AD WOES -- The Liberals just can't catch a break on the Harmonized Sales Tax.
Not only did Elections B.C. shoot down their proposed mail-out campaign, but now the Fight HST folks have found a way to turn the government's own tools against it.
Two Fight HST sign-up sessions for the front lawn of the B.C. legislature this weekend were advertised in, of all places, the Legislative Assembly of B.C. website. Both were listed under the calendar of events for use of the public grounds.
If you're a Liberal, that's got to sting. Not only can't you advertise against the HST fighters -- because you forgot to register as an official opponent -- but your own government websites are being used to promote your enemies.
(FYI -- the second Fight HST sign-up event continues today from 12-4 p.m. on the legislature's front lawn.)
PICK YOUR PREMIER -- Opposition New Democrats were grilling the Liberals this week about the cost of B.C. Hydro commercials running through the hockey playoffs.
One of them includes a vignette of former premier W.A.C. Bennett, which raised NDP suspicions about some kind of subliminal attempt to equate Premier Gordon Campbell with W.A.C. Bennett.
That generated raised eyebrows, given that they have teamed up with another former Social Credit Premier -- Bill Vander Zalm -- for the duration of the HST fight.
"We'll align with the former premier we want, and you align with the former premier you want," Attorney General Mike de Jong cracked.
TOSS THE TAX BILL -- B.C.'s Court of Appeal has dashed the government's hopes of recovering $4.5 million in unpaid PST from Terasen Gas.
In a recent ruling, the court said Terasen doesn't have to pay the bill because it did not contravene provincial tax law when it bought a bunch of equipment for a pipeline, sold it to a trust it had created and then leased the equipment back to itself.
That crafty legal manoeuver exempted the natural gas company from seven per cent provincial tax on a $64-million pipeline project in southwestern B.C. Previous ministers of Small Business and Revenue tried to collect from Terasen and the matter landed in B.C. Supreme Court in 2009.
The province also lost that ruling, but the judge noted that B.C. residents who pay their taxes in full were unlikely to be impressed by Terasen's plan to avoid its own tax bill. The province is considering an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
HOUSE ALWAYS WINS -- Not only are self-excluded problem gamblers not allowed in B.C. casinos, they're not allowed to win either.
A legislative amendment currently before the house will allow casinos to strip any self-excluded people of their winnings, if they do manage to sneak in and hit the jackpot.
"A person is not entitled to any prize or winnings as a result of the person's participation in gaming at a gaming facility ... (if they are registered as self-excluding)."
THAT'S SO 2000 -- Culture Minister Kevin Krueger says his government won't support a recent NDP private member's bill to help preserve First Nations heritage sites because ... well, the NDP should have done that when it was in power.
"The NDP's tabling a private member's bill is meaningless compared to what they could have done in 10 years as government," Krueger said. Therefore, he reasoned, the Liberals can let the bill die. It has been introduced by Maurine Karagianis four times in as many years.
Krueger admitted existing provisions in the Heritage Conservation Act are "not entirely adequate" to protect aboriginal sacred sites and artifacts from being destroyed by development. First Nations say the existing rules are toothless.
But the minister couldn't say when an internal committee of government officials and aboriginal representatives, launched in November 2009, would get around to recommending changes.
They had better hurry up, though. The Liberals will hit their own 10-year mark in power next year. After that, they might need a different excuse.
