The following letter was sent to Finance Minister Colin Hansen and copied to Coast Reporter.
I do not understand how you can justify spending more than $1 million trying to persuade citizens that the latest tax grab is good for us. It is especially galling given the cuts your government has made to social programs, education and other essential services.
Some of the "temporary" shelters opened in Vancouver in order to hide homelessness during the Olympics are being closed, yet homelessness is not a "temporary" problem. When paramedics exposed their appalling wages and working conditions, your government's solution was first to impose a legislated contract and then to bust the union by fiat.
Over and over your government has attacked our most vulnerable citizens, our workers and our small businesses while glad-handing corporations and the wealthy elite. The harmonized sales tax, which your party swore during the 2009 election was not on the agenda, is another example of shifting the tax burden from those who can most afford it to those who can least.
And now you are using our tax dollars on pro-HST propaganda. Will you likewise fund organizations opposed to the HST to get their message out? If not, then I say let the Liberal Party and its friends pay for its political messages, and let government funds - money out of our pockets - be directed at improving the health and well-being of the people of this province. You can start by restoring funding to dental care for children living in low-income families.
In short, put your money where your mouth is, but don't dare put my money where your mouth is. Cancel the propaganda campaign and start acting like a government.
Lisa S. Price
Hopkins Landing
