LANGLEY (NEWS1130) - A local B.C. Liberal has now recalled his statement and apologized to the Colin Hansen after he called on the Finance Minister to step down over the government's handling of the HST.
Jordan Bateman, the outgoing Liberal Riding Association president in Fort Langley and Aldergrove and the Langley Township councilor, posted the demand on his
blog. Bateman originally said the government has handled the tax issue abysmally and Hansen must go. He also said the tax issue could hurt Premier Gordon Campbell at the Liberal convention this fall.
Bateman's controversial blog post has now been pulled, and an apology statement has been put up instead. Bateman says he was on the phone with the Minister and the two of them cleared up the situation. Bateman writes, "we spoke about the documents and I feel you should all know that Minister Hansen gave me his direct assurance that the HST was not being planned prior to the election."
The government has come under more fire around the HST after internal documents showed bureaucrats were looking into adopting the HST months before the May 2009 election.
Colin Hansen insists he didn't seriously think about accepting the tax until after the election.