Foreign scientists call on Stephen Harper to restore science funding, freedom

Hundreds of scientists around the world are asking Prime Minister Stephen Harper to end "burdensome restrictions on scientific communication and collaboration faced by Canadian government scientists."

The call was made in an open letter drafted by the Cambridge, Mass.-based Union of Concerned Scientists, a group that represents U.S. scientists and uses science to advocate for environmental sustainability.

• Read the full letter

'You need a warrant to read my mail!' 100,000 sign anti-spying WH petition

A White House petition demanding reform of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to prevent undue snooping on Americans’ online communications hit the 100,000 signature benchmark, forcing a government response.

The petition calling for a review of the 1986 act, which extended government restrictions on wire taps to include transmissions of electronic data by computer, reached the required number of signatures for a White House review on its December 21st deadline.

All petitions which reach the recently increased 100,000 threshold will be reviewed by officials in the presidential administration and an official response will be issued.

Egypt’s Petition Rebellion

The biggest challenge to the Egyptian government resides in a sweltering fifth-floor office in a crumbling building in downtown Cairo. It’s paper—millions of pieces of paper, sorted into stacks and piled on chairs and balanced atop cardboard crates. Each is a signed petition calling for the removal of President Mohamed Morsi and new elections, labelling Morsi “a failure in all the meanings of the word … unfit to administer a country the size of Egypt.” The petition charges the country’s leader with betraying the revolution, destroying the economy, and begging for foreign aid to keep the country afloat. Fifteen million Egyptians have signed it, which is two million more than voted Morsi into office a year ago. Many are expected to join mass protests on June 30th.

Poll: Most Canadians back call for Commons to accept online petitions

OTTAWA — A strange-bedfellow coalition of ordinary MPs fighting for greater democratic freedoms in Parliament say their cause is supported by a poll funded by Burnaby NDP MP Kennedy Stewart.

The poll suggests an overwhelming majority of Canadians support Stewart’s motion calling on Parliament to accept electronic petitions that could – if numbers warrant – force a debate in the House of Commons on any matter.

2.3 Million Petitioners Urge Rejection of 'Chained-CPI' Social Security Cut

US Senator Bernie Sanders, Congressman Mark Takano, Congressman Mark Pocan, Congressman Rick Nolan and leaders of organizations that oppose President Obama's anticipated assault on Social Security went to the White House Tuesday to present petitions signed by 2.3-million Americans who reject the president's proposal for “chained-CPI.”

The "chained-CPI" scheme would restructure cost-of-living adjustments in a way that cuts Social Security benefits for millions of seniors and veterans.

Manning and Broadbent find common ground

A political odd couple is backing an opposition motion allowing Canadians to sign online petitions, and even trigger a House of Commons debate, on issues that concern them.

Reform party founder Preston Manning, one of the most respected voices in the Canadian conservative movement, is endorsing B.C. New Democratic Party MP Kennedy Stewart's motion to be voted on before the summer break.

He joins former NDP leader Ed Broadbent as well as 20 MPs, including two Conservatives, who have formally endorsed the motion.

Rise of democracy by petition could be a bad sign

Kennedy Stewart, the 46-year-old New Democratic Party MP for the British Columbia riding of Burnaby-Douglas, is a good egg. Before he was elected in 2011, Stewart was a tenured professor at the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University. He’s the NDP’s science and technology critic. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics.

Stewart is obviously a very smart guy, but he has this very big idea about how to revivify Canadian democracy, and if we’re all not very careful, Stewart’s idea will turn Parliament into an audience-participation reality show, like Dancing with the Stars. Or worse.

Petition targets Canada-China deal

A petition signed by 60,000 Canadians calls on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to reject a "secretive and sweeping" Canada-China trade agreement.

The Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (FIPA), discussed mostly behind closed doors, comes as the Conservative cabinet reviews a Chinese state-owned oil company's $15.1-billion bid to take over Calgary oil company Nexen.