Time is quickly running out on Fight HST's first campaign to recall a BC Liberal MLA, and the movement still hasn't gathered even half of the necessary signatures.
With the deadline of Feb. 4 fast approaching, campaigners in Oak Bay-Gordon Head have collected fewer than 8,000 signatures from people hoping to unseat cabinet minister Ida Chong. The petition needs 15,368 signatures to succeed.
The numbers aren't there, but campaigners like Michael Hayes are still optimistic.
"This is a hard slog, we said that right from the beginning," he told CTV News. "It's physically demanding, it's a lot of hours, but we're committed to it and we have a growing list of canvassers and we think we're going to push this thing through."
On the other side of the fight, Chong says she's not ready to get complacent.
"We're still three weeks out -- anything can happen in three weeks. So to let our guard down is not the way I like to do things," she said. "Our job is not done until Feb. 4.
Recall organizers have faced several challenges in their campaign, including the rain and the Christmas holiday season.
But some voters say the single biggest challenge was the resignation of Premier Gordon Campbell, which defused a lot of anger about the harmonized sales tax.
One Victoria woman described the recall campaign as a "waste of time," and another said that Fight HST efforts have become too personal.
"I think there's a difference between signing a petition that says ‘I don't want to be taxed,' and signing your name to a petition that says ‘I'm going to revoke someone's job.' It's a lot more personal and I think that that scares people off a little bit," she said.
Former premier and Fight HST leader Bill Vander Zalm is scheduled to give a speech to recall organizers in Victoria Friday night, hoping a last-ditch pep talk will motivate more support.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Jim Beatty
