The provincial government denies there was political interference over the anti-HST petition. Organizers of the petition campaign have suggested that Elections B.C. has buckled under pressure not to proceed with the legislative process although the required number of signatures was collected in every constituency across the province. “I have complete confidence in Elections B.C.,” said Eric Foster, Vernon-Monashee MLA. “Mr. (Bill) Vander Zalm is allowed to say what he wants but it’s an insult to the office of Elections B.C. It’s an independent office.”
Despite having sufficient signatures, Elections B.C. has decided not to send the petition to a legislative committee to consider either holding a provincewide referendum or conducting another vote in the Legislature because the legality of the petition process is currently being questioned in the courts. “It is clear to even a casual observer that the government will use any means to get their way, including even the process adopted by Elections B.C. It is time to clean out Victoria,” said Bill Vander Zalm, Fight HST organizer, in a press release.
Foster would not comment on whether Elections B.C.’s decision was correct. “Elections B.C. has to do what it thinks is right and I have to respect that. We’ll follow the law and that’s his (chief electoral officer) decision to make.” Foster isn’t surprised that Vander Zalm’s group collected the necessary number of signatures in each constituency. “There was a movement out there and people thought their taxes would go up so they signed the petition,” he said, adding that many residents were misinformed about the HST. “I still believe this is fiscally sound management. People are realizing a lot of things they were told were wrong.” Fight HST has stated that its next step is to try and recall Liberal MLAs, and Foster is one of the ones being targeted. “Sure I’m concerned about it. But it’s part of the process,” he said, adding that recall could have serious implications for governing B.C. “If recall is successful, people in government will make decisions based on whether they will be re-elected or recalled instead of what’s best for the province.” Fight HST will send the petition to the select standing committee for legislative initiatives after Elections B.C. decided not to.
2 comments:
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Great Comment on Morning Star Site:
Recall could have serious implications for BC. But I would put it another way Mr. Foster. Rather than, "people in government will have to make decisions based on whether they will get re-elected," I would say "people in government will be forced to actually represent their constituents wishes rather than toe the party line".
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