Top 10: Tips on Getting Politicians to Listen to You

by Apathy is Boring — March 3, 2010


1.Your Vote = Your Golden Ticket

If you don't even vote, can you really complain about who gets in?



2. Email the Prime Minister, Ministers, and your MP

Be relentless about a cause you care about.



3. Meet with your MP

 Always remember they work for you! When you visit Ottawa make sure to call their office to say hello.



4. Write a “letter to the editor” for your local newspaper

 Spread the word and make yourself heard.



5. Attend a Public Consultation

Go to www.consultingcanadians.gc.ca and search for your issue. Politicians attend these meetings to gather opinions, so tell them exactly what you think.



6. Write a Letter to your MP

For every letter you send to your MP they assume 100 people think just like you. So make your point 100 times over.



7. Join a Political Party

Most big decisions are made here first, so give your issue a head start.



8. Influence a Parliamentary Committee

 

Take part in committees on certain issues by offering submissions or making presentations to them. For more info visit www.parl.gc.ca.



9. Organize

Find people who believe in the same things and you do, and work together. Numbers make it easier to get politicians to listen to you.



10. Start a Petition

 Petitions are a powerful way to express how you feel. House of Parliament rules say that the government must answer all petitions it receives within 45 days.

 

 

 

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Glossary

A - L

Aboriginal peoples, Adjournment, Amendment, Back Bencher, Bicameralism, Bill, British North America Act (BNA Act), Budget, Bureaucracy, Cabinet, Cabinet Shuffle, Campaign, Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA), Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS), Caucus, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Chief Justice, Closure, Coalition government, Committee of the Whole, Confidence Motion, Constitution, Democracy, Department of National Defence (DND), Dilatory Motion, Dissolution, Division of Powers, Election, Electoral System, Executive, Federation, Filibuster, First Nations, First past the Post, First Reading, Fiscal Imbalance, Fringe Party, Government, Government Bill, Governor General, Hansard, Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition (Official Opposition), House of Commons, Ideology, In Camera, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Inuit, Joint Committee, Judiciary, Leader of the Opposition, Legislative Committee, Legislative Supremacy, Legislature, Lieutenant Governor, Lobbying,

M - Z

Majority Government, Métis, Minister, Ministry, Minority Government, Motion, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Notice of Motion, Notice Paper, Order of Precedence, Order Paper, Paired Vote, Parliamentary Privilege, Party Convention, Party Whip, Point of Order, Political Party, Président, Previous Question, Prime Minister, Prime Ministers Office (PMO), Private Bill, Private Members' Bill, Privy Council, Proportional Representation, Prorogation, Prorogue, Question Period, Repatriate, Report Stage, Riding, Royal Assent, Sanction royale, Second Reading, Seigneurial system, Senate, Senate reform, Session, Sitting, Speaker, Special Committee, Speech from the Throne, Standing Committee, Subcommittee, Supreme Court of Canada, The Notwithstanding Clause, The Privy Council Office, The World Bank (WB), Third Reading, United Nations (UN), Voting, Westminster Model, World Trade Organization (WTO), Written Questions,

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