That is politics, Colpy. In politics one does what works. GST, NAFTA were very unpopular during the election campaign, so it is natural that Chrétien would promise to get rid of them (or renegotiate NAFTA).
However, anybody with any sense would have figured out that it was a pie crust promise, easily broken. It is not that easy to go back upon an agreed upon treaty like NAFTA anyway.
As to GST, I am ambivalent about it. As Sir Francis mentioned, it replaced an existing tax. The big mistake Mulroney made was that he made it visible. People could see GST every time they purchase a product or a service. If he had kept it hidden it would have been a lost less unpopular.
Since it became visible, many people thought it was an extra tax. By then Mulroney was already unpopular, and people were ready to believe the worst of Mulroney. By keeping it hidden, he would have emphasized the point that it is merely a readjustment of tax.
And there is nothing wrong in keeping it hidden. The Value Added Tax (VAT) in Europe is a hidden tax; it is rolled into the price of the goods and services.
I don’t necessarily fault Mulroney for GST. That was neither right nor left wing policy. But as I said before, on many issues Mulroney was centre right, he would not at all have felt at home in today’s conservative party, which is mainly party of the right (though Harper is governing from centre right).
