Thursday, August 04, 2011

Last call to vote YES to Extinguish the HST! TODAY - Friday August 5 - where to drop off your ballot!

Bill Tieleman helping unload 705,643 signatures on Fight HST citizens Initiative petition at Elections BC headquarters in Victoria, June 30, 2010.  Box with signatures of home riding of Vancouver-Point Grey is in hand!
It's nearly over! 

Friday August 5, 2011 is the very last day British Columbians can vote to extinguish the Harmonized Sales Tax in the binding referendum forced by the Fight HST citizens Initiative petition.

So make sure your ballot is counted - if you haven't yet voted - by dropping it off at an Elections BC or Service BC office before 4:30 p.m.!

Remember - this crucial vote that can get rid off or keep the HST was only possible because 705,643 citizens signed the Fight HST petition to extinguish the HST.  [Of those, 557,383 were verified as valid for their riding by Elections BC.]

And of course, it only became a binding referendum when former BC Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell promised it in a desperate attempt to cling to power when opposition to his imposition of the HST became overwhelming.

So exercise your right to direct democracy - in the only province in Canada with Initiative legislation, as flawed and difficult as it is, in the only successful Initiative petition ever launched.

And even if you disagree and want to keep the HST and pay the extra 7% on hundreds of goods and services, use your ballot - democracy is the duty of every citizen.

Elections BC said Thursday it will attempt to count all the ballots and issue a result on August 25 - stay tuned!

.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ready......set.....corruption!

Anonymous said...

Also don't forget..

Get those damn signs off the road starting tomorrow morning. They have served their purpose and VanderZalm, Delaney and Bill can do good by making the effort.

There was much ballyhoo about them getting stolen. So if you really care about democracy, clean up your own mess afterwards.

Anonymous said...

Those damn signs are a "sign' for democracy. They represent what people feel about this corrupt government. Known for their lying, stealing and vile attitudes towards the people. When is the next election?
Kam Lee

Anonymous said...

Those damn signs are a "sign' for democracy. They represent what people feel about this corrupt government. Known for their lying, stealing and vile attitudes towards the people. When is the next election?

The signs are a sign for democracy during an election / referendum. To encourage people to vote a certain way (same as candidate signs)

The day after an election or referendum, they are eyesore junk that need to be taken to the dump.

Have respect for the citizens in your neighbourhood and get them removed starting 7 AM Saturday.

Next election is next spring probably.

Get busy with your own NDP candidate.

DPL said...

I'm sure the NO HST folks will remove the signs as they always do the right thing. The die is cast, as the old expression goes, so we wait. Today we got some scrap lumber and stuff hauled away. The price was bad enough but the additional 44 dollars for Gordos stealth HST tax, really hurt.

cherylb said...

Way to go Bill. Job well done....

Anonymous said...

If I lived there, I would help the HST team to pick up the signs. The HST team, will certainly not leave the signs up. The HST team, have been totally fair and tried to be decent. The BC Liberals, have not. And of course, no-one will steal the signs now, will they?

I just don't trust Craig James of Elections BC, to be honest. We have not one reason in the world, to trust him, nor the BC Liberals.

The BC Liberals don't honor democracy. Neither does Harper. He, Campbell and Hansen colluded on the HST, long before, the BC election. Hansen finally had to admit that.

So, the BC citizens even had their own prime Minister, against his own Canadian citizens. I was astonished when, Harper chastised the BC people, for forcing his partner in crime, Campbell to resign. Did it even occur to Harper, that he and the BC Liberals, forced the HST onto the very people, who could least afford it? It did not. Harper's greed was very obvious. He was taking from the BC people, to give to big business. That is truly revolting for a P.M. to, side with a monster like Campbell, against his own Canadian citizens.

Well that's ok Harper, you gave an evil monster, a very cushy job, to make it all up to Campbell.

The HST team and the rest of us, have had to stand on our own.

We had the BC Liberals, pulling dirty tactics. We had Craig James using dirty tactics. We even had the Liberal propaganda media, against us. We have the Chamber of Commerce against the people. We have, big business against the people.

This is supposed to be Canada. This country, has never been more, un-Canadian.

When a news paper, as far away as Australia writes, how badly democracy is eroded in Canada. That is another embarrassment, because of Harper.

This country's good name, has been fouled and ruined.

Campbell, out and out thieved and sold our assets. He is who, is responsible for BC's financial ruin.

Anonymous said...

People like 4:55 pm should just pack up and leave and don’t let the door hit them in the ass on the way out. The amount of whines and cries on this blog is staggering.

Paul said...

@4:55 PM

I don't trust the BC Liberal's hand-picked "temporary" choice for chief electoral officer Craig James either.

The BC Libs hand-picked Craig James to be the BC Chief Electoral Officer in the final hour of a spring sitting without consulting the NDP.

He has a pattern of behaviour.

In his first ruling he declared that the Liberals’ HST advocacy web site was not a violation of the Initiative Act, even though the RCMP thought it was.

He ruled that Fight HST could not use money raised for the petition to defend itself against a court challenge.

He allowed the government to have observers at the petition count, even though the government had failed to register as an opponent and had no official interest in the petition.

He fired deputy chief electoral officer Linda Johnson from the job she held for 28 years.

He refused to forward the successful petition to repeal the HST to the select standing committee until the judge ordered him to do so "forthwith".

I believe that Elections BC is anything but non-partisan right now.

I believe that the HST referendum result is a done deal and that the BC Liberals are simply putting on a really bad play for us all right now.

I believe that at least 75% have voted to kill the HST and that they voted in vain.

I hope I'm wrong.

Who in the hell is really going to vote to keep the biggest tax grab in BC history that we were lied to about?

urgman

Paul said...

Here's another little gem.

Public Eye Online is reporting that the office running the BC Liberal government's pro-HST campaign secretly awarded around $46,000 of work to a company owned by Finance Minister Kevin Falcon's deputy leadership campaign manager.

HST info office awards work to ex-Falcon campaigner

What else is Kevin Falcon going to do to make the underground economy totally justifiable?

urgman

Bill Tieleman said...

Thanks Cheryl - your work on the Initiative petition was critical to our success today!

Grant G said...

Mr. Tieleman(and team), congratulations on a good winning campaign...

Have you considered a new facebook page..

If you voted yes to kill the HST join the group.

After all, it`s those who count that control the result

Good Day

Anonymous said...

The BC Libs hand-picked Craig James to be the BC Chief Electoral Officer in the final hour of a spring sitting without consulting the NDP.

Wasn't "hand picked". He was given the job by a Selection Committee of which two on the committee were NDP MLAs and afterwards approved by the Legislature (there was no acrimony or opposition to his appintment by the NDP Members of the Committee nor any NDP MLA in the Legislature. None. Would this arguement be any different if the situation occured within an NDP government?

Anonymous said...

The BC Liberals don't honor democracy. Neither does Harper. He, Campbell and Hansen colluded on the HST, long before, the BC election. Hansen finally had to admit that.

Did the NDP honour democracy when they were in power? About the same as the BC Liberals (and the Conservatives did).

David Zirhelt, a former NDP MLA said:

"Government can do what ever they want". His words. Pretty scary isn't it?

The NDP raised taxes with NO input from the citizens.

Paul said...

@Mr./Mrs/Ms. Anonymous - Monday, 8 August, 2011 12:04:00 PM PDT

Wasn't "hand picked"?

Was given the job by a Selection Committee of which two on the committee were NDP MLAs?

Give all of us here a break.

Have you ever heard of The Vancouver Sun?

Have you ever heard of Vaughn Palmer?

-----
THE VANCOUVER SUN

A last-minute surprise -- make that ambush -- by the Liberals

By VAUGHN PALMER 4 JUN 2010

QUOTES:

As the legislature moved to the final afternoon on the spring schedule Thursday, government house leader Mike de Jong got to his feet for a surprise announcement.

"I wanted to take the opportunity to advise members here before we depart that the clerk of committees, Mr. Craig James, has agreed on a temporary basis to serve as acting chief electoral officer for B.C."

Big gulp from the NDP side of the house, for this was the first they'd heard of it.


Yet here was the government, unilaterally appointing a new temporary head of the office, without even the courtesy of consulting the opposition in advance.
-----
Here it is:

READ IT!

-----
Oh yeah, and Craig James has now been rewarded by being named Legislative Clerk by Christy Clark.

The job comes with a salary of $250,000 and is the top “non-partisan” staff position in the Legislature.

THE VANCOUVER SUN

Opinion: Clerk's appointment a telling sign

By Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun June 3, 2011

QUOTE:

"Not a proud day in the history of the chamber. But a telling illustration of the way the B.C. Liberals all too often persist in doing things."

READ IT!

urgman

Anonymous said...

"Wasn't "hand picked"?"

Voted in by the Selection Committee. Same process the NDP used when they were in power.


"Was given the job by a Selection Committee of which two on the committee were NDP MLAs?"

Same process the NDP used when they were in power, with Two BC Liberals on a Committee.

"Give all of us here a break."

Try one yourself.

"Have you ever heard of The Vancouver Sun?"

Have you heard of doing homework before rants?

"Have you ever heard of Vaughn Palmer?"

Met him several times. He's part of that bad MSM that everyone in blogsphere hates (well selectively hates).