With repayment of British Columbia’s $ 1.6-billion HST compensation looming, opinion among the province’s federal parliamentarians is divided on how to proceed.
Vancouver-Kingsway New Democratic MP Don Davies argues that B.C. should have to repay only a small portion — if any — of the total.
“I believe that the (HST) was brought in with duplicity,” and without a democratic mandate, said Davies.
“The $ 1.6 billion that the federal government gave the province was compensation for the economic impact that, obviously, the federal and provincial governments acknowledged would happen,” he added.
Davies contends that because the HST will have been in effect for nearly four years by the time of its repeal, B.C. shouldn’t be saddled with the full $ 1.6-billon wallop.
Premier Christy Clark and Prime Minister Stephen Harper met at an event in Abbotsford Sunday and briefly discussed the HST, but the two sides have yet to establish a reimbursement plan.
Clark said discussions will take place in private.
“I’m not going to negotiate in the media about how we’re going to get through this,” she said.
with files from
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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