sa国际传媒's business community launched a legal challenge against Bill Vander Zalm's anti-HST petition yesterday in a move that could scuttle the 705,000-signature campaign.
A coalition of big business organizations asked the sa国际传媒 Supreme Court to review, and ultimately quash, Vander Zalm's petition, saying his draft bill to cancel the HST is not valid because the tax falls under federal jurisdiction.
"We just want a judge to tell us one way or another whether this bill that's been filed with the petition is constitutional or not," said John Allan, president and CEO of the Council of Forest Industries, one of six business groups involved.
The court challenge came on the eve of Vander Zalm declaring victory in his petition drive and submitting the final results to Elections sa国际传媒 in Victoria today.
If verified, his proposed bill to cancel the HST could be introduced into the legislature at the next sitting; the government has the option of voting it down.
The business organizations denied trying to upstage the popular former premier and said they had to act before the HST takes effect tomorrow.
The court challenge includes Elections sa国际传媒, which approved Vander Zalm's petition on April 6 and allowed his Fight HST organization to gather more than 705,000 signatures in the province's 85 electoral ridings.
People who signed the petition were actually indicating support for Vander Zalm's anti-HST bill, although many never read the proposed legislation. A successful court challenge could invalidate all those signatures.
Vander Zalm, who co-wrote the bill with Fight HST organizer Chris Delaney, said he consulted with Elections sa国际传媒 lawyers and received final approval on the bill's validity.
He called the court challenge "absolutely nuts."
"It helps our cause enormously because it makes people all the more angry."
The court challenge claims Elections sa国际传媒 erred in law and exceeded its jurisdiction when it approved a petition that could result in the sa国际传媒 legislature acting outside its powers. Vander Zalm's bill seeks to cancel the HST, but only the federal government, which enacted the tax through law, can do so, the business groups say.
"All British Columbians should know whether this is constitutionally sound or not," said Philip Hochstein, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association. "And if it isn't sound, then Elections sa国际传媒 has a lot to answer for. What the hell were they doing?"
Other business organizations involved in the court challenge include the Mining Association of sa国际传媒, Western Convenience Stores Association, Coast Forest Products Association and the sa国际传媒 Chamber of Commerce.
The court must agree to the request for a judicial review; it is not automatic. It could take more than two weeks before a hearing date is set before a judge.
The Opposition NDP criticized the court challenge. "They are trying to defeat the will of the people on a legal technicality," said NDP justice critic Leonard Krog.
A chart on how the HST works can be found here.
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