VANCOUVER -- There is no point in asking people in British Columbia what they think.

They tell you without so much as opening their mouths.

As a steady stream of traffic rolls by protesters gathered along Oak Street in front of the Children's and Women's Health Centre, those leaning on horns in support argue with those raising middle fingers in condemnation.

Elementary school teacher Geoff Peters gets it off his chest by first putting it on: his white T-shirt featuring a caricature of Premier Gordon Campbell beside one of the devil, the message below -- "At Least One Respects Contracts" -- making it clear where he stands.

There is, as political history has shown, barely enough middle ground in B.C. to support a crocus, yet rarely has this province been so polarized as it has become over what began as a rollback of wages and is expected this morning to result in a general strike involving as many as 100,000 workers.

Cabinet and union representatives were still hoping to strike a last-minute deal last evening, but workers across the province were insisting they would walk out anyway to protest what they see as government heavy-handedness. Schools were expected to be closed down, ferries disrupted, hospitals closed, buses not running and garbage pickup cancelled.

British Columbia, warned Barry O'Neill, the provincial head of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, will "be closed for business."It has turned so nasty that the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is offering to organize patients to launch a class-action lawsuit.

A May Day celebration in downtown Vancouver Saturday drew 5,000 angry marchers and left "General Strike" in red spray paint around the art gallery and court house.

"We're not getting a lot of support from the BMWs or the Jaguars," Sandy Stanley says sarcastically as cars continue down Oak Street from some of the wealthier sections of the city.

"We're not even getting much support from our own doctors."

The issue, of course, is the same facing every province: not enough money to cover soaring health-care costs. In the fall, the Campbell government decided to privatize certain health-related work, such as some food services and housekeeping, and from there moved into other lower-level areas. When health workers walked out, the government moved to legislate them back with a 15-per-cent cut in wages and benefits.

The legislation was retroactive to April 1, meaning many workers found they had not only been rolled back but suddenly found themselves having to "pay back" their employers for wages already paid out in April.

"We're incensed," says Mihran Keurdian, a 32-year-old worker who was hit with the 15-per-cent cut. "This government is completely abusing its authority."

The government, of course, is saying it is only doing what is necessary to get a grip on health-care costs. The people on the lines -- mostly women -- wonder why there were no equivalent cuts to those being paid far higher wages.

Numerous protest signs make reference to Premier Gordon Campbell's infamous drunk driving charge in Hawaii more than a year ago, although Campbell has publicly said the incident made him quit drinking altogether.

Jesse Dahia, sitting with Sandy Stanley on a hay bale outside the Children's and Women's Health Centre, lost her job in October after 24 years of what she believed was an excellent work record.

Her $18.90-an-hour job in food services was eliminated and a private company brought in to do the same work, but this time offering workers only $10 an hour.

"You can't live on that," says Dahia, a single mother with two children still at home.

"This is Vancouver," says Stanley, a secretary in the facility's ambulatory clinic.

"I cried a lot when it happened," says Dahlia, who has decided to return to school. "At this age -- I'm in my mid-40s, without any other skills -- where do you go?"

"It's crazy," interjects Stanley. "If Gordon Campbell can rip up our contracts, why can't we go into the bank and rip up our mortgages?

"I'm telling you, I won't be voting Liberal federally or provincially ever again after this."

"This province is into a major funding crisis," says Geoff Peters, the teacher in the devil T-shirt. "Our [teachers'] contract ends in June -- so I figure we're heading into the same thing."

At the moment, however, it is all about Monday and whether or not a furious labour movement can pull off a general strike. Sandy Stanley figures there will be 100,000 off work -- but she's certain only of one. "Our employer couriered letters to us Friday telling us we had to show up for work Monday or else face the consequences -- including possible termination." She only knows about it because a friend opened hers.

"I didn't even open mine," she says.

"I won't be at work."

rmacgregor@globeandmail.ca