Finance Minister Kevin Falcon is downplaying concerns that a looming Canada Post strike could impact next month's mail-in referendum on the harmonized sales tax.
Canada Post employees are poised to walk-off the job as early as next Wednesday.
The B.C. government has already made one pre-emptive move in case of a strike -- sending welfare cheques out a week early to avoid possible payment disruptions.
Falcon said Wednesday that Elections BC is monitoring negotiations at Canada Post and if a strike occurs, Elections BC has the power to make changes to the time lines established for the HST referendum.
Referendum ballots are slated to hit the mail system on June 13 and the results of the provincewide vote on the future of the tax are not expected until August.
Falcon said he's hoping the negotiations at Canada Post avert a strike, but if the talks break down, the chief electoral officer can make changes that may extend the voting period and possibly delay the result.
"As an independent officer of the legislature, he will make whatever decisions he deems appropriate to ensure the public is well served," he said. "It's not something I have any influence over nor will I attempt to have any influence over."
Elections BC could not be reached for comment.
Opposition New Democrat finance critic Bruce Ralston said he's concerned a postal strike could delay the referendum. He said the government decided to hold a mail-in referendum even though it was aware that a postal strike could impact the vote.
Falcon said the possible postal strike does not change the government's plans to announce changes to the HST at the end of this month.
Premier Christy Clark told delegates to the B.C. Liberal convention last weekend she wants to find ways to reduce the bite of the HST on B.C. families after reviewing an independent report that found the tax adds an extra $350 per year per family.
Falcon said the government is reviewing the suggestions from the more than 275,000 people who participated in telephone town hall meetings on the HST and input the government received on its website.
"There was common themes and one of the common themes was that families, understandably, feel under financial squeeze and that there's a strong undercurrent of government should do everything it can to try and address that," he said.
Falcon said it was too early to say if the government is considering issuing rebate cheques to British Columbians.
The Ontario government gave its citizen's cheques for $1,000 to lessen the impact of the HST.
"Certainly there was a lot of feeling out there that government should focus, frankly, on doing more to put money back in taxpayers' pockets," said Falcon.
