Gordon Campbell is denying that his government was briefed on the harmonized sales tax before last year's election, and says that he will not step down as premier of B.C.
In his first media appearance since internal documents revealed that government bureaucrats were mulling the HST long before May 2009, Campbell said that while staff may have researched harmonization, the BC Liberal cabinet was not in the loop.
"I can unequivocally say it was not on our radar," he told reporters in Vancouver. "The truth is the HST was not on our agenda as we went into 2009 until after the election."
Campbell also said that he will not be resigning from his position, despite calls from people like former Liberal cabinet minister Blair Lekstrom and long-time Liberal supporter Scott Nelson.
"I'm not intending to step down. As I come back here, I see a province with huge opportunities ahead of us," he said.
"The only person that's called for me to step down more than Scott Nelson is my wife Nancy."
Campbell added that he stands by his decision to bring in the HST, calling it the, "best possible public policy," but said that he will support whatever decision a legislative committee makes on handling the anti-HST petition.
"I think people have been very clear about HST, that they wanted to have a say, that they felt like they weren't included in those discussions," he said.
The Liberal majority in the committee voted Wednesday to adjourn debate on whether to send the petition to the legislature for a free vote or turn the issue over to a public referendum.
The committee will meet again on Sept. 13.
