Whether or not the anti-HST initiative is successful, British Columbians have already claimed victory and raised the bar for democratic expectations.

British Columbians now know what they are capable of doing should their government get out of control or do something against the wishes of the majority of citizens. While the province may think the petition initiative is only about the HST, it’s really about democracy in general and is a sign of life of the freedoms other provinces in this country don’t enjoy.

The B.C. Recall and Initiative Act allows a registered voter to petition to remove a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from his or her office.

Unfortunately, no other province or territory in Canada has a system in place for removing elected representatives from office between elections. But we do! So, enjoy and protect that right.

Furthermore, the initiative act gives registered voters the ability to propose new laws, and strike down or change existing or proposed legislation.

The precedent is being set by the current, highly publicized anti-HST petition and it may prove to be a nightmare for the current and future governments in this province, but hey, that is how it should be.

It was the highly influential U.S. founding father, Thomas Jefferson, who so eloquently said that when the people fear their government, there is tyranny, and when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

I wonder if British Columbians fear the current government or if the B.C. government fears us.

The next time we need a recall of some politician or a plebiscite (referendum) over some new legislation, we now know the steps involved, and we won’t need Bill Vander Zalm to do it.

Any B.C. citizen who is a registered voter can start the process. You don’t have to be a former premier. It’s that simple.

Can you imagine if the teaching of the B.C. Recall and Initiative Act were mandatory in all B.C. schools? The amount of accountability the next generation would demand from government would be unprecedented.

The fear of recall would and should keep all of our MLAs accountable and honest. Impossible it may be for a politician to be honest, but you just watch the change in government when the first MLA is recalled.

The closest an MLA has come to being recalled was in 2002 when canvassers gathered 13,168 signatures of the required 11,949 to recall then Delta-South Liberal MLA Val Roddick. Only 9,999 signatures ended up being valid and the recall failed.

— John O'Connor