Harry Neufeld, British Columbia's chief electoral officer, in his office building in Victoria Tuesday.Deddeda Stemler/The Globe and Mail
The petition to repeal the harmonized sales tax is a "piece of constitutional nonsense" that should never have been allowed by Elections BC, says former attorney-general Geoff Plant.
That's just the latest attack on Elections BC mounted by opponents of the anti-HST petition and critics - including the sponsor of the petition - say it shows the B.C. Liberals are increasingly worried about the likelihood that the petition may succeed.
Chief Electoral Officer Harry Neufeld said Friday the proposal could be challenged, but rejected the contention it was not properly vetted.
"I am not going to say it's a model piece of legislation," said Mr. Neufeld in an interview. "I'm not going to suggest for a moment that it might be above challenge. But my office did due diligence in having this carefully reviewed to ensure that it met the requirements of several different lawyers that we commissioned."
Mr. Plant said the proposed initiative is not within the jurisdiction of the province - as required by law - because the HST is a federal tax and outside the authority of the B.C. Legislature
"I don't think it's a close call whether this bill passes muster. It's open-and-shut that it fails," he said in an interview.
The petition is governed under the province's citizen-driven recall and initiative law. It was put forward by former Premier Bill Vander Zalm, who recalled on Friday that there were weeks of legal revisions before Elections BC would approve the wording of the draft bill.
The version that was approved would extinguish the agreement between B.C. and Ottawa to establish the HST. "For greater clarity, the HST is hereby extinguished in British Columbia," it states.
The initiative campaign requires the valid signatures of 10 per cent of eligible voters in every provincial riding by July 5 to pass, and organizers say they are confident they'll clear those hurdles.
Mr. Plant said it is too late now to stop the petition, but called for the draft law to be referred to the courts if the petition succeeds - before it either goes to the legislature or a referendum.
Meanwhile, Mr. Vander Zalm said his campaign is looking at a legal challenge of its own, to argue the province had no authority to sign the deal in the first place. "They are trying to beat us on the news coming out that we might be challenging them," he said.
"The lawyers can argue all they want but the petition message is clear. Stop the HST," said Mike Farnworth, the New Democratic Party House leader. "The initiative process is a way for people to send the government a message and that is exactly what they are doing."
In April, Finance Minister Colin Hansen complained Elections BC has been unfair in limiting government advertising on the HST. Last week, Liberal MLA Terry Lake suggested the legislative committee that would handle the petition - which he chairs - could throw it out as invalid.
Premier Gordon Campbell later clarified that if the petition passes, the all-party committee will either send the bill to a referendum or it will bring the proposal before the legislature.
Mr. Neufeld said the B.C. Liberal government appears to be frustrated with how the non-partisan office has handled this petition.
"I can understand why they might be miffed because in some ways the law is working against what they would like to be able to do," he said.
Saturday is Mr. Neufeld's last day on the job, although it is an open question whether he will seek another term. A legislative committee is looking for a new chief electoral officer.
In his nearly eight years, Mr. Neufeld presided over two provincial elections, three by-elections, two referenda on electoral reform and nine recall petitions. As well, he was part of a major overhaul of the province's electoral map that created the current 85-seat legislature.