And referenda, too Recall to become Official © LEGISLATION GIVING EFritish Columbians the power to recall MLAs and initiate province-wide referenda should be in place by next summer. So says Ujjal Dosanjh, chairman of. the ail-party. com- mittee which recently. released. recommendations.on how the sys- tem should work, ‘But critics insist legislation ~~ based on thosa recommendations will” ensure ' neither recall | nor referendums ever happen. Explaining the . committee recommendations, Dosanji said voters could go for recall on any grounds they saw fit, but could not make such a challenge until 18 months after the MLA had been elected, For a recall petition to be suc- cessful, it would “have to contain the signatures of. a majority of those people who were on the voters list at the: time the MLA was originally elected, And petitioners would have 60 days in which to collect those sig- natures. If a petition collected the re- quired signatures, Dosanjh said the law would requite a by- election take place within 90 days. ‘That takes the discretion out of the hands of the premicr,’’ he pointed- oul, a reference to the current system where it is up to the premier to decide when to cali a by-election, _ If the petitioners fail te gather the required signatures within the 60 days, that petition dics. However, he noted, they could try again as. many times as they wanted throughout the MLA’s term of office. But if the MLA successfully defends his seal at a recall in- itiated by-clection, that’s the only | challenge that can be mounted A look at how recall would work HOW WOULD the proposed recall system work here in. the Skeena riding? In 1991 Helmut Giesbrecht was elected with 5,472 votes. “The combined vote of his two opponents was 6,018 for a total of 11,490 dallots cast. “Those ‘ballots represented 68.3 per cent of the 16,823 voters eligible to vate. ‘And it’s that last figure, eligible ‘yoters, on-which any attempt to — recall Giesbrecht would have to be based. “To succeed, petitioners would - have to get ihe signatures of 50 per cent plus one of those voters, or 8,412 names. But it is highly unlikely people who couldn’t be bothered to vote in the original election are going to have any interest in signing a recall petition. Realistically the petitioners would have to find their 8,412 names, or 73 per cent of the people, from among those who. did vote. Put another way, for a recall against Giesbrecht to succeed, the petition would have to carry the signatures of every person who voted for his opponents ples nearly half of those who voted for him. ‘And never the twain shall meet. But you can meet Twain. And Tolstoy. And Hemingway. They're on the shelves at your library. Get acquainted. Terrace Public Library 4610 Park Avenue 638-8177 * Easy to use and hauling ‘yourself The Advantage II-T * No conventional chimney is required, |. resulting in much lower. installation costs oes * No finding wood, cutting, piling, drying * Stop by and see for "Introducing one of todays top ten environmentally conscious products” - as chosen by Ecologue Magazine before the next general election. Blasting the signature require- ment, Social Credit MLA Jack Weisgerber said, ‘*I predict there - will mot be one successful recall petition in this province “under (these) rules. - “Nat only won't it work,’’ be added, “it was designed not to work.” Weisgerber pointed out restrict ing the signatures: to those who - were on the last voters list ig- nored both how many people had actually voted then and popula- tion turnover in the interim. The Liberal opposition has also called for the number of signa- tures required to be reduced to the number of votes the MLA received when elecied. Meanwhile, the Canadian Tax- payers Federation (CTF) has taken aim at the recommenda- tions governing votcr-initiated STEAK & all, ‘in From Waste to Warmth Pellets, made from waste sawdust and wood chips found in North America’s lumber mills, have proven to be the most environmentally responsible and efficient way to heat with wood. Pellets come in convenient sacks which can be neatly stored in about one third the | - space of cord wood. Because pellet automatically, one bag can - heat your house for an entire day or longer. No more tiring trips to the wood pile, Best of pellets producing little, if any, emissions and no visible smoke. Their controlled low moisture content allows for a ‘hotter, virtually no creosote buildup the depending on the pellet’s ash content and how often you “burn your stove, you may only need toclean out the ash pan every one or two weeks. Compact, clean, convenient, pellets a are the fuel of of today. stoves feed burn clean, cleaner fire with venting. And THE PELLET EMPORIUM 3087 River Drive Terrace, BC Ph: 638-1221 6 oz. Tap Sirloin broiled to perfection, and a 4-5 oz. Lobster § m Tail served with hot melted butter and your choice of baked potato or rice and vegetable. $19.95 For A Limited Time Only Lunch Mon. + Fri, 14:30- 2:00 pm FOR RESERVATIONS CALL 638-0644 or 638-1503 4402 Lakelse Avenue Terrace, B.C. § The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 8, 1993 - A114 referenda, There, the committee suggested ° : anissue go to referendum only if ]# a petition was signed by 10 per cent of the eligible voters in every riding in the province. There would again be a lime limit, 60-90 days, in which fo gather those signatures. And @ referendum question would only pass if a there was a province-wide majority in favour and a majority in two-thirds of the ridings. Dosanji cxplained the signature and double-mijorily provisions were recommended to allay fears expressed by northern and interi- or residents that population fig- ures would allow the Lower Mainland to control what referenda were successful. However, CTF Troy Lanigan says the commities has gone lo far in its caution. Food & Beverage Voucher cannot be used In conjunction with any other [ discount program : LOBSTER ) ‘70 The Coast Inn of the North 770 Brunswick, Prince George * 563- 0121 ‘ . ! Ask for the (' hristmas Special Open 7 days a week. Dinner 4:30 - 11:00 pm 93 Paseo Sports Coupe ~ Come down and make your best deal foday!. TERRACE MOTORS TOYOTA “Canada's Oldest Toyota Dealership” 4912 Hwy. 15 West Terrace, B.C. D.L. 5957 635-6558