The tax that ended the political career of former B.C. Liberal premier Gordon Campbell was front and centre during the first question period of the new session of the legislative assembly.

In the afternoon sitting of October 4, B.C. NDP leader Adrian Dix hammered Premier Christy Clark about her government’s timetable in eliminating the harmonized sales tax.

Following the announcement of referendum results against the HST last August, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon stated that the government will return to the provincial sales tax system on March 31, 2013.

For Dix, that isn’t good enough.

“After a year when B.C. lost 21,000 jobs, the continued delay in getting rid of the HST is costing jobs in construction and making life less affordable for families,” Dix said on the floor. “When is the Premier going to get on with it and speed up the elimination of the HST?”

Clark responded by noting that based on an independent panel’s finding, it would take 18 to 24 months to transition out of the HST.

“That was information that was available long before we went to the referendum,” Clark said. “It was part of the public discussion on it.”

Dix pressed on: “This is a Liberal page that’s taken four years to turn. The damage that the Liberal Party has done to the economy with the HST, going in and coming out, is considerable. Eleven months to get in, but 19 months to get out? That’s the best the government can do?”

Clark shot back: “Well, the member opposite and his friends worked very, very hard to try and defeat the tax, and now he says he wished he hadn’t done that.”