Can You Hear Us Now?: British Columbia's Chief Elections Officer Upholds Peoples' Petition Against HST
On August 11, 2010, British Columbia's Chief Elections Officer announced that the anti-HST petition met the requirements of the Recall and Initiative Act. More than 700,000 B.C. voters signed the anti-HST petition. The determination that the petition meets the signatures criteria sets the stage for a new vote on the implementation HST by the B.C. legislature or a possible referendum. This is and will continue to be a historic example of voter engagement and government accountability.
It is the first time a petition has been upheld since Canada’s only law allowing such petitions was enacted in B.C. in 1995. While this is an important milestone, the future of the HST in British Columbia remains uncertain. The Chief Elections Officer said that he will not do anything until a court case against the petition is dealt with in the courts. So, the HST is not dead yet.
Former Premier Bill Vander Zalm and the leader of the anti-HST movement made a very important observation:
“Every Liberal MLA is vulnerable as of today ... We will recall every MLA, every Liberal MLA if need be."
This observation (which may come across to some as a passing statement) is so important because it addresses the fundamental issue of accountability. What Vander Zalm is saying is that each Liberal MLA who was elected in the 2009 election in the province will be held accountable before the next election. MLAs are elected by the people and are not given a license to do whatever they please - especially impose new taxes on the people without the approval of the people.
While it is true that most government matters are left by the people to the elected MLAs, there are situations, such as the implementation of the HST, which cause the people to respond and ask for a reconsideration of a proposed action to be taken or action taken by government. The anti-HST petition is one of those rare situations.
Should all provinces have similar legislation to the Recall and Initiative Act? Arguably, the answer is "YES". Arguably, there needs to be mechanism for the people to hold up a big "STOP" sign and ask the government to listen to opposition. The elected officials should not turn to the voters who elected them and say they are smarter than the voters and they know what is best for the voter and that the voter should "SHUT UP". If the elected officials will not voluntarily listen to a large number of people, such recall legislation is a check and balance on democratic principles.
I think I hear Bill Vander Zalm saying "Can you hear us now?"
Cyndee Todgham Cherniak is counsel to and in affiliation with the International Trade Law and the Tax Law (Commodity Tax
