Thanks for pointing out some pitfalls; looks as though it was made
as difficult as possible. The clause requiring a certain number in
every electorate in particular. Lethargy and a different philosophy in
our Maori seats alone would make that very difficult here.
While I'm not directly involved in this particular campaign, it seems to
me our organisers manage to put it over a great deal more simple and briefly
than it has been portrayed in this group and that it has every
chance of gaining support.
I don't know how your politicians are regarded; ours are rated below some
of the very least popular groups. That doesn't help when it washes off
even on us as "just politicians" but would help immensely a trans-political
movement like this.
Regards. John
R.
>From: Joe Thomson
<thomsonhiyu@shaw.ca>
>Reply-To:
socialcredit@elistas.com
>To: socialcredit@elistas.com
>Subject:
[socialcredit] Re:- The Dream vs.the Reality ~ CIR in BC
>Date: Wed,
29 Jun 2005 08:13:42 -0700
>
>In the waning days of the last BC
'Social Credit' Party government of Premier Bill Vander Zalm, there was a
promise made to pass legislation enabling both 'Recall' and 'CIR'. That
Premier was brought down by a conflict of interest scandal, where he was
perceived to have benefitted personally by abusing his position in a private
real estate transaction involving the sale of his business, before the
legislation could be enacted. At that time, early 1990's, there had been
considerable discussion in BC on the desireability of both CIR and Recall,
and the whole concept of 'direct democracy' was on the ascendant here. After
the election of 1991, a New Democratic Party government took office, and,
being conscious of the fact that CIR and Recall had seized the public
consciousness, promised to bring in both measures. It might be noted that
the NDP, in BC and Canada, is roughly the equivalent of the Labour Party in
Australia, and elsewhere. Below is a summary of the NDP's version of CIR,
which is now law in BC. Further details, if desired, can be accessed by
viewing the BC Social Credit Party's website www.bcsocialcredit.bc.ca and
then clicking on the link marked 'Elections BC'. The fate of the 'petitions'
launched under CIR and Recall are recounted there. As a result, I would say
the issue has been removed from the public 'consciousness' here for some
time to come.
>
>The Initiative Process in British Columbia -
Brochure
>
>Overview
>
>The Recall and Initiative
Act allows voters in British Columbia to propose new laws or changes to
existing laws.
>
>The Application Process
>
>Any
registered voter can apply to have a petition issued to gather support for a
legislative proposal. A legislative proposal (or draft Bill) can be on any
matter within the constitutional jurisdiction of the provincial
Legislature.
>
>A registered voter who wants to start an
initiative petition must obtain an application from the Chief Electoral
Officer. A completed application consists of a fully completed and signed
application form, a copy of the draft Bill, and a non-refundable $50
processing fee. The draft Bill must be written in a clear and unambiguous
manner.
>
>Approval in Principle
>
>If the
application and draft Bill meet the requirements of the Recall and
Initiative Act, the Chief Electoral Officer notifies the applicant (the
"proponent") that approval in principle will be granted and that a petition
will be issued. Approval in principle of an application is officially
granted at the time a Notice of Petition is published in the British
Columbia Gazette. Notice is also published in daily newspapers throughout
the Province.
>
>Opponent Registration
>
>An
individual or organization who wishes to oppose an initiative may apply to
the Chief Electoral Officer within 30 days after the day on which notice is
published in the Gazette.
>
>The Chief Electoral Officer
appoints the financial agent for opponents and opponent groups from the
names they propose. An opponent or opponent group must not act as such until
given notice by the Chief Electoral Officer that they are registered and
that an individual has been appointed as financial
agent.
>
>Initiative Petition Period
>
>Sixty days
after notice is published in the Gazette, the Chief Electoral Officer issues
a cover sheet and an original petition signature sheet for each electoral
district to the proponent. An initiative petition must be signed within 90
days from the date on which it is issued.
>
>Canvasser
Registration
>
>A proponent may be helped by volunteers to
gather signatures. The volunteers are called "canvassers". Canvassers must
be registered voters and must have been a resident of British Columbia for
at least six months before the date on which they intend to begin
canvassing. Registered voters may apply to be canvassers any time after the
petition application has been submitted to the Chief Electoral
Officer.
>
>Collecting Signatures on the
Petition
>
>The Recall and Initiative Act requires that an
initiative petition be signed by 10 percent of the registered voters in each
of the electoral districts of the Province.
>
>An initiative
petition can only be signed by a registered voter who was registered to vote
on the date the petition was issued. A person may only sign the petition
signature sheet for the electoral district in which they are a registered
voter at the time of signing. A signature on the petition must be
accompanied by the residential address of the individual who signed and must
be witnessed by the individual who canvassed the signature (a registered
canvasser).
>
>Submitting Petitions
>
>The proponent
must submit, at one time, all of the petition pages containing signatures to
the Chief Electoral Officer. The petition period ends when the proponent
submits the petition to the Chief Electoral Officer, regardless of whether
the full 90 days have elapsed.
>
>Petition
Verification
>
>When a petition is submitted, the Chief
Electoral Officer has 42 days to complete the verification process. Petition
signatures are verified to ensure that the people who signed the petition
were entitled to do so and that the signatures on a petition match the
signatures on file for those voters. Signatures that do not include the
residential address of the voter who signed the petition will not be
counted. The registration status of canvassers is also verified to ensure
that signatures were gathered by authorized
individuals.
>
>Referral of Initiative to a Select Standing
Committee
>
>If the verification process shows that sufficient
signatures have been collected in every electoral district, and the
financing requirements have been met by the proponent, the Chief Electoral
Officer sends a copy of the petition and draft Bill to a Select Standing
Committee on Legislative Initiatives.
>
>The Select Standing
Committee must meet within 30 days of receipt of the petition and draft
Bill. From their first meeting, the Committee has 90 days to consider the
legislative proposal and either table a report recommending introduction of
the draft Bill, or refer the initiative to the Chief Electoral Officer for
an initiative vote.
>
>After a Bill is introduced in the
Legislature, the requirements of the Recall and Initiative Act have been
satisfied, and any subsequent readings, amendments and passage of the Bill
will proceed as with any other Bill.
>
>Initiative
Vote
>
>If an initiative vote is required, a vote will be held
on September 28, 1996, and on the last Saturday of September in every third
year after that date. If more than 50 percent of the total number of
registered voters in the Province vote in favour of the initiative, and more
than 50 percent of the total number of registered voters in each of at least
two-thirds of the electoral districts in the Province vote in favour of the
initiative, the Chief Electoral Officer must declare the initiative vote to
be successful and government must introduce the Bill at the earliest
practicable opportunity.
>
>Financing and
Advertising
>
>There are detailed provisions in the Recall and
Initiative Act regarding the disclosure and limits of expenditures and
financial contributions permitted during the initiative petition process and
during an initiative vote.
>
>Contributions to initiative
proponents and opponents are not eligible for income tax
receipts.
>
>Initiative advertising can only be conducted by a
proponent, registered opponent or a registered advertising sponsor. It is
very important that participants follow these rules. Non-compliance can
result in significant
penalties.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>Some
introductory materials to the discussion topic of this list are
at
>http://www.geocities.com/socredus/compendium
>You're
subscribed to this list with the email johngrawson@hotmail.com
>For
more information, visit
http://www.eListas.com/list/socialcredit
Re: [socialcredit]
Reply to this message
