Anti-HST organizers will be allowed to petition within the confines of Vancouver’s city hall, council voted yesterday afternoon.
The motion to allow Fight HST to collect signatures within the building was approved almost unanimously (NPA Coun. Suzanne Anton was the lone vote opposed).
“This is part of making sure democracy works for all the citizens of Vancouver,” said COPE Coun. Ellen Woodsworth, who introduced the motion.
Vancouver’s decision came the same day the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs announced they would join with former premier Bill Vander Zalm in a possible legal challenge of the pending tax.
A day earlier, Vancouver’s park board voted 5-2 to allow petitioners to set up in the lobbies of community centres.
Commissioner Raj Hundal, who brought the motion forward, said the wording of the final motion was changed because of a legal opinion to include the Recall and Initiative Act, the legislation behind the petition.
