Former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm is bringing his anti-Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) petition campaign to Squamish May 9 with a presentation and signature collecting taking place at the Sea to Sky Hotel from 1 to 5 p.m.
Vander Zalm helped launch a petition campaign on Sept. 19 to force the government to hold a referendum on the question of whether British Columbians want the HST, which is scheduled to take effect July 1.
"The problem here is that we have a premier who is operating more and more by stealth," wrote Vander Zalm in a column printed in the Georgia Straight. "The consequences of his actions are extremely damaging to our province, and in many cases, can never be reversed. The HST is just the latest betrayal -but for most British Columbians, it is the straw that broke the camel's back."
The HST would eliminate the seven per cent Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and five per cent Goods and Service Tax (GST) to create a new 12 per cent sales tax across the board, including on items previously exempt from PST such as restaurant purchases.
The petition initiative would require 10 per cent of the registered voters in each constituency to sign on within a 90-day period, and could.
Last week, a North Vancouver anti-HST faction held a blitz in Squamish and collected approximately 800 names.
Elections BC oversees a process allowing such petitions to pressure government into action, however the strict legalities have caused a few mishaps along the way.
Local petitioners are currently scrambling to get the 200 to 300 people who signed up the previous week to sign again since the forms they were using were for a different riding.
