A Federal Petition is used to draw attention to an issue of public interest or concern and to request that the House of Commons, the Government of Canada, a Minister of the Crown, or a Member of the House of Commons take some action.
Petitioners cannot present a petition to the House of Commons; only MPs are able to do so. However, it does not have to be your local MP.
Once your petition is created and has its first 5 supporters, you must invite an MP to authorize it before it is published on the petitions website. The MP has 30 days to make a decision. If they have not responded within 30 days or refuse, you can invite another MP. You can attempt inviting up to 5 MPs.
Members are not bound to present petitions and cannot be compelled to do so; nevertheless, it is evident that many Members consider it a duty to present to the House petitions brought forward by citizens. The Member, whose role 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.
House of Commons Procedure and Practice
Once authorized, the Clerk of Petitions, a non-partisan House of Commons employee, checks to ensure the petition meets the requirements established by the rules and practices of the House.
Once the petition has been authorized, it is published on the petitions website for up to 120 days for the public to sign.
If it receives at least 500 valid signatures, the government will respond within 45 calendar days (or on the next sitting day if the House of Commons is not sitting) to every petition presented to the House of Commons, both paper and electronic.
- Search for all e-petitions, open for signature or closed, as well as paper petitions which have been presented to the House of Commons.
- Create a petition
Example e-petition
Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled
Whereas:
- There is growing concern among Canadian citizens regarding the exploitative marketing, pricing, and unfair practices employed by large food retailers;
- The monopolistic behavior of large food retailers, including Loblaws, grants them excessive power in the market to dictate terms to suppliers and set prices, thus stifling competition; and
- Essential goods are becoming less affordable, particularly impacting low and middle-income families, persons with disabilities, and fixed-income households.
We, the undersigned, Residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to
e-petition e-4974, open for signature until August 31, 2024
- Implement strong anti-trust laws to prevent monopolistic practices in the food retail sector, including a rigorous scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions with the goal of ensuring they do not lead to increased market concentration;
- Conduct thorough investigations into the pricing strategies of large food retailers, particularly focusing on allegations of price-fixing, collusion and “shrinkflation”;
- Investigate and implement measures which promote fair competition in the food retail industry, including mandatory disclosure of supplier terms and pricing structures, and support for smaller independent food vendors who provide consumers with more options;
- Provide resources and support to consumer protection agencies, enabling them to more adequately monitor anti-competitive behavior by large corporations;
- Explore the possibility of implementing price controls or other regulatory mechanisms to prevent excessive price gouging on essential food items; and
- Mandate Loblaws and Walmart to sign the Grocery Code of Conduct, and provide definitive, tangible consequences for refusal to sign.
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