I searched for the old thread on this but - it was closed! Hope we have better luck this time:
VICTORIA — The campaign opposing the Harmonized Sales Tax in British Columbia has reached the threshold to force a referendum, organizers say.
Led by former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm, the campaign’s organizers say 10 per cent of registered voters in all 85 provincial ridings have signed the petition to kill the proposed HST.
The final riding to reach that level was Vancouver-Langara, which passed the marker Friday morning.
The campaign proposes to rip up the agreement between the federal government and B.C. to establish the 12 per cent HST that is to come into effect on July 1.
Opposition to the tax, which combines the five per cent GST with the seven per cent PST, is fuelled by anger that the HST will be applied to everything the GST covered, including many items previously exempt from the provincial tax.
The campaign has plans for a major push this weekend to get as many of the 85 ridings past the 15 per cent threshold — to be certain that more than 10 per cent of the signatures will stand scrutiny to validate them.
The campaign has been targeting the higher figure in order to ensure they get the right number of signatures required by Elections B.C., allowing for some people not on the voter’s list or signing on outside of their ridings.
Fight HST organizer Chris Delaney has said the campaign will try to get numbers as high as they can to send a message to individual MLAs that they are within striking distance of recall numbers.
A recall campaign would require 40 per cent of registered voters voting to recall a MLA.
The deadline to collect signatures is July 5.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/anti+campaign+hits+referendum+threshold/3087773/story.html#ixzz0pMDlivsM
Led by former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm, the campaign’s organizers say 10 per cent of registered voters in all 85 provincial ridings have signed the petition to kill the proposed HST.
The final riding to reach that level was Vancouver-Langara, which passed the marker Friday morning.
The campaign proposes to rip up the agreement between the federal government and B.C. to establish the 12 per cent HST that is to come into effect on July 1.
Opposition to the tax, which combines the five per cent GST with the seven per cent PST, is fuelled by anger that the HST will be applied to everything the GST covered, including many items previously exempt from the provincial tax.
The campaign has plans for a major push this weekend to get as many of the 85 ridings past the 15 per cent threshold — to be certain that more than 10 per cent of the signatures will stand scrutiny to validate them.
The campaign has been targeting the higher figure in order to ensure they get the right number of signatures required by Elections B.C., allowing for some people not on the voter’s list or signing on outside of their ridings.
Fight HST organizer Chris Delaney has said the campaign will try to get numbers as high as they can to send a message to individual MLAs that they are within striking distance of recall numbers.
A recall campaign would require 40 per cent of registered voters voting to recall a MLA.
The deadline to collect signatures is July 5.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/anti+campaign+hits+referendum+threshold/3087773/story.html#ixzz0pMDlivsM