Last Friday, the results of the HST referendum in BC were announced, with the conclusion that almost 55% of those who cast a vote were in favour of scrapping the HST and reverting to the old system of GST and PST. This may have raised a few eyebrows in the rest of the country in terms of why such a result. Regardless of the merits of the actual policy, I want to focus on other aspects of this process which may have application to us as a political party. For the benefit of our national audience, I may remind you that this process came about as a result of the provincial Liberal government’s introduction of the harmonization of the GST and PST shortly after the election in 2009. What got many people upset is that during the election, the governing party denied that it was contemplating doing this; whereas subsequently it was discovered that they had been in negotiations with the federal government all along and simply lied about it. This precipitated a petition process which eventually resulted in the calling of the referendum on the question. The pro- and anti-HST forces mobilized themselves and were even given funds from the public purse to advocate their positions. The government, as well as many business groups, got involved to persuade the population of the merits of their side of the issue. There are some lessons to be learned for us as a political party; they involve a number of things. First of all, organization: a determined number of people got together and organized at the grassroots level, getting people to sign petitions to gather enough support to be able to force the calling of a referendum. The bar was set fairly high in terms of numbers required, yet the results were achieved through sheer hard work and persistence. Secondly, leadership: in order for a grassroots movement such as this to succeed, a degree of leadership is necessary. The anti-HST forces found such a leader in the person of a former premier of the province, Bill Vanderzalm. He was able to articulate the issues involved and get the attention of the media because of who he was. The bottom line is that leadership matters! It’s incumbent upon us to foster leadership at all levels to enable the party’s views to be expressed through the personality of leaders. In our culture, that matters. One can’t help but reflect on that point especially after all of the publicity attendant on the passing of Jack Layton. His qualities were no doubt exaggerated by the public and media and his cause is not one we would ever espouse. However, we have someone infinitely more worthy to look up to, whose words and message ought to inspire us, namely our Lord and Saviour. Let’s always look to him for guidance. Thirdly, determination: a group of citizens united around a cause and determined to succeed, can be a powerful voice in a democratic society. That can be a force for good or for ill, depending on one’s point of view. We have seen the latter in abundance in much of the Arab world this summer. Using the tools available to us, such as elections, and participation in a political party, with determination enables us to make a difference. Finally, a galvanizing issue: in the case of BC it was resistance to an unwanted tax and anger about having no say in the matter that helped to push people to support the anti-HST campaign. In the February 1/11 issue of the Communique, I issued a clarion call as follows: “We need a grassroots movement of Christians from across this country to join a distinctly Christian party which is prepared to stand up for truth and justice and life.” I’m repeating that call now; every day as we witness the increasingly deadly culture of our world taking shape is a day that we should be busy with our political task. We have the galvanizing issues such as noted above. We now need to join the power of organization and leadership together with a motivated membership at all levels. We also need the determination to work hard in every way possible. Let’s remember those two powerful words often quoted in the past: ora et labora. Pray and work. Doing both with equal fervour will enable us to move forward under the blessing of our God.