Carney government refuses to acknowledge MP misinformation in response to 44k signature petition

MP Kevin Lamoureux, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons responded on behalf of the Carney government to Petition e-6679 which received 44,869 signatures:

The Government of Canada is pleased to respond to this petition.

Canada has one of the most respected parliamentary democracies in the world. Our democratic system is designed so that Members of Parliament are elected by their constituents and are held accountable by those constituents at every election cycle. General elections are the fundamental mechanism by which voters hold elected representatives accountable.

Outside of general elections, Canada’s participatory democracy enables and encourages all Canadians to make their voices heard with respect to the day-to-day democratic process through a variety of means. This includes reaching out to Members of Parliament on the work they do in the House of Commons and committee meetings, or through their constituency offices. More specifically, Canadians can write to their Members of Parliament directly on issues of concern or matters of interest to them, such as real or perceived misinformation, start or sign petitions, and attend live debates and proceedings, as well as most committee meetings in the House of Commons and the Senate, whenever Parliament is in session. Committees also seek input from the public on many ongoing studies that are posted publicly.

Parliament is also responsible for holding the government to account. The executive is responsible to Parliament and remains in power as long as it commands the confidence of the elected House of Commons. Together they are ultimately accountable to electors.

This accountability to electors is also represented by the privileges and immunities that Parliamentarians are accorded while representing their constituents in the House of Commons and at Parliamentary committees. Parliamentary privilege includes freedom of speech, which allows Parliamentarians to freely voice concerns and opinions without fear of criminal or civil prosecution. This privilege is fundamental to the work that Parliamentarians do in legislating and holding the Government to account on behalf of the electors.

However, along with this individual privilege, the House of Commons as a collective also has the right to discipline Members who abuse or breach privileges, such as freedom of speech, and to potentially find Members in contempt of Parliament. Parliament’s ability to determine the way in which Parliamentarians must conduct themselves in the performance of their duties, as well as any potential consequences of abuse or breach, is fundamental to Parliament’s continued independence.

The Government remains committed to strengthening and protecting citizen’s trust in our democratic institutions, which is an essential cornerstone of our democracy.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this issue.

Petition initiator says communications outside parliament are not subject to Parliamentary Privilege

MP Lamoureux did not acknowledge any ongoing problem with MPs spreading misinformation and did not address the public perception of MP misinformation eroding the public trust.

MP Lamoureux mentioned Parliamentary Privilege, even though the petition addresses “perceived and actual misinformation being presented by MPs to the public” which is outside Parliament and not related to Parliamentary Privilege. He mentioned several levers that currently exist to safeguard our democracy, however, those are not working, and often are neglected. For example, constituents rarely get responses from MPs when they are contacted. Petitions get ignored. And elections are not an efficient method to address misinformation in the hyper-information age we live in.

Fed Sanchez, petition initiator