B.C. anti-HST petition hits target

The former premier leading the charge against B.C.'s harmonized sales tax says a province-wide petition against the HST has reached its target, weeks ahead of schedule.

Bill Vander Zalm, who is leading the Fight HST campaign, said Friday the petition has collected the signatures of at least 10 per cent of the registered voters in each of the province's 85 ridings.

"We're very pleased with it all," Vander Zalm said. "It's never been done before and it shows the people of this province want to get rid of the HST, no doubt about it."

'They can put it to the legislature and have a vote on it and that's what we want to see happen' — Anti-HST campaigner Bill Vander Zalm

Vander Zalm, who was a Social Credit premier from 1986 to 1991, has been the most vocal opponent of the HST since the Liberal government announced plans last summer to blend the provincial sales tax with the federal GST.

The announcement came two months after a provincial election during which the Liberals said they weren't contemplating the HST. Anger over how the tax was brought in has been compounded by the many goods and services that will cost more under the new system.

Target now increased

Vander Zalm's officially sanctioned petition campaign started collecting signatures in April and had until the first week of July to meet the 10 per cent threshold in every riding.

Organizers plan to continue collecting signatures to reach at least 15 per cent in every riding to ensure there are enough valid signatures for the petition to be accepted, he said, a goal they've already reached in 55 districts.

If Elections BC confirms the petition has enough valid signatures, the document will be forwarded to a legislature committee, which will decide whether to table a bill for a vote or hold a referendum.

"All they can do is either send it to a referendum, which would be a great waste of necessary money … or they can put it to the legislature and have a vote on it and that's what we want to see happen," Vander Zalm said.

However, neither scenario has the power to force the provincial government to do anything. If the issue is sent directly to the legislature for a vote, the majority Liberals could easily defeat the bill.

A successful referendum would also require the government to introduce legislation, which they also could vote down.

Recall petitions could be next

Vander Zalm has pledged to initiate recall campaigns if his efforts to derail the HST are unsuccessful, starting in Premier Gordon Campbell's own Vancouver-Point Grey riding.

Recalling an MLA requires 40 per cent of voter signatures in the riding the member represents. If the required signatures are collected within a 60-day period, a byelection must be held in the riding and the unseated member can run in the election.

Vander Zalm dismissed Campbell's complaints the anti-HST campaign is spreading misinformation.

"The only information we have to go by is what the government gives us, and they're not giving us a whole lot," he said. "The information we have, in my opinion, is much more accurate than the government information."

B.C. is set to adopt the HST on July 1, the same day as Ontario. The provincial legislature passed the HST bill at the end of March after invoking closure on debate about the tax.

Currently, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador all have forms of the HST.