Dear Editor,

Am I the only one who sees what is going on here with Mr. Harper unceremoniously closing down a vital marine centre on the coast?

I have no doubt that Mr. Gordon Campbell and Mr. Harper struck up a lucrative deal that included Mr. Campbell implementing the HST (despite the fact that his campaign promises included no HST) in return for a nice, cushy posting, because he knew he would face the wrath of the B.C. voters once he did his about-face on the issue.

The conversation may have gone something like this:

. Mr. Campbell - I will implement the HST but this will probably cost me my job as premier, so I will need something in return.

. Mr. Harper - Well, how about I appoint you the new U.K. high commissioner and you get to live in England?

. Mr. Campbell - Works for me. I'll be in touch.

As we know, B.C. voters decided that the HST had to go, as did Mr. Campbell, and we voted to get rid of it and him.

Seems strange that a tax that took only a couple of weeks to implement is taking two years to get rid of, but nevertheless, it will be gone soon, and Mr. Campbell has his cushy job.

Now Mr. Harper is a little annoyed with us B.C.ers, so he decides to unleash his vindictiveness on us for voting out his HST by closing the Kitsilano Coast Guard station, putting lives on the line, and closing the Vancouver, Comox, and Tofino marine communications centres, putting more lives at risk.

I am quite sure he is not done yet - stayed tuned!

I would have thought we would have earned some brownie points by signing a new 20-year agreement to keep the RCMP here in B.C., which as we see and hear in the news just about every day is turning out to be a huge mistake.

Another example of coersion by the Feds - B.C.ers should have had a vote on this, too, instead of having this inept police force rammed down our throats for another 20 years.

No doubt this letter will illicit some very unkind remarks, but the facts cannot be disputed.

I guess the only way we can show Mr. Harper that we can't be pushed around is to do our very best to get rid of him the next time we go to the polls, but that might be a tall order, as the Easterners usually decide who we get stuck with, and Mr. Harper doesn't seem to ever punish them in any way, so why wouldn't they vote for him?

A. Crawford, Langley