News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By  LeRae Haynes 

Local 'Stop the HST' organizer Eric Freeston said that they are continually being asked if they are moving ahead with a recall, and added that the answer is 'yes'. He also said that moving toward a recall isn't only because of the HST.

"The HST is just the match that lit powder keg," he said. "Clearly, the promise that Donna Barnett made to be the 'people's MLA' was simply in hopes of getting elected---she had no intention of adhering to that promise because as soon as it was convenient, that promise was broken. 

"Now that the Cariboo Chilcotin has spoken out loudly on issues such as the HST, she is still siding with her government who has clearly lied to us.  We feel that the politicians today need to be held accountable for what they say and what they do.  It doesn't matter if they're Liberal, NDP, Greens or anybody else - the politicians need to be held accountable.  It just so happens that it is the Liberals who have thumbed their noses at the people of BC and have implemented the biggest tax shift in history," he said. 

"That is why we're going to go to recall.  Mrs. Barnett has not been accountable for what she has stated. In fact, she keeps defending this government that continually lies to us - even now.  The promises that we've been made in regards to the HST such as job growth, has not happened.  Increase in wages has not happened," he continued. "In fact, our economy is stalling even more so and they were warned about that even prior to the HST." 

Eric said that the fact that Donna Barnett is prepared to back a government that is doing this to the public is absolutely appalling.  "It's time to remove her.  We believe that she is not MLA to the public and we want someone else in there. Regardless of who they are, we want someone else," he explained. "We are disappointed in Mrs. Barnett's lack of democracy. 

"I can tell you that the cry for recall in this case is coming out the loudest in Donna's home town of 100 Mile House.  They are the ones that are putting forth the recall. and I think that speaks very loudly about the public and her representation of them," he continued. "All you have to do is watch what's going on in the media.  You've got the secretary of her riding association quitting and protesting all of this.  You've got some of her largest supporters standing up against the Liberal government as well as herself.  She's lost her core group of support.  It's not just them, it's also the average people who have supported here - they're starting to pull away as well.  

"I can't tell you how many times we've been told that 'I will never vote for Donna Barnett again.'  It's not so much that they're wanting to run away from the Liberal Party per say, it's that they're disappointed in Mrs. Barnett."  

That is why the recall has more to do with Donna Barnett herself, than with the HST, according to Eric. "The fact is that Donna Barnett ignored the people. When you make the promise that you are going to represent your constituency above your own wishes or that of your own party - you've just made a promise that you simply can't keep.  I was there when she made that promise and I remember that promise more than any other.  She is not an MLA for the people, she is an MLA for the Liberals.  

"If you're going to be an MLA for the people and you have the people telling you one thing and the government saying the other, well, then you better side with the people.  If that means that you have some sort of party discipline coming your way - then you eat it.  That is the problem with most of the Liberal MLAs at the moment---they're just not getting the message," he said. 

He added that there is a level of frustration among people that is completely over the top and yet the Liberals keep hammering away on the same darn message.  "You know what? It doesn't matter if the HST is good for the province or not: the fact is that you lost the argument and the people don't want it.  Now quit trying to cram it down our throats," he stated. "If we were actually a democracy, then every body's voice would count, not just the elite.  Right now it seems like it's just the elite.  The elite in this case, seems to be big businesses who are paying the bloody bills for the Liberals to do all this.  I mean, I'm not contributing to the Liberals, so they're not going to listen to me.  If this was a democracy, democracy says that the listen to my voice as well, but it is not happening." 

Eric explained that the next step is to pick a date. "We are attempting to follow in the provincial strategy in the Fight HST, and trying to see how all of that plays out with the 'Survivor Recall' campaign that is going on.  However, our decision as to when to go to recall is not necessarily based on what happens there because Mr. Vander Zalm is not in a position to dictate to the local constituencies as to when or even if they go to recall---that decision lies in our hands, solely," he said. 

According to Eric the timing for the recall depends on several things.  "We don't know what is going to happen in  the next six to seven months.  In six months we may not even have the HST, for all I know.  

"It would be a big relief for me if we don't, because I'd rather pay back the $1.6 billion than be saddled with the HST for the rest of my life and my children's lives because in the end, that will be cheaper," he said. "Finance Minster Colin Hansen made an announcement last week that said that the corporate income tax revenues that are going to come in already amount to $2.7 billion, and said that as if it was a good thing. Well, if that is such a good thing, then cancel the HST, pay pack the $1.6 billion and you're still a billion ahead."

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