Former British Columbia premier Bill Vander Zalm, left, and his wife Lillian celebrate as they leave B.C. Supreme Court after a judge ruled the anti-HST petition he led was valid in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday August 20, 2010.Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press
When Terry Lake, a freshman B.C. politician, was appointed to a legislative committee on citizen-sponsored initiatives last year, the assignment was so obscure he had to look it up to find out what it did.
The answer - absolutely nothing.
On Monday when he is handed the first task of the province's Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives in 16 years, Mr. Lake and his fellow Liberals on the all-party body will find the token appointment has morphed into a politically perilous undertaking.
The ten-member committee of MLAs, dominated by government members, must decide what to do with a citizens' initiative approved by Elections BC to repeal the harmonized sales tax.
The assignment now vaults the six Liberals on the committee to the top of the list of a campaign for recall, a tool available under British Columbia law that allows citizens to fire their MLAs.
All six government members are low-profile backbenchers, mostly from swing ridings. Three of them were already facing intense pressure in their constituencies because the anti-HST initiative garnered more signatures from eligible voters than they were able to muster votes in the 2009 election. The initiative received about 557,000 valid signatures provincewide.
The six Liberals will gain public profile this fall, but not in a way that's likely to advance their political careers.
Earlier this month, Elections BC ruled the anti-HST petition sponsored by former premier Bill Vander Zalm was valid, with enough voter support in every riding to make it the first successful citizen-sponsored initiative in B.C. history. A court challenge last week failed to block the petition, removing the last hurdle before the legislative committee could get to work.
Once they meet, the body has just 90 days to decide what to do with the petition. Their only choices are to send it to the B.C. legislature for a vote, or to launch a provincewide referendum.
The referendum option suits the B.C. Liberal government, because a vote cannot be held before the fall of 2011, allowing anger over the tax to dissipate. Also, the referendum law sets the bar so high for success that failure is almost assured.
But the committee will be under intense public pressure - which will be reinforced by the opposition New Democratic Party MLAs on the committee at every opportunity - to opt for an early vote in the legislature.
On Monday, Elections BC will hand over the HST initiative to Mr. Lake, who is the convener and likely will be the chair of the committee. He expects they'll hold their first meeting in mid-September and he doesn't anticipate they'll need the full 90 days to figure out what to do.
"I don't want to prejudge the outcome of the committee, but it doesn't have to take that long. We only have two options [and]it doesn't appear to be complicated," he said in an interview. "I think people are eager to move on."
He said it is a coincidence that most of the Liberal members on the committee come from ridings where the Fight HST campaign gathered strong support. The Fight HST campaign is now retooling to turn its resources to recall campaigns.
"When this committee was put together there was no talk of recall. It's just the way it worked out," Mr. Lake said. He added: "It doesn't matter who is on the committee in terms of recall-ability. Any of our members would be vulnerable."
There are four NDP MLAs on the committee, including opposition House Leader Mike Farnworth. He appointed himself to the committee last year, never expecting it to actually meet.
"We should be meeting right away," he said Sunday. The New Democrats will push for a vote on the petition in the legislature early this fall, although there has been no word from the government yet whether it intends to hold a fall session.
Mr. Farnworth does believe the threatened recall campaigns, which cannot be formally launched until Nov. 15, will hang over the committee's work.
"Every one of [the Liberal MLAs]has to be acutely aware of the wishes of their constituents. I think there is going to be a huge amount of pressure on them when the recall clock starts ticking."
Members of the B.C. Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives:
- Katrine Conroy (NDP) - Kootenay West
- Mike Farnworth (NDP) - Port Coquitlam
- Rob Fleming (NDP) - Victoria-Swan Lake
- Eric Foster (Liberal) - Vernon-Monashee
- Dave Hayer (Liberal) - Surrey-Tynehead
- Jenny Kwan (NDP) - Vancouver-Mount Pleasant
- Terry Lake (Liberal) - Kamloops-North Thompson
- Richard Lee (Liberal) - Burnaby North
- Pat Pimm (Liberal) - Peace River North
- John Slater (Liberal) - Boundary-Similkameen
Justine Hunter