I came home today to find out that Blair Lekstrom had not only resigned from cabinet but also from the BC Liberals caucus. Plenty of things shoot through my head after learning of this: was it because of the Clean Energy Act? Was it the Site C dam project? Was it the BC Hydro advertisement campaign? But I was wrong; he resigned because of the HST.
Way back there on April 29th, Bill 9, the law that introduced the Hated Sales Tax passed 46-36 with the BC NDP caucus and Vicki Huntington opposed. You will note that Mr. Lekstrom the then Minister of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources voted for the introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax. Today though he has announced he will leave the governing party's caucus to sit as an independent with the member for Delta South.
I've met Blair Lekstrom, he is a good man. He cares for his constituents in Peace River South, he wants them to enjoy British Columbia for all that it has to offer them, and his stand against the HST, is best for the people of Peace River South. His stand against the HST takes courage. He says that the government should engage in "a series of discussions" regarding the provinces tax policy.
The member from Peace River South's actions is a big win for the BC NDP, the FightHST campaign, and possibly the BC Conservatives. Considering that Mr. Lekstrom will most likely vote with the NDP and Vicki Huntington on a bill in the future concerning the Harmonized Sales Tax, which gives us now 37 votes to the Liberals 48, a small increase, but an increase nevertheless. The Premier, who expects and demands loyalty among his caucus, must realize that this is a big political blow on top of his already imploding party and personal popularity.
Mr. Lekstrom knows that by doing this he can avoid recall in November, and while not a minister anymore, considering that his beliefs are to the right of centre, I wouldn't be surprised if he brought back the Conservatives to the Legislature in 2013. Get ready for the seating plan to change.
Politics; you never know what's going to happen.
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