I have difficulty believing that the once great Globe & Mail let writers Ian Bailey and Justine Hunter get away with this false statement: "Finance Ministry documents obtained by The Globe and Mail this week suggest the ministry believes that completely axing the HST to bring back the former provincial sales tax would cut $5-billion in annual revenues for B.C. and force program reductions as well as “dramatic” increases in income tax and other levies."
Even someone with a lot to gain by scaring people with the $5 billion number, NDP finance critic Bruce Ralston, has it right: "They sketch out a bit of a doomsday scenario. I don't think that anyone ever thought that if the referendum says that the HST goes, that the PST wouldn't be reinstated. So … a $5 billion hole in the budget, I just don't think is realistic."