Dear Friends,

I’m reaching out with both an apology and a request.

Since launching this petition, I’ve learned that the House of Commons only recognizes petitions created through their official website. This means that ours, as it stands, will not be accepted. I apologize for the inconvenience.

The good news? It has helped raise public awareness. And we now know the steps needed to make it count.

Here’s where you come in: To submit an official petition, we need five Canadian signatories (Canadian residents or citizens abroad) to join our two existing supporters. (We have three - we just need two more.) All that’s required is your name and email—no further action needed.

Once we have five signatories, we’ll submit the draft to who we hope will be our MP sponsor, Jenny Kwan, who is already fighting to stop this bill. A formal petition will no doubt strengthen her position in the House of Commons.

There are additional steps, but thankfully, someone has stepped up to help navigate the process. If you’d like more details, I’d be happy to share them with you via email.

So, if you support this cause, would you consider being one of our signatories? The new petition will be more formal but will reflect the same message. And when it goes live on the government website, I hope you will sign it again—just as you kindly did on Change.org.

I truly appreciate your patience and support in challenging this bill. Who knew this would be so complicated? It seems I'm learning something new every day since I created our Elbows Up Van Isle movement. But then, standing up for what’s right is always worth the effort.

Thank you for being part of this fight. Sometimes, having our ‘Elbows Up’ means ensuring our own government doesn’t allow unjust policies—especially those mirroring Trump-era tactics—to take root here.

With gratitude,

Micki Findlay - Petition Creator & Elbows Up Van Isle Organizer