The group leading the fight against the HST brought its petition drive to Metro Vancouver today, having already signed up about a quarter of the registered voters they need.

The Vancouver Art Gallery was central headquarters for the anti-HST petition, and voters from more than a dozen ridings were invited to come and sign the petition.

The campaign needs 10 per cent of registered voters in every riding in the province to sign the petition in order to force the government to re-evaluate the HST legislation or hold a referendum.

"People are so angry. Some people have gone as far as saying, ‘I cannot go on vacation unless I sign the petition. I won't sleep," Sal Vetro, an anti-HST organizer, told CTV News.

As of this week, the HST is now law in British Columbia.

Although it doesn't officially come into force until July 1, some shoppers will start seeing it on receipts earlier than that. If you book a flight within Canada, buy a gym membership or purchase season tickets that will be delivered after July 1, you'll start paying the HST today.

"That's a huge surprise to me, and one more reason the Liberals have got to go," Ian Munro said after signing the petition.

One couple told CTV News they feel taxed to death, and are worried about what the HST means for their children.

"We have a daughter who is a single mother. It will cut the sports right out of their lives. She can't put her (daughter) in sports -- she's six years old. So we're pretty angry about it," Wendy Premack said.

Former premier Bill Vander Zalm, the force behind the petition drive, was in Ladner on Saturday.

He told CTV News that drive began as a protest against the HST, but he's seen it evolve into something larger.

"Now, it's becoming, ‘We are against what they are doing, they aren't listening to us, is this a democracy? Do we count at all?' That's the sort of response we are getting now," he said.

Anti-HST canvassers will target Finance Minister Colin Hansen's riding next Saturday. They hope to get the bulk of the remaining signatures needed this month, so that they can focus of ridings that are a bit behind in June.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Leah Hendry