Evolution or extinction : Certified General Accountants of British Columbia Countdown to the HST Conference, Vancouver, BC, March 4, 2010

This report presents a general review of the dimensions of change that will characterize British Columbia's economy and demography in the coming years and some of the challenges and opportunities that such change will offer. In this context, the implications of the replacement of the Provincial Sales Tax plus Goods and Services Tax (PST+GST) with a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) are highlighted. The coming changes will require the province to place a greater emphasis on productivity and exports, both as a result of our changing demography (a slowing in the growth of the province's labour supply in the face of increasing demand for the funding of social services) and due to industry-specific conditions (ranging from the supply consequences of the pine beetle to competition from US shale gas production). It also recognizes that the replacement of PST+GST with HST will have a differential impact across industry sectors.