Parliament starts accepting e-petitions this week

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/parliament-starts-accepting-e-petitions-this-week-1.3347526
By On the Coast, CBC News Posted: Dec 02, 2015 1:19 PM PT Last Updated: Dec 02, 2015 1:25 PM PT

"I think this gives significant new power to citizens," says NDP MP Kennedy Stewart, who fought for the change

Goodbye to door knocking and collecting signatures by hand — starting Friday petitions can be submitted to the federal government online, through Parliament's website.

"I think this gives significant new power to citizens," said Kennedy Stewart, the New Democrat MP for Burnaby South whose motion to create a digital petition process was passed by the House of Commons last year.

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"People will simply be able to go onto the website, put their petition online, and after a few simple steps will get an URL and they can send it around," he said.

500 signatures required

Stewart said while paper petitions only need 25 signatures before they can be tabled in the House of Commons, online petitions will require 500 signatures.

Burnaby-South NDP MP Kennedy Stewart has been working on bringing e-petitions to Parliament since 2011. (CBC)

"To cut down on frivolous petitions … there's an initial first step where you have to have five other people support your petition, and also you have to get one MP to really serve as a sponsor, so without that one MP it won't go forward."

Stewart said the government will have to give a response within 45 days to petitions that have reached 500 signatures and have been tabled.