A national citizens petition has been launched urging the House of Commons to establish an independent Canadian Consumer Advocate answerable to Parliament to advance consumer interests and represent the consumer voice.

The e-petition will give Canadians an opportunity to demonstrate their support for the creation of an independent Consumer Advocate and an expanded role for that position, first proposed by the Prime Minister in his mandate letters to Canada’s Ministers of Industry, Seniors and Middle-Class Prosperity in 2019.

However, the petitioners ask for consideration being given to building upon and achieving more than what the Prime Minister’s initially proposed, which itself has made no visible progress since being made a priority for ministers.

The Independent Consumer Advocate e-petition will remain open for e-signatures on the House of Commons e-petition web page until June 9, 2021. E-signatories must be citizens or residents of Canada and will be required to add their name, a valid email address, their province, postal code and telephone number. Individuals may only sign the e-petition once, and will receive an automated email prompt to confirm their e-signature.

If the e-petition receives 500 or more e-signatures, the Clerk of Petitions will provide a final certification of the e-signatures before the e-petition is presented to the House of Commons. At that time, the Government of Canada will have 45 days to respond. Should the petitioners achieve that goal this would provide a rare opportunity for consumers to get an answer about consumer protection and representation concerns in Canada and one way suggested to get started addressing them.

Canadians wishing to add their support to the e-petition to create an independent Consumer Advocate can view and e-sign the e-petition here.