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It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book for a campaigning politician to avoid a tough question in an election: Promise a postelection review.

That was NDP Leader John Horgan’s answer on Monday when asked how he would pay for health care once he scraps Medical Services Plan premiums as promised.

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“We’ll appoint a panel of experts,” Horgan told The Vancouver Sun and Province editorial board.

The panel would be tasked with figuring out a way to patch the $1.7-billion hole in the budget once MSP is gone in four years, the NDP has said.

But Horgan said whatever solution the panel comes up with must “protect low- and middle-income earners.”

You don’t have to be a chartered accountant to figure out what that means. It means high-income earners — or perhaps corporations — would be forced to fork over more tax dollars to pay for heath care.

Horgan was pressed for more details on his plan. Where exactly would the money come? What does he consider a “high-income” wage earner anyway?

His answer was breathtaking.

“I don’t think at this point in an election campaign is the time to determine those issues,” he said.

Say what? If an election campaign isn’t the time to talk about the cost of your election promises, when the heck is the right time? (Horgan’s line was eerily similar to former prime minister Kim Campbell’s infamous 1993 quip: “An election is no time to discuss serious issues.” Her Conservative went on to get wiped out on voting day.)