It's never pleasant to start a new job with a hot potato on your desk. So pity Craig James, former Clerk of Committees at the British Columbia legislature, who recently took over as acting Chief Electoral Officer of the province.
This summer, the anti-Harmonized Sales Tax campaign deposited a petition signed by 700,000 people with Mr. James' office. His task: to certify the petition as valid and, if so, prepare the attached scrap-the-tax bill for debate in the provincial legislature. Mr. James surprised many last week when it was revealed he was officially recognizing the petition, but halting its progress pending the outcome of a court challenge. As tough a call as this may have been for Mr. James, a much more serious reckoning awaits B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell.
The court challenge is led by a variety of business groups, including the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, who appreciate the many economic advantages of an HST. Their legal beef is that the proposed legislation appears to demand changes to both federal and provincial statutes. "The draft bill is … a constitutional impossibility," former B.C. Attorney-General Geoff Plant has written, supporting the Chamber's position. "It cannot be passed by the provincial legislature."
Bill Vander Zalm, the former B.C. premier now leading the anti-HST campaign, has reacted with outrage over the delay, calling it "the worst kind of political meddling I have ever seen in all my political days." (An interesting choice of words, considering the conflict of interest charges that dogged his previous political career.)
Setting aside all the bluster, it is reasonable to determine the validity of the bill before the legislature gets involved, particularly since the HST went into effect on July 1. Mr. James' decision thus appears entirely defensible. The B.C. Supreme Court is to begin hearings Monday and should recognize the necessity for speed in this matter.
Whatever happens with the court challenge, however, the remarkable success of the B.C. petition campaign cannot be overlooked.
It is striking to compare the relative passivity with which the HST was accepted in Ontario this year to the outrage on display in B.C. The fact that Mr. Campbell campaigned against the HST during the 2009 election, and then changed his mind shortly thereafter, is likely a major factor in this difference. And from this perspective, the petition may say more about political process than optimal tax policy.
The HST is undoubtedly the right move for B.C.'s economy. Eventually, however, the Campbell government will have to seek approval for it from the voting public, either in a separate referendum or in the next general election. And if the premier wants angry B.C. residents to change their minds about the HST, he'll have to do a better job explaining why he changed his.