On August 24, representatives from the retail, resource, and film industries held a news conference to speak out in favour of harmonizing BC's sales taxes. In addition, sales tax harmonization has been hailed by the C.D. Howe Institute, a think tank, as being "crucial for B.C to maintain its economic competitiveness." David Docherty, a political science professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, noted that anti-HST sentiment was evident in left-wing populist groups who viewed it as "regressive" and those on the right who "hate all taxes". Polls consistently showed ...opposition to the HST in BC at "82 to 85 percent".