For Immediate Release

Aug. 16, 2010

CHONG AND COELL’S REFUSAL TO STAND UP OVER HST IS A SLAP IN FACE TO CONSTITUENTS

VICTORIA – MLAs Ida Chong and Murray Coell’s refusal to urge the premier to recall the legislature and allow a free vote on the HST bill is a slap in the face to the Oak Bay and North Saanich residents they were elected to represent, New Democrats say.

“The successful citizen-led initiative to stop the HST has been stalled by B.C. Liberal friends attempting to bog the issue down in the courts,” said New Democrat MLA Maurine Karagianis. “As someone who sits around the cabinet table, Murray Coell could stand up for the 13,488 constituents who signed the petition and made the initiative a success.

“Instead he is hiding behind the B.C. Liberal power brokers who are trying to thwart the democratic will.”

Last week, Elections B.C. found that the initiative petition had obtained more than the number of signatures required to succeed. However, the chief electoral officer has refused to forward the petition to the legislature, citing a court case brought forward by a group of organizations which have donated over $381,500 to the B.C. Liberal party since 2001.

“Despite the fact that she is a cabinet minister and sits on the provincial treasury board, Ida Chong has been silent on the HST since the B.C. Liberals broke their election promise and announced the $1.9 billion tax shift,” said New Democrat MLA Rob Fleming. “And even though 8,997 of Ida Chong’s Oak Bay-Gordon Head constituents signed the initiative petition, she is still refusing to stand up for the people she was elected to represent.

“Ida Chong should call on the premier to bring back the legislature, table the HST bill, and allow his MLAs a free vote so they can finally represent their constituents.”

Once the chief electoral officer has determined that an initiative petition is successful, Elections B.C. must send the petition and the associated draft bill to the Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives, which can either introduce the bill in to the House or send it to referendum.

“If the premier and the B.C. Liberals wanted to respect the will of the 700,000 British Columbians that signed the successful anti-HST initiative, they could introduce a bill directly onto the floor of the legislature. But instead, MLAs Coell, Chong and the rest of the B.C. Liberals are hiding behind their big business friends who are trying to circumvent the process,”  said New Democrat MLA Lana Popham.

The Carole James New Democrats are working with British Columbians from all walks of life, all corners of B.C., and all sectors of our economy to build a better British Columbia for the people of this province.

-30-