anonymous said...

this boils down to the same strategy,the federal government is using,but the feds are in contempt of parliament,and the libs are in direct contempt of the people of B.C,truly disgusting,all this secrecy and outrageous behavior from elected officials that are supposed to be working on our behalf,who's interest do they really have at heart that's the question we must ask ourselves.

Gary E said...

Not having the benefit of TV I can only imagine what these dictators look like.
But their words in the news and in the legislature tell two different stories.
1. It's okay to cut off debate and ram a bill through passage. Who cares about the people who elected them.
2. It's not okay for anyone to speak against their illegal principles. Who cares about the people who elected them.
Now they are running scared and have nowhere to turn. This initiative has turned into the vehicle that the people needed to stop the lies.
This government still hasn't figured out that when you stick a gun to their head and rob them of their precious earnings, the people get really pissed.

Gary E said...

Oh, and as far as intimidating people, bring it on Campbell. This is one cowboy who doesn't back down. I've probably already taken anything that you might try to throw at me.

Anonymous said...

It's now over to the NDP. The HST
has passed, and the NDP should come out with what they intend to do in terms of policy. Do they keep it? Reduce the percentage, or
better, repeal it entirely such as
Saskatchewan did.

Also, I'd be wondering if our Anti-HST is going to use those collected signatures in any recall efforts. Technically not a smart thing to do, since the signatures were collected to be against the HST, not against an MLA.

and Bill, please keep the giddyness in check. We want the the Liberals out, but let's not get too silly about it.

There's no real workable alternative to the BC Liberals should that government collapse under the weight of 8 successful recalls.

Anonymous said...

HST Hacks Hiding History

Dr. Roslyn Kunin is Chair of WorkSafeBC - and oh, by the way, she just happens to support the HST. Too bad she lacked the courage of her convictions and would only identify herself as director of the British Columbia office of the Canada West Foundation.

Paul Landry, President and CEO of the BC Trucking Association, writes a supportive screed titled: Business, the Public and the HST: “Them” vs. “Us” while 'forgetting' to mention his indebtedness to the BC Liberals.

Just a quick reminder to the PABlumrs: the googles work... we will backtrack every column and letter to the editor and expose your sloppy seconds.

Anonymous said...

"This government still hasn't figured out that when you stick a gun to their head and rob them of their precious earnings, the people get really pissed."

They were when VanderZalm rammed through the Property Transfer Tax.

W.Robert Arnold said...

It is demogaggery. They are gagging the demos, or the people. They used closure in the House. That is gagging the people's representatives. Shame!!!

Audrey said...

If the government has an extra million left hanging around now that they cannot spend it on the mailer, how about sending it out to the struggling school boards that are trying to balance their budgets. The government continues to off load extra costs on them, and won't allow property owned by the school boards to be sold to help out. I cannot figure out why/how the provincial government has this control when school boards are local, not provincial.
Audrey

Anonymous said...

"It is demogaggery. They are gagging the demos, or the people. They used closure in the House. That is gagging the people's representatives. Shame!!!"

No it's not. The NDP has used closure before. Bill will tell you.

Cariboo Carl said...

Speaking of audacity, how about what I read in The Vancouver Sun today, unfortunately missing here. Colin Hansen wants Elections BC to look into whether the whole petition can be ruled invalid because of "misleading" information on FightHST and NDP websites. Excuse me Mr. Hansen??? Can we have the election ruled invalid? Oh how we wish. Maybe at recall time.

DPL said...

The woman from Elections BC was on the local news this evening. She appeared to indicate that Hansen wasn't quite honest with the options they gave him ( Friday)

Crankypants said...

Gary E. If you want to see Hansen blowing a gasket, go to Publiceyeonline. Sean Holman has a youtube video of a scrum was in either yesterday or today.

I wonder if a former cabinet minister turned talk show host should have also registered as an opponent of the "NoHST" initiative. It seems that every proponent that has an article published in the Vancouver Sun gets to perform an encore on said talkshow host's show.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps a superficial observation, perhaps body language communicating truth that is not expressed in words..... but I've just gotta say what I always think when I watch Colin Hansen. He has a very mean looking, almost lipless mouth. I can't take my eyes off of it when he's talking, and I always think about how his look would have fit in well in late 30's to mid 40's German power circles. There are certain hats and hand gestures that would have matched that mouth very well. I know it's mean to say so, but it's the truth about how I have perceived the guy from the moment I laid eyes on him. I know it's not always fair to judge a book by its cover, but I've wanted to mention this to someone for a long time, and this somehow seems the right time to do it. Watch the Public Eye online videos mentioned above to check out whether or not Hansen is challenged in the lip department. Coincidentally I used to be unable to take my eyes off Brian Mulroney's mouth as well - for it's unusually small tightness accompanying that voice. Maybe it's just me. What do you think?

Anonymous said...

"Perhaps a superficial observation, perhaps body language communicating truth that is not expressed in words..... but I've just gotta say what I always think when I watch Colin Hansen. He has a very mean looking, almost lipless mouth. I can't take my eyes off of it when he's talking, and I always think about how his look would have fit in well in late 30's to mid 40's German power circles. "

Someone has alot of excessive time on their hands. This is getting into the silly part of this petition drive.

We're supposed to be against the HST as a tax, not get into petty
aspects of a person.

There's lots that can be described
in regards to Tieleman and his mannerisms and looks, but that's
not why we're here. And lose the references to 1930's Germany.

What would the NDP during the
early 1990's be equated to? 1970's Soviet Union? S

Kim said...

The small, almost lipless mouth comes from years of bottling up emotions, fearing that every time he opens his mouth, he might let some truth escape.

North Van's Grumps said...

I thought that as the Federal government was taking on the responsibility of administering the HST AND the provincial government was saying they would no longer be responsible for administering the collection of the PST, taxpayers would be off the hook for paying employees to handle the bookkeeping, however, it turns out that as taxpayers, we will still be paying for the employees who have switched allegiance from the province to Canada..... just how this is seen by the BC Liberals as a cost saving, its hard to determine.

"What's new

Human Resources Agreement signed with British Columbia on harmonization of sales taxes

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced on March 9, 2010 the signing of a Human Resources Agreement with British Columbia. This represents a significant step in the move toward federal administration of the harmonized sales tax (HST) in this province. In accepting the task of administering the HST, the federal government has agreed that a number of provincial employees currently administering sales taxes in British Columbia will transition to the CRA.

The CRA recognizes the valuable skills and expertise that these employees will bring. Together with the expertise of existing CRA staff, they will help the CRA meet its enhanced business needs.
"
Source: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/hrmnztn/bc/menu-eng.html

A search on the internet for the AGREEMENT: "British Columbia Harmonized Sales Tax Transition Project. (BCHSTT)"

Source: http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/BC_CRA_Agreement.pdf


I sort of thought that the employees in Victoria would be laid off.

I thought that the existing employees for CRA would take on the added burden of running the HST.

I thought that my overall taxes would be reduced, thanks to the BC Liberals lying ways.

It turns out that BC Liberal government employees living within forty kilometers of their normal place of works have been hired by the Conservatives to do the same job that they've been doing all along.

My ire isn't focusing so much on just the BC Liberals MLAs now, but will be inclusive of the Conservatives MPs as well.

Sources of HST and agreement with BC Liberals via Google:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Human+Resources+Agreement+signed+with+British+Columbia+on+harmonization+of+sales+taxes&btnG=+Search+

Anonymous said...

Elections BC has ruled that the BC Government cannot do any advertising that is pro-HST, however, on a BC blog (owned by them), they are doing exactly that as of April - 6 - 2010.

http://hst.blog.gov.bc.ca/

Their bold claim is:

And for the majority of goods you use, you won’t pay a penny more tax because of the HST.

***********************************
However, the purchase of a new home, over $400,000, will, and it will be a lot more than a penny
************************************
Rebates and Exemptions:

Source: http://hst.blog.gov.bc.ca/2010/03/27/rebates-exemptions/


BC Residential Energy Credit Bulletin

Source dated April 30th, 2010
http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_library/notices/HST_Notice_005.pdf
********************************
Hansen may have been told to cease and desist but obviously he is hard of hearing when it comes to following the law.

NeoDude said...

Bill, do you think I'm scary?

Anonymous said...

"The small, almost lipless mouth comes from years of bottling up emotions, fearing that every time he opens his mouth, he might let some truth escape."

Let's keep to the HST opposition and not get too personal. Neither Kim (the above poster) or the previous one Anonymous would win
a contest to be on the front cover of Playboy or Playgirl whatever the case might be.

NeoDude said...

I'll take that as a yes. I assure you there is no reason to fear me. The police are scary and the government is dangerous. If you're going to continue to advance yourself as a defender of free speech then you should decide which side you are on. Stop supporting the government. Or not, your choice but think about this. What exactly do you do to oppose them? Certainly nothing here.

Bill Tieleman said...

Sorry NeoDude - I've been travelling and have no idea what you are referring to.

As to other comments - I run a free speech blog but I don't think personal comments about Colin Hansen are really helpful to any part of this debate.

Anonymous said...

NeoDude equals Tea Party North...


BC Rail, the same lie prior to an election, however has garnered a completely different response. The Libs said they would NOT sell BC Rail. But, this did not impact directly into the voters pocketbooks, so was basically a free pass from the voters. Sad. BC Rail used to be owned by you and me and now we have nothing to show for it.

Hopefully Elections BC will be able to ward off Campbell's tentacles of corruption to infiltrate them next.

So Anon 4:06, does this mean that anything that has been done in the past, by anyone makes it OK to do again???? Get a brain, Dude

Commenting on appearance is done all the time on women politicians. Fair play to comment on the other sex I say!

DPL said...

Hey Bill, is it still OK to say Hansen lied to us, or at least say he misled the voters. Who said " If th shoe fits wear it? If Gordo and his underling had told the truth, they would.t be government.

Anonymous said...

The recent actions of the BCLiberals are similar to the actions taken by despots. The BCLiberals have become accustomed to doing whatever they please when they wish and now that people are finally paying attention they are facing their first real democratic opposition.

I think that Colin Hansen's reaction to democratic opposition is very illustrative and that we need to pay even closer attention because this government is getting dangerously bolder when completely ignoring its constituents.

concerned citizen said...

I agree with you anonymous 12:16. We would be fools not to recognize misuse of power when it stares us in the face. True Democracy requires watching and acting. We must always realize that those who covet power have the advantage of wanting it enough to plan how to get it. The rest of us tend to be more interested in pleasures not as valued by the power lovers, like human beauty and creativity in the form of art for example, so we are loathe to have to closely observe the avaricious. They depress us. They reflect the worst of our species, when what we want to enjoy is the best of our species. We don't all feel the need to control the world and all that's in it.

Sadly, it is often to the advantage of the avaricious to control and manipulate what we hear about them, so they make every effort to do so.

I hope this period, marked by the palpable popular reaction to the HST in British Columbia, Canada, is the beginning of something beautiful. People watching the so called Liberals have been through frustrating and disheartening years. We deserve to see integrity, human truth, and beauty.

Because we are not immune to the uglinesses that have existed throughout time, we have no choice but to watch and be involved.

Anonymous said...

Well said "concerned citizen".

As responsible British Columbians we can't just take the good and stick our heads in the ground the rest of the time.

SharingIsGood said...

I agree,
"Well said, Concerned Citizen!"

SharingIsGood

Anonymous said...

"The recent actions of the BCLiberals are similar to the actions taken by despots. The BCLiberals have become accustomed to doing whatever they please when they wish and now that people are finally paying attention they are facing their first real democratic opposition."

Same thing happened with the NDP
when they were in power. Same situation different party. Bill was amongst the NDP when they were
doing what they pleased. He was in there with Clark.

In fact it was NDP MLA Zirnhelt that said "government can do whatever it wants". Nothing hew here. Time to move on.

get those petitions signed and then let's move on to tell the NDP to get rid of the HST as a condition of them becoming goverment.

This argument about Hansen and the BC Liberals is repeating itself faster than a cheap DVD.

Time to get things done rather than
worry about a person or the party.

Get those petitions FINISHED!!!
as in NOW!!!

NeoDude said...

To what do I refer? We live in a dictatorship. Most of your work here is focused on HST, BC Rail and the late BC-STV. Your BC Rail case reports are speculative and uninteresting. The HST battle is a mirage that you help maintain by building up people's hope that someday all will be better. And of course the glimmer of hope for real change called proportional representation that you helped crush.

And you do nothing.

You spin yarns to get people worked up for change. But all you want is to change personnel. After Gordon Campbell is gone we will still live in a dictatorship. Our system of government, unwanted by the average person, is championed by you. You actually want to keep things the way they are. Your part in the HST fight? You know you can be seen to be campaigning for change without any risk of it actually happening because you know it hasn't got a chance in hell of succeeding.

Your words of protest mean nothing.

By not taking action to oppose the government you are actually supporting it. Not surprising since you are part of that system. It's not about Liberal vs NDP, it's about wealth and power vs those without.

I left some remarks a few days ago that you chose not to post. I disapproved of Campbell and suggested a different course of action than simply talking and complaining that we want change. I asked you if you thought I was scary because of what Vander Zalm said at the end of the paragraph where I quoted him and because you seemed afraid to print what I said.

I had to wonder whether your stance on free speech changed because of what was written. Was it fear that others might read and agree, furthering the erosion of the power of government, or fear of reprisal from a branch of the government known as the legal system? Either way, you chose to demonstrate your unwillingness to stand up to them, letting your greed for more personal power get in the way of acting conscionably.

By the way, I thought the travelling excuse was lame. I don't go outside your blog without quoting the source so I would expect you to be able to know your own words and actions.

Any more questions?

Bill Tieleman said...

Yes NeoDude - I have this question - what unpublished comment are you referring to?

This one?

NeoDude said...

Vander Zalm says
"It is outright dictatorship and they must be stopped before this peaceful revolt against them turns ugly. They are doing everything in their power to try to intimidate people from participating in democracy"

Fortunately they can't be stopped by this peaceful "action" (let's not call it revolt because it isn't) but it could possibly wake people up to the realization that if we want to get rid of Campbell we might have to actually get rid of Campbell. I like ugly, works better than democracy. Hopefully the people won't be intimidated, they'll wise up and walk away from democracy on their own.
12:30 AM PDT

It was published on this post:

http://billtieleman.blogspot.com/2010/04/fight-hst-holds-day-long-citizens.html

NeoDude said...

Oops, my bad. Apologies for claiming censorship. I obviously confused two different HST posts and I will endeavor to be more accurate in tracking future dialogues.

Anonymous said...

Hansen's pamphlet, would be useless. That is only half the story. We understand the concept of the HST. However, Hansen should look at his, terrible budget and the HST together, which he is very careful, not to do so. BC citizens know, how much money they have. They can very easily figure out, they will not have enough money to live on. The burden of the, long arm of the HST, and the budget taxes, are beyond their ability to pay. BC citizens, will never forgive, nor forget, Campbell, Hansen, and the BC government, for their treachery.

Anonymous said...

Hansen's HST pamphlet, would be only part of the story. BC citizens are, looking at, the long arm of the HST and, the taxes in the budget. Hansen, has taken very good care, not to do so. BC people have to count both taxes. They see, they won't have enough money to live on. The recession is over, so why these, unreasonable taxes? Many jobs are only part time. The struggle is still on, for citizens, to get back on their feet. 3 restaurants, in our small city, have gone out of business already. People have no money, to support, any business. Those taxes are going to double the number of the homeless. BC has the highest number of, the homeless in Canada.