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: Vander Zalm takes #HST Town Hall tour to Vancouver Island this week
Apr 13, 2010 Press Release
Vander Zalm takes HST Town Hall tour to Vancouver Island this week
Delta – Fresh on the heels of successful meetings in White Rock and Maple Ridge where thousands of voters turned out to sign the petition to end the HST, Fight HST Leader Bill Vander Zalm is taking his Town Hall tour to Vancouver Island.
Vander Zalm will explain to Islanders why the tax will hurt British Columbia, and not help it as the Liberal government has been saying. He will make stops in Victoria on Thursday, April 15 at 7:30pm at the Ocean Pointe Resort, in Nanaimo at noon on Friday, April 16, at the Beben Park Rec Centre, and in Courtenay, also on Friday April 16 at 7:30 at the Upper Legion Hall.
“We are getting tremendous support now all across BC. What started as a movement to stop the HST has turned into an open revolt against an out of touch and arrogant government that refuses to listen to its own people,” said Vander Zalm. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bill vander zalm, bowen road, British Columbia, british columbians, citizen initiative, courtenay comox, islanders, legion hall, liberal government, maple ridge, meeting times, nanaimo, ocean pointe resort, open revolt, petition, rec centre, road victoria, sales tax, town hall tour, vancouver island
PRESS RELEASE: FORMER PREMIER BILL VANDERZALM LAUNCHES FIGHT #HST CITIZEN’S INITIATIVE PETITION CAMPAIGN IN PREMIER GORDON CAMPBELL’S OWN RIDING TUESDAY APRIL 6 AT 7:30PM AT KITSILANO HIGH SCHOOL
Apr 1, 2010 Press Release
Former Premier Bill Vander Zalm launches Fight HST citizens Initiative petition campaign in Premier Gordon Campbell’s own riding Tuesday April 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Kitsilano High School
VANCOUVER – Former BC Premier Bill Vander Zalm will launch the Fight HST citizens Initiative petition campaign to stop the Harmonized Sales Tax in BC Premier Gordon Campbell’s own riding of Vancouver-Point Grey on Tuesday April 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Kitsilano Secondary School, 2550 West 10th Avenue.
The public rally April 6 marks the beginning of the 90 days Fight HST has to collect the signatures of 10% of registered BC voters in each of the province’s 85 constituencies for the Initiative petition to be accepted by Elections BC, says Fight HST Lead Organizer Chris Delaney.
Vander Zalm says it was important to launch the campaign right in Premier Gordon Campbell’s own riding to send a clear message to the BC Liberal government. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bc premier, bill vander zalm, british columbians, chris delaney, finance minister, government british, harmonized sales tax, hated tax, healthcare education, HST, important services, initiative petition, liberal government, liberal mlas, petition campaign, point grey, premier gordon campbell, public rally, school vancouver, smashing success, vancouver point
HST INPUT TAX CREDIT SUSPENSIONS likely for small business
Nov 11, 2009 Guest Posts
The BC Liberal government has made a big deal about how this HST is going to be good for business and how BC businesses will be able to recover “INPUT TAX CREDITS” paid out on a number of different items.
What Minister Colin Hansen and Premier Gordon Campbell did not tell you was that if Hansen figures things are sticky enough, he can suspend part or ALL of those “INPUT TAX CREDITS”. And not just for a short time either. 5 YEARS of full suspension, plus 3 years more to phase them back in.
Wait just a minute guys? What the heck did you need that for? If Hansen was not contemplating using this provision, why is it there?
It is very clear that the Liberals know full well what is coming after the 2010 OWE-lympics are done. And they have decided that your slurpee is too much of a luxury for them to miss the tax on.
Every small BC business is going to take a beating on the HST. Either directly, or indirectly because even if you can believe that insane $1.9 BILLION projection of increased tax burden on BC consumers, that works out to some $460 increased tax by every man, woman and child in BC. And those numbers are the ones offered up by the same fiscal sharpies that ran the last election of an approximate $460 million deficit projection only to have it revealed later it was in the multiple BILLIONS!!
No small business can be expected to see $2500 per family removed in terms of buying power. Because while families will be paying more for goods because of this HST, incomes are NOT going up to keep pace. So small BC businesses are in grave danger of being wiped out over this.
Mike Summers
Northern organizer, Fight HST
Tags: bc business, bc businesses, bc consumers, full suspension, grave danger, hansen, HST, incomes, input tax, last election, liberal government, man, mike summers, Owe-lympics, premier gordon campbell, sharpies, slurpee, Tax Burden, woman and child
Why I am against the HST (By Bill Vander Zalm)
Aug 25, 2009 Details
Every well practiced politician can make a case for or against whatever it is being proposed. With the HST, let’s just deal with a few simple facts and forget all the rhetoric.
The B.C. Liberal government has told us that the new HST will be revenue neutral. Revenue neutral, they explain, is that it’s a tax paid by the consumer, not to go to Healthcare, Social Services, Education or some other government program but, to provide tax relief to business by way of tax refunds.
They further state that the HST will bring in $2 Billion (that’s – $ 2,000,000,000) per year. In our province of 4 million people that works out to $ 500 per year for every man, woman and child and that it will probably be about $ 2000 + per family or about $ 1250 for the average senior couple.
For most people that is a heavy extra burden and means cutting back on eating out, going to the theatre, going to a hockey game, getting a haircut and even the much more important things. Economics 101 tells us that less consumer spending means a loss of jobs.
The government tells us that Industry will cut their prices and we will gain by that. The B.C. government fails to tell us that 90% of the B.C. Economy is the resource industry. The only difference to the likes of Alcan, Cominco, Endako, Fording Coal, Shell Oil and the likes is that the tax refunds, from you the B.C. consumer, will help those poor Canadians, Americans, Europeans and Asians that have shares in these companies. It is world wide commodity prices that decide the price of oil, natural gas, coal, lumber or minerals not a tax refund. It’s world commodity prices that decide whether these companies create more jobs and hire more people, not a tax refund.
The Premier and Minister of Finance tell us that in a few years manufactured goods will get cheaper. The best example of what is likely to happen, came from the Ministers themselves. When it was discovered that a bottle of wine would be a little cheaper under HST than PST they annouced that the Liquor Control Board would increase its profit to make up the difference.
What made me especially angry was the way in which the HST was foisted upon us. After saying no HST and no more new taxes, during the election only a few months ago, when they must have been in negotiations with the federal government on it, premier Campbell then foisted it upon us all in a take it or leave it manner. Well, I choose to leave it.
In short it’s a deceitful tax grab, during a time of economic downturn, taken from those least able to pay with most of it going to help out the shareholders in those big companies.
Bill Vander Zalm
Tags: bill vander zalm, federal government, finance minister, groceries, haircut, heavy burden, hockey game, HST, liberal government, logging company, man woman and child, negotiations, noticeable difference, politician, rhetoric, woman and child
