Burnaby’s newest MLA has introduced her first bill in the legislature.
Jane Shin, the New Democrat MLA for Burnaby-Lougheed, tabled a bill on Monday calling for the legislative assembly to accept electronic petitions from the public. Currently, the legislature only accepts paper petitions, but Shin is aiming to change that.
"Thanks to modern technology, we now have an opportunity to enhance this tradition of petitioning with increased accessibility and efficiency,” Shin said in Victoria. “Electronic petitions can serve as a low-barrier entry point for our citizens, especially the youth, to communicate their concerns to this House.”
Shin is hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow New Democrat Kennedy Stewart, the MP for Burnaby-Douglas, who managed to get his bill on e-petitions passed in Parliament – a rare feat for a member of the Opposition.
“They say that an opposition bill is never given a second reading for partisan reasons by the majority government,” Shin wrote on her Facebook page. “And that may as well be the case, but I choose to believe otherwise. Because it can happen – as demonstrated by our Burnaby MP Kennedy Stewart.”
