Tax was a proper
exercise of provincial
authority, says judge
tation’,” and the argument that the
agreement wasn’t approved by the
provincial legislature.
But the chief justice concluded
that the HST “is not taxation for
provincial purposes such that it
represents an intrusion on British
Columbia’s constitutional taxing
power under” that Act.
“I accept that the HST is taxa-
tion for a national purpose with
the aim, as submitted by the
respondents, of building a
stronger economic foundation
for Canada and achieving admin-
istrative efficiencies…
“These are national purposes
and the parties to the CITCA
believe they are best realized by a
tax that is approached nationally.
It is for this very reason that the
federal government has sought to
include as many provinces as pos-
sible within a harmonized tax
framework, the HST.”
Peter Gall, lead counsel for
the intervenors on the case, the
B.C. Chamber of Commerce and
other business groups, told The
Lawyers Weekly that the deci-
sion means that the HST legisla-
tion is valid federal law.
His anti-HST group wants the
referendum held before the end of
the year or it will launch recall
campaigns against the governing
Liberal MLAs.
B.C.’s recall legislation, unique
in B.C., permits registered voters
to petition for the removal of an
MLA from office.
So far, Premier Gordon Campbell has refused to budge on the
timing of the referendum but he
has promised to
scrap the HST
if a simple
majority votes
against it.
Joe Arvay,
lead counsel for
Vander Zalm,
told the national
legal newspaper
that an appeal is being considered
but no decision has been made.
“I hope the chief justice’s
word on this is not the final one,”
Arvay added.
Arvay
activities done
more promptly
Community
Continued From Page 3
GARY OAKES VICTORIA
Former B.C. Premier Bill Vander Zalm’s constitutional challenge of an order that ultimately
led to the creation of the controversial Harmonized Sales Tax
(HST) has been thrown out
because it was a proper exercise
of provincial authority.
The cabinet order authorized
the province’s finance minister
to enter into a Comprehensive
Integrated Tax Co-ordination
Agreement (CITCA) with the
federal government.
Robert Bauman, Chief Justice
of the B.C. Supreme Court, noted
that Vander Zalm’s petition relied
on s. 53 of the Constitution Act
“which codifies the popular battle
cry, ‘No taxation without represen-
Reasons: Vander Zalm v. British Columbia
(Finance), [2010] B.C.J. No. 1836.
ers, focusing on strategies to
address the risk to re-offend
and also needs such as housing,
employment, financial assistance, associates, mental health
and addictions.
The report also found that
pre-appearance activities by
Crown and police were completed more promptly than for
other courts. The court also has
inhouse defence counsel available for accused.
Offenders were found to have
greater access to support services
as a result of the court’s integrated case-management team.
The final report in spring
2012 will report on changes in
offenders’ behaviour and re-offending rates.
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