MLA insists petition process is clear

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: May 29, 2010 12:00 PM

Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster insists there will be no attempts to block an anti-HST petition. Foster is a member of the select standing committee on legislative initiatives which will consider what to do if a petition collects the names of at least 10 per cent of registered voters in the 85 constituencies opposed to the harmonized sales tax. “The law is very simple — we recommend that we either go to the Legislature for a vote or go to referendum,” he said. Committee chairman Terry Lake had suggested the group could do nothing with the petition if the wording was called into question. But since then, Premier Gordon Campbell has indicated the government will follow the legislation regarding petitions. The Fight HST organization has until July 5 to collect the signatures across the province. Elections B.C. will then have 42 days to verify if enough valid signatures have been collected. If that occurs, the select standing committee has 90 days to decide if the future of the HST will go to referendum or MLAs for a vote.

Foster says he doesn’t favour one specific route at this point. “We will get public input and there will be discussions around the table. You have to go into these things with a complete open mind,” he said. At this point, there are about 11,000 signatures on the petition in Shuswap, far outpacing the minimum 4,500 required. In Vernon-Monashee, a minimum of 4,521 names is needed, and there are currently 9,546. “We’re still chipping away at it,” said Jim Sipes, petition organizer in the Shuswap constituency. “We are the first riding to exceed the number it took to elect our MLA. It says that across the spectrum, we’re getting al kinds of people. People are fed up with the government doing whatever they want.” Sipes admits the pace of new signatures has slowed down, but he says canvassers will be out until July 5. “I would expect we’ll probably get another 1,000 names (in Shuswap),” he said. Fight HST states that it has surpassed the 10 per cent threshold in 83 of 85 constituencies with more than six weeks still to go in the campaign.