John Cummins, Chuck Strahl, and Stockwell Day won't have to defend the HST in the next election
Three veteran Conservative MPs from B.C.—John Cummins, Chuck Strahl, and Stockwell Day—have all decided not to seek reelection.
Transport Minister Strahl (Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon) and Cummins (Delta-Richmond East) were first elected as Reform Party of Canada candidates in 1993.
Day, president of the treasury board, won the Okanagan-Coquihalla seat in a by-election in 2000.
The federal New Democrats have already signalled that they're going to attack the Conservatives and federal Liberals for voting for the harmonized sales tax in the House of Commons.
The HST combines the five-percent GST with a seven-percent provincial sales tax, which has been extended over many new areas, including restaurant meals, professional services, tickets, and club memberships.
NDP Leader Jack Layton is already appearing in television ads saying his MPs were the only ones who stood up for B.C. voters by voting against the HST in Parliament.
By stepping down from the federal arena, Cummins, Strahl, and Day won't have to defend their party's record on this issue in an election campaign.
The loss of three of the party's most articulate B.C. MPs will weaken the Conservatives in this province.
If there's a spring vote, get ready to hear a lot more from Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore. That's because he will likely become the point man defending the federal government's HST vote against repeated barbs from NDP politicians.
Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight.
Comments
9 Comments
tim.
Mar 12, 2011 at 10:42am
i'm sick of the political games the conservatives are playing. next election, i'll be voting ndp. hst was definitely a factor.
Dude
Mar 12, 2011 at 12:05pm
The NDP is so hypocritical re the HST. NDP is the party that will tax you the most. That is an absolute, scientific fact. Now they scream about a tax. Ridiculous.
Also, the NDP say they want us all to reduce consumption to help the environment. The HST is a taxes consumption, discouraging it. The rich will pay a lot more tax with the HST, just what the NDP wants.
Unfortunately, the gullible public cant see through the NDP's clever tactics.
glen p robbins
Mar 12, 2011 at 1:05pm
Will they step down to create by-elections and thus stave off a federal elections at a time when the Conservatives are dying an inch a day?
the real ODB
Mar 12, 2011 at 1:26pm
The "party's most articulate B.C. MPs"? No wonder this confederacy of dunces is so despised. Cummins is the only one with a little going for him. Strahl is a gas bag. Day is a complete moron. Good riddance one and all.
Cornelius
Mar 12, 2011 at 1:32pm
I agree with "tim" 100%. I am so fed up with the Conservatives, I too will be voting for the NDP.
monty/that's me
Mar 12, 2011 at 1:44pm
Cummins only cared about fish, his office staff were rude and not helpful, Strahl refused to meet with native groups, and Day was an inept puppet. The tragedy is they will all collect fat pensions to go with their big egos, having accomplished very little for their constituents.
Evil Eye
Mar 12, 2011 at 1:50pm
Cummins left because he has been sent to Coventry by Harper for his unpopular stands.
Personally I think he should run as an independent as Delta tends to vote for independents.
Taxpayers R Us
Mar 12, 2011 at 2:34pm
Glad this is happening. The Republican Party of Canada needs to go, and these departures are a few nails in the coffin.
Alex Davidov
Mar 12, 2011 at 3:00pm
It seems like Stephen Harper believes his own hype.
I'm so put off with him and his politics that I mad a parody of his current TV commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQq17q6UUjA