Northern Gateway foes ready to launch referendum drive
VANCOUVER — Resigned, perhaps, that federal government approval of the Northern Gateway pipeline is inevitable, opponents of the project are formulating a plan to make sure British Columbia’s politicians remain opposed to the project.
For months now, members of the Dogwood Initiative have been preparing for a provincial referendum akin to the vote that forced the Liberal government to repeal the harmonized sales tax in British Columbia.
Should Ottawa give the pipeline the go-ahead by this Tuesday’s deadline and the province issues the necessary permits and authorizations, spokesman Kai Nagata said his group will be ready.
“In a perfect world, politicians would do what they say they’re going to do and the province of British Columbia’s clear rejection of Northern Gateway would stand,” Nagata said.
“But life doesn’t always work that way. So the initiative build is a strategy to basically hold our provincial politicians to their word on this project.”
The B.C. government officially declared its opposition to Northern Gateway and told the federal panel reviewing the project that it shouldn’t go ahead as planned.
When Premier Christy Clark pressed for a greater share of government revenues for the project she said repeatedly that while the final decision is in the federal purview there are about 60 permits the province will have to issue for construction to begin.
“So the province could hold construction in limbo indefinitely,” Nagata said.
Under provincial legislation, for $50 any registered voter can apply to Elections BC for a petition on their own proposed legislation. If approved, they have 90 days to collect the signatures of 10 per cent of the registered voters in each of the province’s 85 ridings.
If the chief electoral officer verifies that threshold has been met, a copy of the petition and draft bill are sent to a legislative committee.
“THE INITIATIVE
BUILD IS A STRATEGY TO BASICALLY HOLD OUR PROVINCIAL POLITICIANS TO THEIR WORD ON THIS PROJECT.”
KAI NAGATA
The Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives can either table a report recommending introduction of the draft bill or put it to a public vote. If more than half of registered voters cast ballots in support, the government must introduce the bill in the legislature.
But even that is no guarantee of success. The bill proceeds as any other legislation, with MLAs free to vote as they wish.
Since 1995, nine initiative applications have been approved but only one petition gathered the required number of signatures to pass. That campaign resulted in a provincewide vote in favour of repealing the harmonized sales tax.
Bill Tieleman, one of the founders of the Fight HST campaign, wishes the Dogwood organizers luck but said he’s not optimistic about their odds of success. “It’s extraordinarily difficult,” he said.
Nagata said he realizes there is work yet to be done.
But a legal team is working on the draft legislation and there are 450 trained volunteers on the ground across the province. There are 5,500 people who say they will help collect signatures.