Being visible will be one of the keys to getting enough signatures in the anti-HST petition drive, say organizers of the successful Blue Bridge petition.
"Having people on the street. That's the main thing," said Ross Crockford, director of johnsonstreetbridge.org, the organization that forced a vote on borrowing $42 million to replace the bridge.
Bridge-petition volunteers were issued blue smocks labelled Blue Bridge Petition.
"I would suggest those guys do exactly the same thing. Get them made up that say 'HST Petition.' That way, when you're standing on the street corner, people who want to sign the petition just come out of the crowd."
For the HST petition to succeed, organizers must collect signatures of 10 per cent of registered voters in each of the province's 85 ridings in 90 days.
The city allowed 45 days over the Christmas/New Year period for a counter-petition on the proposal to borrow two thirds of the estimated $63-million bridge-replacement cost. Organizers had to collect signatures from 10 per cent of eligible voters -- about 6,343 signatures -- to force a referendum on the issue.
In the end, 9,872 petitions were signed, surprising even the organizers.
Elections sa国际传媒 has established the thresholds for each riding in sa国际传媒 In the Greater Victoria region, petitioners will have to collect 3,805 signatures in the Oak Bay-Gordon Head riding; 4,208 in Victoria-Beacon Hill; 3,813 in Victoria-Swan Lake; 3,771 in Saanich South; 4,430 in Saanich North and the Islands; 3,490 in Juan de Fuca; and 3,734 in Esquimalt Royal Roads.
Crockford and fellow johnsonstreetbridge.org director Mat Wright say the HST petitioners have a mammoth task ahead.
"I think people are in a petition-signing mood. They're becoming more aware of the power of petitions, that's for sure," said Crockford. "But is it something that's going to hold all across the province, in every corner of the province? It's a pretty huge threshold they have to pass."
The bridge campaign had about 50 hard-core volunteers. Wright said "a lot of people on the ground" will be needed to pull off a win in the anti-HST drive.
"I don't think people are going to react if you send something in the mail. It's going to have to be face-to-face. That's the only way it's going to work and that's harder in areas where you've got remote properties," Wright said.
The bridge petitioners also established and regularly updated a web page. Crockford said the online efforts paid off mostly in keeping in touch with volunteers.
"I think for these guys, because they have such a large campaign to organize across the province, it will be useful for that. But in terms of actually drawing people in, it's a bit more difficult."
Brad Slade, co-ordinator of the anti-HST campaign for Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, has more than 400 people registered to knock on doors to gather the necessary signatures and says the number increases each day.
The HST campaign has set up a Victoria office at the White Eagle Hall at 90 Dock St. in James Bay. Volunteers will be at the hall every Saturday from noon until 8 p.m. and Sundays 2 p.m. until 8 p.m.
To be eligible to sign the petition, individuals must be registered on the provincial voters list as of April 6, and can only sign a petition sheet for the electoral district in which they are registered to vote at the time of signing.
Crockford said it would pay to have volunteers scrutinizing signatures.
"If they can set aside some volunteers who do nothing but validate signatures, that would be important. Because it's important to know where you're at -- whether you have to change tactics or ramp up your advertising, any of that kind of stuff."
Opposition to the tax, which combines the five per cent GST with the seven per cent PST, centres on the fact the 12 per cent HST will be applied to everything the GST covered, including many items previously exempt from the provincial tax.
If it succeeds, the initiative -- which proposes to rip up the agreement between the federal government and sa国际传媒 that establishes the HST -- would go to a legislative committee.
That committee would then have 90 days to recommend introduction of a draft bill or refer the initiative to the Chief Electoral Officer for an initiative vote or referendum.
For such a vote to be successful, the majority of registered voters must vote in favour, and more than half of registered voters in at least two-thirds of the electoral districts in the province must support it.
