Dear editor,
Kathryn Askew’s letter to the editor “Recall can clarify values we seek” (Record, Dec. 22) is quite hilarious and should have been printed in a comic section of the paper.
She cites “to remove from power an official who is not being responsive to the wishes of the electorate” in her article, but should have said “to remove from power an official who is not being responsive to the wishes of the NDP of B.C.”
It seems that Ms. Askew’s definition of a majority of voters in the Valley is somewhat skewed, as one must assume that she is referring to the voters that signed the anti-HST petition whose numbers came nowhere near the 51-per-cent mark of registered voters in the Valley.
That being the case, one might assume that those not signing the petition, while not necessarily liking the way in which the HST was introduced, were at least willing to let time determine whether or not it is a good tax for the province. With fewer than 51 per cent of voters signing the petition, it might even be considered that Mr. McRae was in fact responsive to the wishes of the majority of his constituents.
In the past, attempts have been made to recall politicians who had either been associated with or had direct dealings with illegal practices. There is no indication that Mr. McRae is accused of or is being investigated for involvement in any illegal activity.
What he did do was vote for the HST along with the rest of his party and that, according to Ms. Askew, is much worse than doing anything illegal. She would have you believe that an MLA should vote both ways — yes for those that elected him/her and no for those who opposed his/her election. While that would certainly make for interesting politics, not much would ever be accomplished in government.
Ms. Askew and the NDP she supports see an opportunity to remove a duly elected MLA from government for merely doing his job. Should a recall campaign succeed, the HST will not disappear; that will only happen when we all get the opportunity to express ourselves by voting in the HST referendum scheduled for later this year.
What we will face, though, is an extensive cost to the taxpayers of B.C. for running the recall campaign and a by-election. Of course, time is of the essence for the NDP and the sooner they get their licks in the better, because the longer the HST is in effect, the greater the chance that economists were right in stating that the HST is good for the province.
Ms. Askew and her fair-weather canvassers would like us to believe that the NDP are not the driving force behind the recall petition; however, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, chances are it is a duck.
Despite Ms. Askew’s protests to the contrary, this campaign is nothing but an NDP grasp for power. Sign the petition if you must and vote in the HST referendum as you will, but do so for the right reasons.
Recalling an MLA who is simply doing a good job of representing his constituents should not be one of them.
Brian MacGregor,
Comox
