Canadians warming to digital democracy thanks to e-petitions

Issues like Donald Trump and the TFSA cap have got Canadians warming up to digital democracy now that they can support parliamentary e-petitions, which went online for the first time earlier this month.

The petition process, in place since the mid-1800s, allows Canadians to enlist their member of Parliament to present petitions during Routine Proceedings in the House of Commons. No debate is allowed, only a reading of the text.

MPs are not obligated but may feel it’s their duty to introduce the requests of their constituents.

“The Member, whose role it is to make the presentation on behalf of the petitioners, is not required to be in agreement with the content of any petition he or she may choose to present, and no such inference is to be drawn,” the procedures state.

That’s how Green Party Leader Elizabeth May found herself presenting a 9/11 “truther” petition last December. She later said on Twitter she did not support the petition. The tweet has since been deleted but is visible on Politwoops, a site that archives politicians’ deleted tweets.

According to procedure, paper petitions require 25 signatures in order to be certified and tabled in Parliament, but the electronic versions must collect at least 500 signatures. An MP has to agree to sponsor the petition before it can be posted online.

NDP MP Kennedy Stewart initiated the move to e-petitions. His motion was passed last year, and the portal went live on Dec. 4.

Five have been posted so far.

Leading the way, with 3,353 signatures as of Wednesday, is Conservative MP Peter Kent’s bid to keep the annual TFSA (tax-free savings account) contribution cap at $10,000. Kent sponsored the petition that was initiated by Catherine Swift, chair of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and a former senior economist with TD Bank. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to roll back the higher contribution threshold put in place by Stephen Harper’s government, saying it is only of benefit to the wealthiest Canadians.

A petition Stewart sponsored that seeks to bar Donald Trump from entering Canada had 910 signatures on Wednesday. In light of the would-be Republican presidential candidate’s recent comments proposing to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S., the petition states, “We, the undersigned, Citizens of Canada, request (or call upon) the Government of Canada to prohibit Donald Trump from entering Canada until he withdraws and apologizes for these remarks.”

It will be months before any decision will be made.

All e-petitions remain open for signatures for 120 days before they can be certified by the Clerk of Petitions. That means Stewart’s petition won’t be presented in the House of Commons any earlier than mid-April. The government will then have 45 days to post a written response.

Stewart is also the sponsor of a petition to ban shock collars and other electric shock devices used to train animals, which are “cruel and unnecessary.” It had 1,307 supporters as of Wednesday.

Conservative MP Scott Reid had 2,287 signatures on the petition he sponsored requesting a referendum on changes to the federal electoral system. Amid a growing call for electoral reform during this year’s campaign, Trudeau pledged to change the current first-past-the-post system within 18 months of forming government, but his plan is to craft legislation based on the recommendations from an all-party parliamentary committee.

NDP MP Don Davies sponsored a petition by UBC law student Rob Mason to “modernize” the oath of citizenship by removing the declaration of allegiance to the Queen. Ontario’s top court ruled last year that the oath does not violate citizens’ Charter rights.