Attempts to remove Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster from office remain uncertain.
Organizers had originally targeted mid-March for the start of a recall campaign, but now it’s not known if the effort will get underway.
“We will have to wait and see. It’s up to the committee to decide,” said Rod Baziw, one of the local organizers. “There could be a decision maybe on Sunday.”
The Vernon-Monashee recall committee will hold a meeting Sunday at 2 p.m. at the People Place for people interested in volunteering for a recall petition.
During a visit by former premier Bill Vander Zalm in January, it was announced that 300 volunteer canvassers had been signed up in the constituency.
If a campaign were to proceed, Baziw speculates that it could begin in June.
“I am getting lots of people asking me about it,” he said.
There are currently 45,206 registered voters in Vernon-Monashee and 18,082 signatures would be required to recall Foster.
Provincial recall officials aren’t sure of the status of a possible petition in Vernon-Monashee.
“My understanding is the recall team there has decided to forego the effort on recall and focus on the HST referendum instead now that the premier has announced she is moving the date up to June 24,” said Chris Delaney, who has been working with Vander Zalm to overturn B.C.’s harmonized sales tax.
Foster was under the impression that the local recall initiative had stalled.
“I thought they would wait until after the referendum.”
On Wednesday, Elections B.C. indicated that a recall campaign against Comox Valley MLA Don McRae had not collected enough signatures.
Foster isn’t surprised that recall campaigns are gaining little interest since the date of the HST referendum switched from September to June.
“There is no need to recall if there’s going to be an opportunity to go to referendum,” he said.
