PRESS RELEASE: JUDGE RULES PETITION MUST GO TO LEGISLATURE
Aug 20, 2010 Press Release
HST Extinguishment Act a valid matter for Province to deal with
Vancouver – BC Supreme Court Chief Justice, Robert Bauman, ruled today that the Initiative petition to end the HST in British Columbia is a valid matter for the legislature, and gave the go ahead to the Chief Electoral Officer to hand over the petition and draft Bill, “The HST Extinguishment Act”, to the legislative Standing Committee.
Initiative proponent, Fight HST leader and former Premier, Bill Vander Zalm, said lawyers for the business lobby tried to argue that the HST Extinguishment Act was beyond provincial authority. “They said the HST was an exclusively federal tax that could not be extinguished by the BC government once implemented. Justice Bauman’s decision has essentially nullified that argument by allowing the legislature to ‘undo’ the HST by whatever means is necessary.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bc government, bc supreme court, bill vander zalm, business lobby, chief electoral officer, draft bill, excise tax act, federal tax, finance minister, harmonization, HST, initiative petition, judge rules, provincial legislature, provincial sales, robert bauman, sovereign authority, supreme court chief justice, unilateral actions, vancouver bc
PRESS RELEASE: Vander Zalm launches legal challenge to HST in BC
Jul 5, 2010 Press Release
Vander Zalm launches legal challenge to HST in BC
VANCOUVER – In what might be described as the second of a one-two punch, former BC premier Bill Vander Zalm today filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the HST in B.C.
The Petition filed in the B.C. Supreme Court seeks an order quashing the OIC that authorized the government to enter the Agreement with the government of Canada that purports to impose the HST in B.C. and a declaration that such Agreement is a nullity and of no force and effect.
The essence of the Petition is that the provincial Cabinet has unlawfully imposed a tax on the citizens of B.C. without legislative authority.
If the lawsuit is successful the HST will not apply in British Columbia.
Tags: basic principle, bc finance, chris delaney, constitutionality, federal finance minister, finance minister jim flaherty, gordon campbell, government of canada, initiative petition, legal challenge, legislative approval, legislative authority, nullity, oic, prime minister stephen harper, provincial cabinet, provincial legislature, stephen harper, taxation without representation, zalm




