A first for Parliament in Ottawa has roots in Burnaby.
Earlier this month, the first e-petition in Canadian history was tabled in the House Commons; a call for the federal government to ban the sale and use of electric shock collars on households pets.
The petition, which has been signed by 5,400 people, was initiated by Burnaby residents Gwendy and Alfie Williams.
Burnaby South MP Kennedy Stewart, who sponsored and then tabled the petition, said he was proud to introduce the petition in the House of Commons.
Stewart’s motion for Parliament to accept e-petitions passed in January 2014, considered a rare feat for an opposition backbencher.
He also credited the work of the Burnaby couple for gathering the signatures and bringing the petition forward.
“That’s really good on them, they did a fantastic job campaigning,” Stewart told the NOW. “These are regular citizens with a very deep concern about a particular issue and now the Prime Minister is going to have to answer them because of the electronic petition.”
Under the old rules, people had to collect a minimum of 25 signatures on paper and find an MP to table the petition in the House of Commons. Now, if there are 500 signatures, the government has 45 days to respond in writing.
In this case, Stewart noted since the petition is asking for a criminal code change, it will be the justice minister who will have to respond. The response will also be emailed to all the people who signed the petition.
The Burnaby MP views the new system as a resounding success. To date, over 60 official e-petitions have received nearly 150,000 signatures from the public.
It should be noted, Stewart has sponsored six e-petitions, tying him for thelead among MPs with Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
Other sponsored e-petitions by the MP include one calling for the federal government to publicly acknowledge the harmful health effects of fast food products as being on par with those of cigarettes, and one banning U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump from Canada.
The Trump petition, which closed for signatures last week, has garnered more than 2,400 signatures.
The most recent petition sponsored by Stewart is calling on the government to study the issue of foreign homeownership in Canada and consider restrictions.
To learn more about e-petitions, go to https://petitions.parl.gc.ca/en/Home/Index.
