Court Update & Financial Report for the Initiative petition
Jul 26, 2010 Letters
We have completed and submitted our Financial Report for the Initiative petition to Elections BC on July 23. Once it has been reviewed and approved by them, we will post it on our web site for all to see. (Sneak preview: We were able to do the entire petition for less than the total of $50K cash that we raised - a testament to the generosity of so many people who helped by contributing their own resources too!)
We will also publish a Financial Report on our web site for the HST Legal Challenge in the coming weeks. We are still in need of funds to cover all of our expenses for the challenge. We are talking to numerous businesses and labour groups to see if they will support us as well. Some have indicated a willingness to help, and we are hopeful that we can spread the sacrifice around as much as possible.
However, if you have not donated yet and would like to help our court challenge, we are still in need of another $30,000 to cover this fight.
Donations can be made on-line at: www.fighthst.com/donation/ using credit card or pay pal.
You can also send a cheque to:
HST Legal Challenge
370 East Broadway
PO Box 95023
Vancouver, BC
V5T 4T8
There is no limit to how much one can donate or how much we can raise, as the court challenge is outside the Initiative Act. Any amount you wish to send will be greatly appreciated and will help spread the burden. Also, donations can be made completely anonymously, since no public reporting is required.
We have raised over $20,000 so far from individual supporters for our court challenge! A big thank you to all those who have contributed!!
Our court hearing is slated for August 16 in the BC Supreme Court. Our lawyers have done an incredible job preparing for the case. Our primary argument is that the HST was not legally constituted in BC, because the finance minister simply created it through an Order in Council stroke of the pen, rather than obtaining legislature approval. In every other province that implemented the HST, the MLAs voted to pass the agreement with the federal government, but not here in BC.
In the case of the business group challenge to the legality of the petition, our argument is that the legislation attached to the petition was approved by Elections BC lawyers, and meets the dual tests of clarity and jurisdiction. As well, the intent is clear – to repeal the HST, and that any amendments necessary to the Bill can be made by the legislature as required to give effect to it.
The petition counting continues apace, and so far, not one riding has fallen below the threshold. Again, congratulations to all our diligent canvassers, captains and RO’s for such a thorough job! And special thanks to Patti and our observer team for overseeing the process! We expect the petition to be validated by August 11.
Anyone who wishes to attend the court hearing in our fight against the HST may do so at:
BC Supreme Court
800 Smithe Street, Vancouver
604-660-2853
Date: August 16, 2010
Time: 10:00am
Hearing Room: TBA
Again, thank you for your contributions, and for your moral support as well. We can only win this fight by being united against the tax.
Together, we will defeat the HST!
Bill Vander Zalm
Leader, Fight HST
Tags: bc supreme court, cheque, court challenge, court hearing, donations, east broadway, finance minister, generosity, initiative act, initiative petition, labour groups, lawyers, legal challenge, own resources, sacrifice, sneak preview, stroke of the pen, testament, vancouver bc, willingness
Citizen’s Initiative petition to eliminate the Harmonized Sales Tax is under legal attack
Jul 11, 2010 Letters
Our Fight HST Citizen’s Initiative petition to eliminate the Harmonized Sales Tax is under legal attack by a so called “coalition” of business groups.
We all know it is really the Gordon Campbell-BC Liberals using their corporate friends to try to have our petition thrown out by the court despite 705,643 BC voters signing it.
We are not going to let them!
We have hired noted BC lawyer Joseph Arvay, Q. C. to defend our citizen Initiative petition, and to challenge the legality of the HST in BC.
Tags: bc legislature, bc liberals, business groups, cheques, citizen initiative, corporate friends, finance minister, gordon campbell, harmonized sales tax, initiative petition, labour groups, legal case, mlas, money orders, narrow group, open revolt, provincial sales tax, sales tax, self interests, undemocratic government
PRESS RELEASE: Petition reaches 10% in all 85 ridings 600,000 signatures province-wide, 71 ridings pass 15%
May 31, 2010 Press Release
Fight HST petition reaches 10% requirement in all 85 ridings
600,000 signatures province-wide, 71 ridings pass 15% or greater threshold, including Vancouver Quilchena.
Vander Zalm calls on Premier Campbell to conduct a “free vote” to repeal HST
Port Coquitlam – Fight HST lead organizer, Chris Delaney, says the petition to repeal the HST broke 600,000 signatures province wide this past weekend, and crossed the 10% minimum signature threshold in all 85 electoral districts. He says 71 ridings have hit 15% or better, including Finance Minister Hansen’s own riding of Vancouver Quilchena.
Delaney says organizers are on track to achieve 15% or more signatures in the remaining 14 ridings by the end of next week. “This report represents only 70 of 85 ridings, with a number of ridings not reporting this week, and others still tabulating results from the weekend. We should make our internal 15% target in all ridings by the first or second week of June.”
Tags: bill vander zalm, british columbians, chris delaney, constituent, constituents, direct democracy, electoral districts, finance minister, free vote, initiative act, Liberals, mlas, open vote, petition, political careers, premier gordon campbell, public opinion, quilchena, signatures, target
PRESS RELEASE: Fight HST petition breaks 400,000 signatures in five weeks. Eight weeks left to go.
May 10, 2010 Press Release
56 of 85 ridings hit 10% threshold.
Port Coquitlam – Fight HST lead organizer, Chris Delaney, reported today that the Bill Vander Zalm petition to repeal the HST has hit the 400,000 signature mark as of Monday, May 10th.
Delaney says the petition has achieved the 10% Elections BC threshold in 56 out of a total of 85 ridings across the province. He says that 34 ridings have reached the Fight HST internal threshold of 15% of registered voters or more.
“What is really exciting about this report is the big jump in signatures in both Vancouver and Burnaby this week. We were a little slow getting started in those ridings, but they are catching up quickly, with signature gathering in those regions keeping pace with all other regions now,” said Delaney. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: chris delaney, do the right thing, elections, finance minister, government purchases, hansen, keeping pace, last provincial election, legal petition, public opinion, referendum, registered voters, rejection, signature mark, signatures, threshold, vancouver
PRESS RELEASE: Fight HST Initiative petition breaks 300,000 signatures representing 10% of total registered voters.
May 4, 2010 Press Release
BC Government attempts to intimidate voters backfires as signatures continue to pour in
Delta – The Fight HST citizens Initiative petition to repeal the HST broke the 300,000 signatures mark as of Monday May 3, up an astonishing 155,000 signatures from last week’s total, says Fight HST Lead Organizer, Chris Delaney.
The Initiative, led by former BC Premier Bill Vander Zalm, has now been signed by approximately 10% of the registered voters across BC, Delaney said, with two months left before the July 5 deadline.
But there is still a long way to go, Delaney says, because the 10% total for the Initiative to succeed must be reached in every one of the 85 electoral districts in BC.
Delaney said the sheer size of the number of signatures this early in the petition drive shows that the BC Liberal government’s attempt to discourage and intimidate voters from signing has failed completely.
Tags: bc finance, bc premier, bill vander zalm, chris delaney, delta, electoral districts, finance minister, hansen, initiative petition, liberal government, overwhelming majority, petition drive, registered voters, sales tax, sheer size, signatures, stronghold, target, threshold, vancouver
PRESS RELEASE: BC Finance Minister attacks People’s Petition
Apr 29, 2010 Press Release
Campbell Government trying to smear and intimidate volunteers
Delta – Former BC Premier Bill Vander Zalm calls an official complaint filed by BC Finance Minister Colin Hansen with Elections BC over the Fight HST citizens Initiative petition an example of a government “totally out of control”.
Hansen says he filed the complaint over what he is calling “misinformation” by the all-volunteer Fight HST group in a pamphlet titled the “HST Hit List”.
But Vander Zalm, Fight HST Leader, says it is clear from the government’s actions that they are angry at his group for thwarting the government’s plan to do a mass mail-out to try to sway voters from signing the petition.
Elections BC today ruled that the government cannot send out the pro-HST mailer until after the Initiative signup period ends July 5.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bc finance, bc premier, bill vander zalm, closure, delta, finance minister, hansen, hit list, initiative petition, intention, Liberals, mass mail, misinformation, pamphlet, period ends, public requests, rallies, rough guide, volunteer, volunteers
