Just as Elections BC begins to verify the names of more than 700,000 British Columbians who have signed a petition calling for the harmonized sales tax to be repealed, a coalition of business groups has asked the B.C. Supreme Court to quash the whole effort.
This week, Premier Gordon Campbell ruled out a legal challenge to the anti-HST petition, and critics swiftly accused the business community of acting as a stalking horse for his besieged Liberal government.
In court documents filed Tuesday, the business coalition argues that Elections BC should not have allowed the petition to move forward because it aims to force the province to do something it cannot – extinguish the federally created HST.
The anti-HST petition is to be delivered Wednesday to Elections BC in Victoria. The non-partisan agency has hired 35 extra staff to help check the signatures to determine whether the petition has the support of 10 per cent of eligible voters in every riding.
While that process gets under way, the business groups, including the Mining Association of British Columbia, the Coast Forest Products Association and the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce, will ask the court to set aside the petition.
“The Chief Electoral Officer erred in law and exceeded his jurisdiction,” states the writ, based on an opinion produced by former B.C. Liberal attorney-general Geoff Plant.
Current Attorney-General Mike de Jong said in a statement he is still considering whether he will take part in the court proceedings.
Former premier Bill Vander Zalm and his 6,500 canvassers have spent almost three months collecting more than 700,000 signatures on the petition that calls on the province to tear up its agreement with Ottawa to create the harmonized sales tax. If the petition has the required support under the Initiative and Recall Act, the government must either hold a referendum or put the matter to a vote of the legislature.
The business groups contend the draft law that accompanies the petition is unconstitutional because the HST, which blends the provincial sales tax with the federal goods and services tax, is a federal tariff.
The 11th-hour action will only inflame public anger, predicted Chris Delaney, the lead organizer of the Fight HST campaign. Recent polls show public support for the Liberals has plummeted as a result of the decision to adopt the HST just months after the last provincial election.
It’s obvious the government is behind this, they are using business to do their dirty work,” Mr. Delaney said Tuesday. “The public will see through that, and that’ll push the BC Liberals right over the cliff.”
Carole James, leader of the New Democratic Party opposition, agreed and said critics of the petition should have registered as opponents and debated the issue while the petition campaign was on.
“It’s a desperate attempt to silence the public who have been speaking out loud and clear,” she said. “To try to tie this up in court now is outrageous. The public isn’t going to accept it.”
Wayne Hoskins, president of the Western Convenience Stores Association, is part of the legal challenge. He said his association, representing 2,400 small grocery stores, is not taking sides but is seeking clarity about whether the petition is valid. “We are not being a shill for the Liberal government,” he said. However, he believes the petition is flawed and that the HST will be good for the economy.
“We are at the point where somebody had to stand up and say something. ... There seems to be a misunderstanding as to what was signed.”
