Bad news for the Liberals

Another frustration for the opponents of the HST. But Campbell and his acolytes shouldn't smile about it.
This will only intensify the search for an outlet for this frustration, and with no chance to release it at the ballot box any time soon, the recall process will fit the bill nicely.

The "Notwithstanding Clause"

While "Section 10 of the act states that if the petitioner obtains the required signatures and satisfied the reporting requirements to Election BC, then "... the chief electoral officer must send a copy of the petition and draft Bill to the select standing committee.", the Act also has its own version of a "notwithstanding clause'.

And that would be para. 170 of the Act entitled "Emergencies and Other Extraordinary Circumstances"

170 (1) The chief electoral officer may ...make exceptions to this Act and the regulations under this Act .. if, in the opinion of the chief electoral officer, this is necessary because of an emergency, a mistake or extraordinary circumstances in relation to proceedings under this Act.

(2) ...the chief electoral officer may make orders extending a time period or establishing a new date in place of one set under this Act ...

The CEO is probably relying on "extraordinary circumstances" in relation to the court action by the business community to have the draft legislation declared invalid and is "extending a time period" as a result.

The unintended consequence of the CEO will be that the Fight HST campaign will have more resolve than ever.

It's all too easy for the

It's all too easy for the Premier's Office to 'influence' Mr. James. All it takes is for a government lawyer to 'suggest' and 'in his opinion' that the process should be delayed until the courts have run their course. Of course that government lawyer happened to 1st stop off at the Premiers Office before going onto Mr. James's office.

Craig James has shown his "neutrality" all right....

His neutrality on the side of the Libs. It blows my mind that it took these criminals only two months to destroy the credibility and integrity of a government organization that for generations has had the admiration of all political parties in the province and was world-renowned.

It's true that everything these people touch turns from gold to coal. Get rid of them all. Recall them all in the fall!

The damage is done.

Whatever motivated Craig James, his decision like that of the corporate hacks who launched a court action to help out their friends the BC Liberals, they really have created a firestorm. The people who hated the HST and the liberals before will hate them even more and they will be out for blood in the recall campaigns.

Really dumb politics but then it is desperate politics. Oh how sweet it is!

Nothing bizarre

Get a grip people. You are so wound up with this issue that you see conspiracies at every turn. The court has been asked by a business bunch to rule on the validity of Vander Zalm's petition and the wording of the revision act that accompanies it. Vander Zalm has his own court challenge arguing against the validity of the order-in-council used to create the HST in the first place.

Whether James sent this to the committee or not, nothing is going to happen until those two cases are dealt with. Movement in any direction, particularly if the committee sent a recommendation to rescind, would be met with a request for an injunction preventing such action until the issue is resolved by the court, and they'd get it. Vander Zalm is talking through his hat when he complains that it will take "years," it was going to take years anyway -- and he knows that. Just more good theatre to keep the troops motivated.

Never mind all that, the petition doesn't bind the government to do anything anyway, other than order up a referendum which they are free to ignore. You think James' decision is good news for the Liberals? Get real -- all it did is wave a red cape in front of the Zalm who is now (foolishly, I think) threatening to get a recall underway for every single Liberal seat. I guess in a backhanded way, this might spur the anti-HST folks and the Zalm to do something fatally stupid -- but it would be dangerous in the extreme to try and set that up.

Wait for the recall. None of this HST tempest in a teapot was ever going to get the tax rescinded any way, and even if recall forces an election that puts the NDP in power -- they still won't rescind the HST. The only real hope for that happening comes from the very court action that James is facilitating -- a decision in the Zalm's favour on his charge that the Liberals didn't follow due process.

The Anti-HST petition was exellent practice for a recall.

After all, a lot of us suspected that something like this would happen. Recall in the Fall! North Shore has 2 targets so far - Naomi Yamamoto and Jane "the drunk driver" Thornthwaite. And I can tell you, there a re a LOT of people who are very, very angry, especially at Thornthwaite.

I would also encourage people to call Elections BC (email is OK, but an actual call has more impact), write to every local paper you can, call your MLA and complain about the political hijacking of the democratic process...basically, make a huge incredible stink!

contact info for Elections BC: http://www.elections.bc.ca/index.php/contact/

RECALL IN THE FALL, PEOPLE!

General Stike?

It would be a sad day if recall doesn't work.
The only option left to the 700,000 would be massive civil disobedience. It will probably come to that. People have had enough.

Too bad the NDP doesn't have a leader up to this challenge.
Come on Carol time to call a party leadership convention and find someone dynamic enough to actually actually lead the opposition. You have had three tries and we can't afford to give you a fourth.

blackie

Get a grip yourself. Your making excuses for a bunch of greedy business types thwarting the wishes of the people and for the liberals ignoring the wishes of the people according to a law they said made it too hard to work when they were the opposition, it doesn't cut it. You think James is going to go to an election created by the liberals arrogance and display the same arrogance? She would be a damn fool. This is about sending a message to all of them and if the Zalm can do it, I don't give a rat's a#@ about his past. At least he is not in the pocket of big business. Any delay in the application of a democratic process will only fuel the fires of liberal defeat.

Way to go VanderZalm!

Wishes of the people?

There are 2.9 million registered voters in B .C., and 700,000 of them signed this petition after a sign-up drive that lasted for several months, and while the pro-petition forces were the only ones who could mount any kind of advertising blitz (because Campbell was too stupid/arrogant to file the necessary papers).

Now, simple arithmetic tells me that means 2.2 million registered voters -- despite a months-long opportunity and a nicely run campaign -- decided it wasn't important enough to sign on. They ignored it. I know, only half of those registered voters tend to vote in elections -- but an election is a one-shot, one-day event and I don't think the comparison works. Even so, 700,000 signatories is still less than half -- 44% to be precise -- of the voter turnout in the last election.

Now, 700.000 signatories is very impressive indeed, and it more than met the threshold required to force the referendum. Vander Zalm and his supporters can be congratulated. But spare me all this BS about "wishes of the people." It reflects the wishes of 700,000 out of 2.9 million voters, meaning 2.2 million don't give a damn. And in a democracy, that is their right.

If 10% of the fury aimed at Campbell, the Liberals, and the HST were channelled into doing something about the deplorable voter turnout in this province/country, a useful purpose would be served. And that threat to democracy -- which is a genuine threat -- might be reined in. I'm not hopeful.

"wishes of the people"

The law states it should go to the people. The law passed. It was never repealed. There was no election where Campbell said. It doesn't reflect the wishes of the people and if reelected we will repeal it or make it require 50% plus one." Therefore the wishes of the people remains that we should have a vote. End of story. The rest is trying to justify Campbell and his friends trying to screw around until they have fulfilled their objectives to screw the public even more. That is not BS..

They only got 700K

They only got 700K signatures because they announced a long time ago that they had sufficient numbers. So why bother. In my riding they had the 15% practically in the first week.

Since the recall can do a lot more damage to the Fascist cause, you'll potentially get a lot more attention from the voter.

Sorry folks

The Law says 'MUST' - the acting chief electoral officer screwed up!

blackie

If you are going to use stats like this, then you must also use the stats which indicate the Liberals got their majority with only 26% of the registered voters voting for them. If your figures disqualify the petition, then the latter figures disqualify the last election.

Voting vs. Petitions

Blackie you strike me as a highly manipulative person (this isn't meant to be construed as an insult), regardless you bring up something worth addressing. Why didn't the rest of the voting public sign this petition?

To bring this to light we must look at the massive amount of pro-HST rhetoric being spewed by pundits such as yourself. I encountered numerous attempts to mislead the public on boards such as these and a great deal of confusion as to where the public could go to sign up. Statements made like "The online petition counts, you don't need to sign again Mr/Mrs Joe Public" and as well a defacto confusion and disorganization as to when and where the petition could be signed (this is not meant to criticize the campaign which obvioulsy was a great success). A great deal of people in my district were under the impression the petition would be signed by a door to door campaign whereas I personally signed up outside of the local Safeway (take that Jimmy Pattison). Then there is the fact that the petitioners had to leave some districts to focus elsehwere as their numbers were nowhere near the same as the amount of staff that comes out to help come election time. If needed I will provide several more factors.

Now to compare it to the actual vote, which is well organized, provides time off of work to cast said vote and at the same time has fixed locations to vote at, makes me wonder if other posts you have written before actually have any actual merit to them.

We do have an alternative

Let's swarm the Legislature and take back our government. I have had enough of these jackasses playing politics. It is time for a revolution!

I say BC should go on its own, but that's another day altogether.

The May 2013 Election

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/creates+political+force/3389377/story.html

What is this? Another soon-to-be-broken promise? Have I been out of the loop? Where did this tidbit come from?

Further to the above

I would note that the Interpretation Act – which applies to all enactments of the Province - states how the words “may” and “must” when used in enactments, that is, Acts and regulations, are to be interpreted in a specific way.

It states:
"may" is to be construed as permissive and empowering;
"must" is to be construed as imperative.

The meaning of “must” in section 10 of the legislation is as David Shreck suggests. To support this view it is important to look at the meaning given to “may” by the Interpretation Act.

"May" was not used in the Act; "must" was used and as such Mr James cannot interpret “must” as permissive.

The law required the Chief Electoral Officer to comply with section 10. Section 10 is clear and unambiguous. If does not include a clause that permits Mr James to decide for any reason that he does not want to comply with the obligations of this section.

For him to ignore the clear wording of section 10 is a refusal to comply with the law.

That is what the rule of law is all about - even governments must comply with the law.

In order to right this wrong a judicial review action (mandamus) should be undertake at once in order to require Mr James to answer to the supreme court for his decision.
I would also note that section 27 (3) of the Interpretation Act states: “(3) If in an enactment a power is conferred or a duty imposed, the power may be exercised and the duty must be performed from time to time as occasion requires.

Section 10 of the Recall and Initiative Act states as follows:

Referral of initiative to select standing committee
10 If the chief electoral officer determines in accordance with the regulations that
(a) the initiative petition meets the requirements of section 7, and
(b) the proponent has complied with Part 4,
the chief electoral officer must send a copy of the petition and draft Bill to the select standing committee.

It is my understanding that Mr James determined that the requirements of both paragraphs (a) and (b) have been met - therefore the occasion requires action.

I assume that Mr James received legal advice on this point but given his decision to ignore the law one does wonder.

More recalls

Can we please recall Harper too :)

G West

I think the Libs have skirted this more than a few times..........

Elections B.C. mistake

Exactly who are the people behind the businesses that have launched the law suit declaring the petition illegal? I wish someone would name all the organizations and individuals involved, so the public would know just who is so determined to thwart the will of the people. Or is it too politically dangerous to name names?

I Agree

Those who say a general strike is what is needed is right Gordo and Gang cannot ignore 700,000 voters standing on the lawn in Victoria OOPS that might take up the whole of Victoria if we all show up at once and we should to show that deaf -blind blankity blank that we are not going to stand for this crap

To "unhappy voter"

Here is a list compiled by Laila Yuile

Independent Contractors and Businesses Association
http://www.icba.bc.ca/about_icba/contact_us.htm

Council of Forest Industries
http://www.cofi.org/about_COFI/contact_us.htm

Mining Association of B.C.
http://www.mining.bc.ca/contact_us.htm

Coast Forest Products Association
http://www.coastforest.org/contact.html

B.C. Chamber of Commerce
http://www.bcchamber.org/about/contact.html

blackie

Since there's apparently no media available in your town I'll happily remind you that according to polls the petition had the support of around 80% of the population of BC.

Those are the people who said they would sign the petition if it was actually placed in front of them.

As said above they didn't need to go out hunting for someone carrying the petition because it was clear more than enough votes were already collected.

As for Elections BC allowing a court challenge by big business I couldn't be happier. Now its obvious even to the most die-hard right-winger that its Campbell and big business on one side and 80% of the people on the other.

Time for the most massive protest rally this province has seen

The Blackbird has an ad hoc special assignment for the HST organizers whom, I imagine, are rightly pissed off presently. Want to blow off a little steam after having all your hard work so far dealt a corrupt hand by our government and now the judiciary? Channel your anger and harness that of all British Columbians willing to join in a mass summer walk through the city in public protest. The rest of Canada needs to see what's going on here and the cameras will be rolling if a strong show is made. Bill Vander Zalm is brimming with charisma right now. Put out the call for a protest march to all against the tax and the stall tactics of the kangaroo court. The people will come out if they are called right now. Give yourself a month to organize and spread the word. Let's show the late summer tourists that we don't take kindly to being lied to and railroaded by those whose wages we pay.

Boycott...General Strike...Massive Demonstration

We need a list of the basic businesses involved. I understand Esso, Petrocan, Macs stores, 7-11...we need a comprehensive list for a full boycott. We need to get labor to call a General Strike in defense of democracy. We need to call for a massive demonstration in all major communities in BC , on a weekend day when folks are available, to show solidarity asap. We need to start collecting money for the recall movement and ensure people know where/who to contact in each community to work on these recalls.

It's Time To Take A Stand

Recall in the Fall!

you missed one North of Hope

The Western Convenience Stores Assoc. is also in on the lawsuit.

Apparently, they feel that it is more important to have Campbell and his liberals on their side than customers walking through their doors.

Now, I consider a purchase at a convenience store an option, don't you?

B.C. Electoral Commission

Based on the actions of the B.C.Electoral Commission this week, I'm more convinced than ever that the vote count on the 2009 referendum on proportional representation was rigged. I demand a recount immediately. Do you know what that means Mr.James?

polls?

"Since there's apparently no media available in your town I'll happily remind you that according to polls the petition had the support of around 80% of the population of BC."

OK -- so add another 10,000 (and I'm probably being generous) and you get 710,000 out of 2.9 million. Funny, isn't it, that a poll saying 80% support the petition translates into 24% of voters signing on. What a forceful commitment: guy who answers the phone and tells a pollster he supports the petition doesn't have the jam to actually go down and sign it. That's populism for ya.

I suspect you could run a poll just about anywhere these days asking "do you like taxes" and you'd get a 90% response saying no. The only poll that counts is the one that the Zalm just had validated.

My problem with this is, while all the lefties/Campbell haters see this as a brilliant exercise in grass roots democracy, I see it as a colossal triumph of demagoguery over an issue almost insignificant in its impact on public policy.

The problem with the righty/Campbell lovers.

So a law determined by the members of the legislature is not really binding. Now a law (HST) determined by the Liberal Executive Council without legislative approval carries more validity than a petition signed by 700,000. Yep, it all makes sense now.

Bullies

gordos lost, he is acting childish because the HST hasn't gone away.
Sulking, manipulation, whining, pouting, stealing, bullying, lies, if you don't get what you want you change the rules. now more just straight bullying.

Are we surprised -- not those who are force to have dealings with the government
How do we take back what gordo has stolen from this province for himself and his friends. Can we as the employers refuse to pay his pension? cease his bank accounts?
Where is the recall legislation found? RECALL

elections b.c

Blackie, you keep referring to the amount of registered voters and the number of people that signed the anti hst petition. They do not need 40% of the registered voters in the province. They only need it in the ridings that they are going to try and recall. Nice try though.

blackie

If you want credibility then you should have played the same tune after the last election when your BC Liberals only got 751,661 votes out of the same 2.9 million people.

But I didn't see you back then claiming the government had no mandate.

Frank

This falls into the "two wrongs don't make a right" category, and I can fire the same thing back. How many times have a I read on the Tyee and in the comments that the last election has no validity because only 25% of the electorate voted for the Liberals. And where do you think I got the idea from to make my points.

It would be nice to have it both ways, but logic says you can't. So if you hold that the Liberals have no mandate to govern based on only 25% of the electorate voting for them, the you must also hold that there is no validity to the HST initiative based on the 25% of the electorate that signed on; i.e. it does not represent the "will of the people."

I'm not challenging the legality of the initiative -- they more than met their goals. I'm just knocking down this ridiculous "will of the people" argument that keeps getting trotted out.

And I'm not a Liberal. Don't belong to any political party; didn't vote Liberal in the last provincial election. I don't expect you to believe that because it takes the wind out of your "ad hominem" sails.

What will NDP do about the HST?

I realize that all good NDP are drooling at the prospect of forming government once again, and the HST seems a great jumping off point.
But I have yet to hear ONE NDP member say they will scrap the HST.
So will they??

jimorsherylly

Unlike the other parties, the NDP makes its policies at their conventions where democracy prevails!
Only Harpo and Gordo make announcements without checking the rank and file.