Local MLA Richard Lee is meeting with fellow committee members tomorrow in Victoria to decide the fate of the anti-HST petition.

The committee has 90 days to pick between two options: send a bill cancelling the HST through the legislature for MLAs to vote on or send the issue back to the public for a provincewide referendum.

It’s the first time the 10-member select standing committee on legislative initiatives has met on any issue.

Lee said the plan was for the committee to elect a chair and vice-chair and then to discuss the initiative petition.

“I don’t know how our discussion will be going,” he said. “I think we have to discus that tomorrow to see what kind of consideration should be taken by the committee.”

The group is made up of six Liberals – Terry Lake, Eric Foster, Dave Hayer, Pat Pimm, John Slater and Lee – and four New Democrats – Katrine Conroy, Mike Farnworth, Rob Fleming and Jenny Kwan.

Parliamentary committees are afforded total independence in their deliberations.

“Each member has to decide what to vote for,” Lee said, adding he was still in support of the HST.

Fight HST leader Chris Delaney said the campaign wants nothing short of a vote in the legislature. As far as the Fight HST campaign is concerned, an initiative vote would be a waste of time; since it is non-binding, MLAs would still have to vote on the issue anyway. Delaney said they could start preparations for recalling MLAs as early as November.