Recall petitions being issued for B.C. MLAs Richard T. Lee, Marc Dalton

Two recall campaigns aimed at turfing B.C. MLAs from office are set to start collecting signatures on Wednesday (April 15).

Elections B.C. says it will issue petitions to proponents of efforts to recall B.C. Liberal MLA Richard T. Lee (Burnaby North) and independent MLA Marc Dalton (Maple Ridge-Mission).

In Burnaby North, canvassers will have 60 days to gather at least 16,494 valid signatures from the electoral district's 41,233 registered voters.

Burnaby North recall proponent Loren Letourneau says in a statement circulated by Elections B.C.:

Out of a deep respect for civic duty, I cannot sit idly by while Richard T. Lee continues to be my MLA. I believe in a political system where the will and needs of a large group of people are represented in government by an elected official. In this, I feel RTL has failed. Our hospital is underfunded and overdue for seismic upgrading. He has been silent on the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion proposal, other than to echo Victoria’s talking points. And he has continued, since 2001, to be paid for the privilege of being our voice in the legislature.Our responsibility, then, is to hold Richard T. Lee to account. This, in essence, is the purpose of a recall process. We are empowered to engage with the province and bring about immediate change. Each of our voices, each signature, will be counted and tallied directly towards our effort.

Meanwhile, in Maple Ridge-Mission, canvassers will have to gather at least 15,410 valid signatures from the electoral district's 38,523 registered voters.

Maple Ridge-Mission recall proponent Yvonne Hale says in a statement:

Please accept this letter as application for a recall petition for Marc Dalton, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Maple Ridge-Mission. I do not believe that former BC Liberal Mr. Dalton works to represent his constituents and his recent announcement to sit as an Independent while he runs for nomination as Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party bears this out. It is my feeling that Mr. Dalton has turned his back on his constituents, while seeking to achieve his own self-interest and agenda of gaining a federal position. Mr. Dalton should resign his MLA position if he wishes to run federally. He should also spend his time working for his constituents instead of for his career as a politician. We have many issues that he does not seem to bother to tackle. Some examples are our under-funded, short-staffed hospital, our closed youth center, sinking homes and so many more. Maple Ridge-Mission voters deserve honesty and accountability from elected representatives. It is time to elect someone who will work for us, not themselves.

If a recall petition is successful, the MLA's seat is declared vacant and a by-election will be called within 90 days. The recalled MLA is permitted to run in the by-election.