PRESS RELEASE: ATTORNEY GENERAL ADMITS TO MANIPULATION OF CONSTITUTION ON #HST

Dec 21, 2009 Press Release

LIBERAL “END RUN” AROUND CONSTITUTION A FRAUD
Attorney General Admits to Manipulation of Constitution on HST

Delta BC – Fight HST Leader, Bill Vander Zalm, says one of his group’s supporters has received a “sneaky” reply from Liberal MLA John Rustad of Nechako Lakes, outlining how the Liberals are manipulating the Constitution in order to create the HST in BC.

Jack Kortmeyer, a businessman from Burns Lake, wrote to Rustad asking for an explanation on how the Provincial Government could create an HST in BC when the Constitution stipulates that “the Raising of a Revenue for Provincial Purposes” can only be done by the Legislature of BC.

Rustad forwarded a deceitful explanation from the Ministry of Finance that was first vetted by the BC Attorney General, stating that the HST is a federal tax only, and that, “Under harmonization, British Columbia is not delegating its legislative authority for direct taxation to the federal government but agreeing not to exercise that authority in exchange for a share of the federal tax.”

Vander Zalm explained, “That is like the Feds agreeing to let BC legalize capital punishment by saying they are not delegating their legislative authority for criminal law to the Provincial Government, but agreeing not to exercise that authority in exchange for a share of the revenues saved from executing criminals instead of jailing them.”

“If you can simply subvert the intended meaning of the Constitution with legal gobbledy gook and fraudulent “side agreements”, then it isn’t worth the paper it is written on,” said Vander Zalm.

Vander Zalm says the repercussions of the HST are even worse than he feared. “Not only will British Columbians be asked to foot the bill, they will be losing total control of their own provincial taxation authority to the federal government. The entire HST will be determined, set and collected by a dictatorial federal government, turning BC into nothing more than a giant municipality begging for transfers.”

“We know how difficult it is to influence our own Provincial Government when it comes to lowering or getting rid of taxes. Imagine having to convince a bunch of sneaky, deceitful Liberals in Ontario or a gang of opportunistic separatists in Quebec?”

Vander Zalm says already tourism groups, restaurateurs and construction people are being told the Province cannot grant any more exemptions on HST because of federal limits imposed in the Comprehensive Integrated Tax Coordination Agreement (CITCA) BC signed to create the HST.

“Bernie Madoff tried to pull the wool over the eyes of thousands of investors. These manipulators who claim to be our governors are trying to pull the wool over an entire country,” Vander Zalm charged.

“We are looking at ways to challenge the Constitutionality of this scurrilous process in court. It seems democracy and the Constitution have not only been subverted, but are effectively being destroyed with the creation of the HST. It is unbelievable!” Vander Zalm concluded.

The full text of MLA Rustad and Kortmeyer’s’s email exchange is below:

From: Rustad.MLA, John
Subject: RE: Harmonized Sales Tax
To: “jack kortmeyer” <**********@yahoo.ca>
Received: Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 2:08 PM
Hi Jack,
This is the response from the Attorney General’s office:
This is from the Ministry of Finance:
The concerns which have been raised that the harmonized sales tax is an unconstitutional delegation of provincial legislative authority reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the tax.
The harmonized sales tax is a federal tax. It is imposed by the federal government under the Excise Tax Act. The constitutional authority for the Excise Tax Act is found in section 91(3) of the Constitution Act, 1867 which provides exclusive legislative authority to the Parliament of Canada for “the raising of money by any mode or system of taxation.”
Under section 92 of the Constitution Act, 1967, the province of British Columbia has exclusive legislative authority for “direct taxation within the province in order to the raising of a revenue for provincial purposes.” This is the constitutional authority for the provincial sales tax imposed under the Social Service Tax Act.
Under harmonization, British Columbia is not delegating its legislative authority for direct taxation to the federal government but agreeing not to exercise that authority in exchange for a share of the federal tax. If British Columbia no longer receives that share of the federal tax there is nothing to prevent British Columbia from again exercising its legislative authority and imposing a provincial sales tax.
Sincerely,
John Rustad, MLA, Nechako-Lakes
________________________________________
From: jack kortmeyer [mailto:***********@yahoo.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 12:02 PM
To: Rustad.MLA, John
Subject: Harmonized Sales Tax
John
On Oct 14 2009 I attended a meeting with local merchants and yourself at the Chamber of Commerce meeting room in Burns Lake . During this meeting I made a brief presentation on my position as to why I felt the Harmonized Sales Tax in its present form is unconstitutional. With my presentation I also provided you with excerpts from the Lord Nelson Hotel Supreme Court Case, the Statute of Westminster 1931, the British North America Act 1867-1982 and even a comment on taxation by W.A.C. Bennett. You mentioned to me at this meeting that you did not know much about this Constitutional topic, however you assured me you would pass my information onto the Attorney General for his opinion, I have not to date received a reply. When may I expect an answer from the Attorney General on this very important Constitutional question?
As a Citizen of Canada and British Columbia I ask you our Member of the Legislative Assembly, the Attorney General and the Premier of British Columbia as elected officials to be absolutely certain my Constitutional Rights are protected on this subject of taxation.
Regards,
Jack Kortmeyer
Decker Lake
-30 -
For Further Information:

Bill Vander Zalm Chris Delaney
Leader, Fight HST Lead Organizer
Ph: (604) 946-1774 Fight HST
Ph: (604) 942-6265
Cel: (604) 880-4956

Tags: bc attorney general, British Columbia, burns lake, businessman, capital punishment, criminal law, federal tax, feds, harmonization, HST, legislative authority, Liberals, ministry of finance, mla, municipality, nechako lakes, provincial government, repercussions, side agreements