The British Columbia government now has a draft wording for the HST initiative question:

“Are you in favour of extinguishing the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) and reinstating the PST (Provincial Sales Tax) in conjunction with the GST Goods and Services Tax? Yes/No.”

The acting chief electoral officer, Craig James, proposed “what I consider to be the most sensible question for the initiative vote” in a Nov. 10 letter to Attorney General Mike de Jong.

The question will now go to the Legislative Assembly for debate. “I appreciate too, that any consensus arising out of the debate in the House on this matter is not intended to be binding upon me regarding any proposed revisions to the initiative vote question,” wrote James. “However, I will be listening carefully to the debate and the views that all Members express.”

The initiative vote is scheduled for Sept. 24, 2011.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.