HST goes before committee

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning StarPublished: September 07, 2010 7:00 PM

A local politician is preparing to determine the future of the harmonized sales tax. The all-party select standing committee on legislative initiatives holds its first meeting in Victoria today to determine if B.C.’s MLAs should vote on rescinding the HST or if the matter should go to voters in a non-binding, provincewide referendum in 2011. “This process is unprecedented in the country,” said Eric Foster, Vernon-Monashee MLA and a committee member. “It’s ground-breaking. I’d rather be involved than be outside looking in.” The committee — which consists of six Liberal and four NDP MLAs — has 90 days in which to determine what recommendation to make to the Legislature. The process was triggered by a 700,000-name petition opposing the HST. The names of 10 per cent of voters in each of the 85 constituencies was gathered as part of the petition.

At today’s meeting, Foster expects the committee will elect a chairman and go over the rules it must follow. “We’ll also likely set a meeting schedule,” he said. Foster isn’t sure what role the public will play during the committee’s deliberations but he is encouraging residents to contact him on what option should be recommended — a vote of MLAs or a referendum. “I’d like to see us get input. I’d like to hear from people in the constituency,” he said. “I haven’t heard too much on how people think this should unfold.” Foster says he isn’t committed to either a referendum or the Legislature voting on the matter. “I am going into this as open minded as I can.”

Foster admits that the potential political implications of the HST and the committee’s work on the provincial government is a concern for him. “But if all we worried about was the political implications, we would have never moved forward with this,” he said of the tax which came into effect July 1. The other members of the committee are Terry Lake, Katrine Conroy, Mike Farnworth, Rob Fleming, Dave Hayer, Jenny Kwan, Richard Lee, Pat Pimm and John Slater.