Evidence of meeting #83 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was petition.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

André Gagnon  Acting Deputy Clerk, House of Commons
Jean-Philippe Brochu  Deputy Principal Clerk, Journals Branch, House of Commons
Dennis Pilon  Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, York University, As an Individual
Joanna Woo  Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Astronomy, ETH Zürich, As an Individual
Ian Lee  Professor, Carleton University, As an Individual
Michael Pal  Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, As an Individual

11 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Joe Preston

We're going to call ourselves to order and move ahead today. We have a very exciting meeting today in two different parts, and both will be really quite good.

As your chair, I have to leave at about 11:45 to go host a lunch in the Speaker's lounge. The vice-chair—the more than able and capable and probably better than me vice-chair—will be taking over at that time for the end of this half and the second half of the meeting.

If you please, our guests, we've been waiting a long time for this so you now have to meet that level of expectation because we're really looking forward to it. Who's leading the presentation?

Monsieur Gagnon, please go ahead. Lead us and tell us what you've done.

11 a.m.

André Gagnon Acting Deputy Clerk, House of Commons

We'll try to meet your expectations.

Good morning. We are pleased to be here to provide you with a progress report on the implementation of the electronic petition system.

I am accompanied today by Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information Officer, and Jean-Philippe Brochu, Deputy Principal Clerk in the Journals Branch.

Our objective is twofold. First, we will provide you with a progress report and brief you on some of the outstanding issues. Secondly, we'll show you some of the mock-ups—that's really the reason why you're here, I suspect—of what the e-petition website would look like. All of this should not take more than 10 to 15 minutes.

I am happy to report that the work is going very well. We expect to launch the website for the beginning of the new Parliament, as requested. The implementation of this new system will require $250,000 of new investments. The initial estimate based on Mr. Stewart's proposal, as you remember, was up to $200,000. The committee's recommendations were much more complex and required much more significant technological investments. That explains the difference.

In addition, an employee was hired to monitor the e-petition system and ensure it works properly. We set out to create a system that is both easy to use and very secure.

ln this regard, the report adopted by the House insisted on the importance of the protection of personal information and the integrity of the petition process. As a result, the system will also have the highest levels of privacy protections. Monitoring and verification mechanisms will also be included. Personal information will be deleted in accordance with the House's strict data retention policies, based on the model used for the departure of MPs.

Before we proceed with the mock-ups, we would like to draw your attention to two specific issues.

The first one is IP addresses. Under the proposed system, the clerk of petitions will have the necessary tools to further enhance the integrity of the process. The clerk may also withdraw invalid petitions or signatures that compromise the process.

Public IP addresses that belong to the federal government will be blocked.

The second issue concerns the posting of responses to paper petitions online. Obviously, responses to e-petitions will be easy to post online.

However, as you know, over 3,000 paper petitions are tabled in the House each year. A response is prepared for each one. Discussions are under way with our partners at the Privy Council Office—and they're going very well—but considering the scope of the project and the short deadline, online publication of responses to paper petitions will not be possible by the deadline, given the resources available. If the committee wishes, we can return after the launch to reconsider this option and report on the challenges involved.

Besides this specific issue, we are pleased to inform you that the other recommendations in the committee's report will be implemented with the opening of the next Parliament. For example, various guides and manuals will be prepared and made available. lt will be easy for individuals to follow the petition they signed through the various stages of the process. A section of the website will keep a record of all the petitions that have been published, sorted by Parliament, and accompanied by the response provided. All Canadians will be able to consult the website and find information on a given petition for a long period of time.

Finally, I wanted to mention that we have developed a communication plan to ensure a successful launch, and training sessions will be offered to interested MPs and their assistants.

Thank you for your attention. We would be happy to answer your questions right after Jean-Philippe presents the mock-ups.

11 a.m.

Jean-Philippe Brochu Deputy Principal Clerk, Journals Branch, House of Commons

Good morning.

I have the thankless task of showing you the mock-ups. I hope you will be more interested in what is before you than in what I will be telling you.

Before I start, I have a few disclaimers.

First of all, the mock-ups we will be presenting to you today are static. The website is not operational. Although it may be tempting to do so, we unfortunately cannot click on the links on the screen. We are simply trying to give you an idea of what the future website will look like.

Second of all, you should keep in mind that the website's design and features may change before the launch. What you are seeing here today and what you will see after the election could be slightly different.

The first two mock-ups show the website's homepage.

The home page will be accessible on the Parliament of Canada website through a link on the second page, just after the first page where you select French or English. The website and the system are simple and easy to understand and to navigate. The home page will also contain four distinct and clear sections. We adopted a look and feel similar to those of upcoming new websites.

The system will automatically detect logins associated with an MP's account, and a “Sponsor” button will appear at the top of the page. We will use the same accounts as those authorized for submitting e-notices. A process to manage access or permissions similar in nature to the ones used to manage e-notices will be put in place.

A sign-in button will be available for those who already have an account to submit petitions. There's also a quick search box to easily find open or archived petitions. It will be possible to link to social media platforms on each page of the website, including on each specific petition web page.

A section of the website will be devoted to all the information about the petition process—guides, user manuals and step-by-step documents. Throughout the website, petitioners will have access to information to help them navigate.

The next image is somewhat different and gives a glimpse of the website's homepage on a mobile device. This will not be a separate application to be downloaded, but rather a light or adapted version of a desktop computer's interface. So the content will be adapted to small screens. The content and the design will also be in line with the current best practices for mobile devices and will be compatible with the vast majority of mobile devices on the market.

The next mock-up is an example of a form for submitting a petition.

We'll go through it from the top to the bottom. An e-petition practical guide will be available to consult or download. There will be plenty of information icons identified by the letter “i” next to the key steps. This page will contain drop-down menus throughout the form to help petitioners frame their petition in a proper way.

As per the committee report, petitioners will be prompted to identify five supporters, with the possibility of identifying up to 10 names to make sure the petition receives five positive answers. If need be, additional supporters above five will receive a notification informing them that the petition has already reached enough supporters. The five supporters and the petitioner will automatically be added to the list of signatories once the petition is published. It means that a published e-petition will automatically start with a total of six signatures.

E-petitioners will be allowed to have one e-petition open for signature and one draft e-petition in the system at any given time. Upon request from an e-petitioner to the clerk of petitions, petitions will be allowed to be withdrawn up to the time of their publication on the website. Petitions already published on the website can be closed and moved to the archived section, but only to be replaced with a second and different petition, as per the committee report.

In order to make sure that no robots sign the petition, security features will be included in the form. It will also be possible to preview and save a draft before submitting the petition.

The next mock-up is the default view of all petitions open for signature. If you click on the option “Sign or view an e-petition” on the homepage, you will be redirected to this page. You could switch between the two main tabs. The first one contains petitions open for signature, in the 120-day period to gather signatures. The second one contains all e-petitions and all the information about the various stages of their progress—for instance, whether they are certified, whether they have been presented in the House, or whether the government has responded to them. That tab even contains older petitions that have been archived.

By default, the petitions will be classified by topic, but they could be sorted in a number of other ways—for instance, by the number of signatures or by their closing date.

We have also included a user-friendly search engine that will help visitors further personalize their searches, such as by the name of an MP sponsoring a petition, by keyword or by full text search.

It will be possible to export data in CSV files—in other words, the types of files used by Excel—and in XML format.

When you click on one of the results, you will be redirected to a detailed page for each petition. We have tried to simplify as much as possible the user options for each petition's detailed page.

There are three distinct sections on that form. First of all, at the top is the petition prayer. Then on the right are the petition details, including the breakdown by province and territory. Finally, at the bottom left you will find the section to sign the petition, including security features and three check boxes—one for the citizenship or residency status, one for the terms of use, and one to receive automatic email notifications at each subsequent step reached by the e-petition.

Petitioners can also subscribe to an RSS feed on each e-petition web page.

After they sign a petition, signatories will receive an email with a hyperlink they have to click on to confirm their identity.

Once they complete the mandatory fields and click on “submit”, signatories will automatically receive an email to confirm their signature.

The email will contain the date and time by which they have to confirm their signature, a link they will have to click on, as well as the clerk of petitions' contact information.

We have designed a specific interface for members acting as sponsors. After a new request to sponsor a petition is sent by a petitioner, the chosen member receives an email with a link to his or her e-petition web page. He or she may also access this part of the website through the home page.

Members will find three distinct tabs on this page: first, the pending requests, organized from the most urgent to the least one; then the petitions a member has already sponsored; and finally, the declined requests. User guides specifically intended for members of Parliament will also be available.

Once you have clicked on one of the petitions, a new page opens. The prayer of the e-petition is reproduced, as well as the petitioner's contact information, as per the committee's request. Members have the option to provide comments when accepting or declining the requests or simply to contact petitioners directly, using the contact information provided. There will be a 30-day deadline to respond to requests, after which the e-petitioner will be given the opportunity to select another member. The system will automatically send two reminders to the member: a first reminder after 10 days and a final notice three days before the deadline.

All e-petitions published at some point on the website will leave a trace in the archive section, with the relevant notes, response, and final status information.

When analyzing the report, we realized that as things currently stand there will be a discrepancy in the manner in which paper and electronic petitions will be handled at dissolution. Currently, once a paper petition has been certified, it can always be presented in a subsequent Parliament. We consider that a certificate issued for a paper petition remains valid after the election. We therefore suggest to the committee to allow petitions that have reached 500 signatures before an election is called, even if the 120 days are not over, to be certified and presented in a subsequent Parliament, as is currently allowed for paper petitions.

Finally, at dissolution only the options to create, submit, and sign e-petitions will be deactivated. The archived e-petitions, government responses, and other information of a general nature will remain posted for consultation by the public.

That concludes the presentation.

We will be happy to answer your questions.

11:10 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Joe Preston

Thank you very much for a great presentation.

I will go to Mr. Lukiwski first to ask a few questions.

May 26th, 2015 / 11:10 a.m.

Conservative

Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK

Very briefly I wanted to ask my colleagues from the NDP whether Kennedy was planning to attend here too.

11:10 a.m.

NDP

David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON

He's tied up in the House.

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK

That's too bad. I would have liked to get his comments on this.

11:15 a.m.

NDP

David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON

Actually, we were hoping we could get an agreement that he could get this presentation, just because he couldn't be here—if you don't mind.

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK

I was hoping he would be here today, so....

11:15 a.m.

NDP

David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON

So were we, but he—

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Joe Preston

Can I ask that question? I'm not sure it's proprietary or anything, but if Mr. Stewart, the mover of the motion that got us to this point, wanted to come to visit you and you walked him through this, would that be okay?

11:15 a.m.

Acting Deputy Clerk, House of Commons

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Joe Preston

Is it okay with the committee?

11:15 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Joe Preston

Let's see if we can set that up, because it's important. He has done a lot of of the leg work on this, so by all means....

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK

As a matter of fact, it would be helpful as well for all committee members to get copies of this presentation.

I just had some general observations, but I think I'm going to cede my time to Mr. Richards, who had some specific questions, I believe, on data mining.

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Blake Richards Conservative Wild Rose, AB

Yes, I had one question, specifically.

You mentioned in your presentation the capability to download a CSV file from the website. Unless I misunderstood something, I would have to assume that downloading it would consist of being able to download the signatures, potentially.

What would you be downloading into a CSV file? My take on this from when the committee discussed it is that we didn't want to see a capability for data to be mined from these e-petitions.

What would the CSV files be consisting of?

11:15 a.m.

Acting Deputy Clerk, House of Commons

André Gagnon

The main person who starts the petition would be the only name that would be accessible. All of the other names would not be accessible. All of the signatories on the petitions would not be accessible in any way by anyone. It would not be able to be downloaded.

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Blake Richards Conservative Wild Rose, AB

To clarify then, what would you be downloading into the CSV file?

Would it be a list of all the petitions that exist, or what would it be?

11:15 a.m.

Deputy Principal Clerk, Journals Branch, House of Commons

Jean-Philippe Brochu

Exactly.

If you recall in one of the other examples, we showed you the list of all of the petitions that were submitted. You could download that list and it would be sorted by subject or keywords. We found that it would probably be an interesting feature for searchers, or researchers, for instance, but the names of the signatories will never appear on the website.

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Blake Richards Conservative Wild Rose, AB

So the one name you could access for each petition would be the person who created it, not even the other five who signed up as the initial five.

11:15 a.m.

Acting Deputy Clerk, House of Commons

André Gagnon

You're right.

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Blake Richards Conservative Wild Rose, AB

Okay, I wanted to make sure I was clear on that.

11:15 a.m.

Acting Deputy Clerk, House of Commons

André Gagnon

There would also be the name of the sponsor, the member of Parliament.

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Blake Richards Conservative Wild Rose, AB

Sure, of course.

Thank you.