Electronic petitions: a proposal to enhance democratic participation.

• Author: Stewart, Kennedy

Declining rates of political participation demand practical reforms to enhance citizen engagement in our democratic institutions. Tabled in the House of Commons on February 13, 2013, Motion 428 aims to modernize and improve Canada's antiquated paper-based petitioning process by establishing a system for electronic petitions. It further proposes allowing petitions to trigger short debates in Parliament if they receive a certain threshold of signatures from the public and are sponsored by at least five Members of Parliament. After providing comparative information on similar reforms implemented in other jurisdictions, this article argues that empowering citizens to initiate and sign petitions online will make our democracy more accessible, participatory, and responsive. It concludes with a brief discussion of the prospects of success for a motion submitted by an opposition Member during a period of majority government.

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There are few issues today as critical as democratic decline. Record low voter turnout rates and declining membership in political organizations demonstrate fewer and fewer Canadians consider engaging with our democracy a pursuit worth undertaking. Only 55 percent of Canadians now say they are satisfied with their democracy, a 20-percentage point decrease from 2004. (1) These trends should trouble all Canadians as they call into question the vitality and integrity of our system of public governance.

A central part of the problem is the disconnect citizens perceive between the issues that are important in their lives and those that dominate the Parliamentary agenda. The legislative priorities of political parties and the government often fail to reflect the needs and concerns of the general public, leaving many Canadians feeling excluded from national politics. Citizens come to believe their elected representatives are more influenced by party leaders and corporate lobbyists than their constituents. Governments need to take immediate action to counter this growing sense of disenfranchisement and restore confidence in democracy.

One practical way to empower citizens is by strengthening our longstanding petitioning process. Scholarship on this topic suggests robust petitioning systems enable "the voices of petitioners to be heard, and this in turn, may help underpin the legitimacy and functioning of representative institutions and the policies they implement." (2) A recent review of reforms undertaken by legislatures over the past ten years concludes the "importance of petitioning extends beyond simply delivering requests made by individual petitions ... and it is possible for a petitions system to enhance the relationship between parliament and citizen." (3)

Under current rules, Canadian residents can initiate, draft, and submit paper petitions to Members of Parliament. If a written petition meets certain technical criteria and has garnered at least 25 original signatures, it can be certified by the Clerk of Petitions and tabled by an MP on the floor of the House of Commons. The federal government is then obliged to provide a formal response to the substance of the petition within 45 days. (4)

Tabled in Parliament on February 13, 2013 by New Democrat MP Kennedy Stewart, Motion 428 proposes to modernize and improve Canada's antiquated petitioning system. (5) It instructs the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) to conduct a study and make recommendations within one year for how best to implement electronic petitioning. While the right to petition is a centuries-old parliamentary tradition, modern technology now provides an opportunity to engage more citizens in this crucial part of the political process. Allowing Canadians to sign official petitions online would supplement the existing system in place for paper-based petitions. Indeed, it is difficult to believe that in the digital age we continue to use the same rudimentary process that British citizens used to petition their Parliament nearly 300 years ago. (6)

Motion 428 also proposes the petitioning process be further reformed to enhance the role and impact of petitions in Parliament. In particular, the motion requests the committee also consider allowing petitions to trigger short debates--similar to "take-note" debates--if they receive substantial support from both the public and within the House of Commons. (7) Short debates could occur in instances where a petition has garnered a certain minimum number of signatures for example, 50 000--and has been sponsored by at least five MPs. Requiring that popular petitions be seconded by elected representatives serves as a crucial safeguard against truly frivolous issues being brought forward for debate. While Motion 428 proposes this basic framework, it would ultimately be up to the members of the committee to study and recommend what specific changes to the Standing Orders are needed to establish an e-petitioning system that is fair, efficient, and responsive.

International Experience

Electronic petitioning is...