By Jennifer Saltman, The Province
A judge ruled that a 700,000-signature petition gathered in opposition to the HST across B.C. is valid. A group of lawyers representing B.C. business challenged the validity of the campaign launched by former premier Bill Vander Zalm.
More to come ...
For full petition results by election ridings, go to http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/init/IP-2010-002-Results.pdf
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13:19 on August 20, 2010, EDT. The Canadian Press
B.C. HST petition can proceed, B.C. judge rules
VANCOUVER - A judge has ruled a petition opposing British Columbia's controversial harmonized sales tax is valid — a decision that's expected to send the issue back to the provincial legislature. A coalition of business groups challenged the validity of the petition, which garnered more than 700,000 signatures earlier this year. The business groups argued the draft legislation attached to the petition wasn't valid, but Chief Justice Robert Bauman says Elections BC was correct when it approved the petition earlier this month. Chief electoral officer Craig James concluded the petitioners collected enough valid signatures but refused to pass the document to the legislature while its validity was before the court. When James sends the petition to the government, a legislative committee must decide to either put the bill to a vote in the house or hold a non-binding referendum next year. The petition was led by former premier Bill Vander Zalm, who is also challenging the constitutionality of the HST, although it's not clear when the court will rule on that case.
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