HST confrontation grows

While government supporters continue to say it is “prudent” to delay a debate in the legislature of the anti-HST bill until it has been challenged in court, yet another voice has joined the chorus calling for the government to respect the will of the people and the democratic process.

This time it is the BC Conservative Party. In a media release on August 13, party president Wayne McGrath said “It is time for the B.C. Liberal government to face the music on HST recall. They can’t continue to hide behind legal maneuverings.” He expressed concern that despite over 700,000 BC residents vocing their disapproval of HST, it is still being rammed through without consultation. “People deserve to have their message debated in the Legislature,” he said.

The government has the legislatively mandated choices of either holding a referendum or recalling MLAs, and Elections BC has declined to do either. However, there is nothing preventing the legislature from debating the HST-repeal bill that is part of the initiative, which has now been confirmed by Elections BC as meeting the statutory requirements for a citizens’ initiative.

McGrath says that delaying does not benefit anyone and that taxpayers “deserve to know what action the government plans to take.”

The party says that the government’s handling of the HST issue has caused a surge of new members because “the people of British Columbia are looking for an alternative.”