Anatomy of a Liar

Remember this Liberal "Blast from the Past"? Sept. 23, 1989: The GST is "an attack on the weaker regions of the country, regressive, against the lower income groups, invisible, sneaky and of course ... an administrative nightmare." — Liberal Leader John Turner Nov. 28, 1989: "Mr. Speaker, the goods and services tax is a stupid, inept and incompetent tax." — Liberal MP Paul Martin April 4, 1990: "I would abolish the GST.'' — Liberal MP Paul Martin Sept. 27, 1990: "I want this tax dead.'' — Liberal Leader Jean Chretien Oct. 29, 1990: "I am opposed to the GST. I have always been opposed to it, and I will always be opposed to it. It is a tax that is both regressive and discriminatory." — Liberal Leader Jean Chretien Nov. 19, 1990: "We will continue to oppose the GST and the tax won't be long in place when the Liberals win the next election." — Opposition Leader Herb Gray Feb. 11, 1993: "I say we will replace the tax. This is a commitment. You will judge me by that. If the GST is not gone, I will have a tough time the election after that." — Liberal Leader Jean Chretien 1993 — Liberal Party Red Book: "A Liberal government will replace the GST with a system that generates equivalent revenues, is fairer to consumers and to small business, minimizes disruption to small business, and promotes federal-provincial fiscal co-operation and harmonization." May 2, 1994: "We hate it and we will kill it." — Prime Minister Jean Chretien Aug. 11, 1995 — The Canadian Press: "On Wednesday, [Prime Minister Jean] Chretien said the replacement for the GST will be announced in the federal budget, though he didn't provide details." Nov. 1, 2007 — The Canadian Press: "[Liberal Leader] Stephane Dion's suggestion that he might one day increase the goods-and-services tax had some of his Liberal troops shaking their heads Wednesday." Dec. 18, 2008: "So I'm not going to take a GST hike off the table later. I just think it'd be a bad idea now in a recession." — Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff Jan. 29, 2010 — Liberal MP calls for debate on increasing GST A leopard cannot change his spots, anymore than a Liberal can keep his word. You cannot trust a Liberal!