VICTORIA - British Columbia's Chief Electoral Officer, Harry Neufeld, has granted approval in principle on an initiative petition application. The petition will be issued to proponent William Vander Zalm on Tuesday, April 6, 2010. The title of the initiative is: An initiative to end the harmonized sales tax (HST).

“This is the seventh initiative petition application to be approved since the legislation came into force in 1995”, notes Neufeld.

Any registered voter can apply to have a petition issued to gather support for a legislative proposal. After the petition is issued, the proponent will have 90 days to canvass and collect signatures of at least 10% of the registered voters in each of the 85 electoral districts.

Individuals or organizations who intend to oppose the initiative, conduct initiative advertising, or canvass for signatures must be registered with Elections BC. The deadline to apply for registration as an initiative opponent is March 8, 2010.

Registered voters as of April 6, 2010 may sign the petition for the electoral district in which they are registered. Voters may only sign the petition once.

For more information on the initiative petition, visit the Elections BC website www.elections.bc.ca/index.php/referenda-recall-initiative/initiative/hst/.

FACTS ABOUT INITIATIVE

The Recall and Initiative Act is administered by the Chief Electoral Officer. The Act allows registered voters in British Columbia to propose new laws or changes to existing laws.

Any registered voter can apply to have a petition issued to gather support for a legislative proposal by submitting an application to the Chief Electoral Officer. A completed application consists of a fully completed and signed application form, a copy of the draft Bill, and a non-refundable $50 processing fee. The draft Bill must be on a matter within the jurisdiction of the provincial legislature and must be written in a clear and unambiguous manner. Approval in principle of an application is officially granted at the time a Notice of Petition is published in the British Columbia Gazette.

Individuals and organizations may register as opponents to an initiative petition or initiative vote.

Sixty days after the notice is published in the Gazette, the Chief Electoral Officer issues an original petition signature sheet and cover sheet for each electoral district. An initiative petition must be signed within 90 days from the date on which it is issued. Signatures may be gathered by volunteer canvassers.

The petition must be signed within the 90-day canvassing period by at least 10% of the registered voters in each of the electoral districts in the province, who were registered to vote on the date the petition was issued. The proponent must comply with the initiative financing provisions. If these requirements are met, the Chief Electoral Officer must send a copy of the verified petition and draft Bill to a Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives.

The Select Standing Committee must meet within 30 days of receipt of the petition and draft Bill. From their first meeting, the Committee has 90 days to consider the legislative proposal and either table a report recommending introduction of the draft Bill, or refer the initiative to the Chief Electoral Officer for an initiative vote. Initiative votes are scheduled every three years. If required, the next initiative vote will be on September 24, 2011.

For an initiative vote to be successful, the majority of registered voters in the province must vote in favour of the initiative and more than 50% of registered voters in at least two-thirds of the electoral districts in the province must vote in favour of the initiative. If successful, government must introduce the initiative Bill at the earliest practical opportunity.

Seven initiative applications have received approval in principle since the Recall and Initiative Act was brought into force in February of 1995.