Editor:
Why are Bill Vander Zalm and Chris Delaney afraid of local voices? The B.C. government has announced it will hold HST public dialogues featuring speakers from the No and the Yes sides in 10 different communities across the province. It is clear that the intent was to have local participation from both sides so that attendees would have access to information that is relevant to them and their communities. The STA wants local participants to provide information and raise awareness of the job-creating and job-protecting benefits of the HST. While we applaud the government for holding these dialogues, we believe they should have gone a step further and required both sides of the debate to actually provide local speakers from these communities. Bill Vander Zalm and Chris Delaney vigorously opposed this request.
Vander Zalm and Delaney should participate in these dialogues to defend their position. They should simply participate in their own region and let others participate in theirs. Why should taxpayers foot the bill for their road show? The public deserves to hear from real, local voices from both sides to truly understand how the HST impacts their community and the people who live and work there. People are tired of hearing the same old rhetoric and spin on the HST. Let’s open up this discussion to other voices. What are they afraid of?
Woody Hayes
Spokesperson, Smart Tax Alliance, Duncan, B.C.
