Effective Political Action

How to:

-Petition the Canadian House of Commons (Parliament)
-Write to your MP
-Make sure your petitions get to the right place, at the right time
-Get more signatures
-Be strategic
-Not burn out while engaged in a highly emotional issue

Petition Strategy

-Petitions must be presented to the House by a Member of Parliament (MP).

-Petitions must be addressed TO the House, not to an MP. The petitions on this site are worded correctly.

-Any MP can present your petition. You do not have to give your petition to the MP in your riding. It is strategically wise to find out first whether the MP you plan to give the petition, is in favour.

-Quote from a Parliamentary clerk, “Members of the public who wish to petition the House of Commons on a matter of public interest are advised to first submit a draft petition (without signatures) to a Member of Parliament to see whether it is correctly worded and whether the Member would agree to present it.”

-There is no regulation that requires any MP to present your petition, or even read it. MPS get dozens of pieces of mail a day! You could walk around and get signatures on a petition to create Wear A Tinfoil Hat Day. This is why the strategy above.

-It is always a good idea to send letters and emails to your own MP, asking them to support the Bill. For an automated email form, click on the link on Horse Protection Canada. Humane Society International has set one up. http://http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=104&ea.campaign.id=2501

So---draft petitions, without signatures, can go to any MP for testing. Original petitions go to a favorable MP (or else all those signatures may get ignored). Letters go to your MP. You use letters to persuade them. Make sure your letters and emails have your full name, address and postal code.

-One strategy is to write a letter to your MP, and get your friends to sign it, too. As long as you all live in the same riding. This is not a petition.

-Make photocopies of your filled petition, and send them to Canadian Horse Defence Coalition, www.defendhorsescanada.org. They are keeping track.

-Here is a great idea: we know for sure that MP Alex Atamanenko is in favour of Bill
C-544, because he drafted it. He is THE safest MP to send your original petition to.

His address:
Alex Atamanenko, MP

Castlegar Office:
337 Columbia Avenue, Castlegar BC V1N 1G6
1-800-667-2393
250-365-2792

We also know Libby Davies, MP, is in favour of Bill C-544. If you're in Vancouver, drop original, filled petitions at her office: 2412 Main Street, Vancouver, BC by Wednesday, September 15th.

The petitions in BC's Tisol and Sophie's Pet Palace will be delivered on your behalf.

All mail to MPs is postage-free.

General requirements of a petition

-The petition on Horse Protection Canada is worded exactly as the House requires. It was formulated by the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition with the help of a Parliamentary Clerk and a lawyer.

-It must be printed on either letter size or legal size paper. Online petitions are deleted.

-You may not add, erase or cross out words on the petition.

-You may not attach anything to the petition, or add any explanations. For example, do not write anything beside your signature. There is no “comment box” on an acceptable petition. We know this is a highly charged issue, but Just. Don't. Save comments for your letters. We've had entire pages become invalid by someone writing "Stop Horse Slaughter!" on the top. Well meaning, but this is a legal document, not Facebook.

-If you want to provide additional documentation to your MP, send it in the form of a separate letter, not with the petition. You could send them: media, news articles, maps, photos, etc. Just not with the petition, please.

-The first page must contain the entire “prayer.” This is the text of the Bill, with a request for action on the part of the House. The second and following pages may contain just the request. Again, look at our petition. It has a first page, and a following page. Download both, then run off a bunch of copies of page two. If you're leaving a blank petition at a store, it is best to make all first pages. This is so customers can read the full text of the Bill. Once first pages are full, it's too easy for page one to get shuffled in.

-A petition must contain at least 25 signatures, accompanied by a printed name and address. An MP's signature doesn't count.

-Non-citizens of Canada may not sign a petition.

-If a person with a disability has trouble signing, this must be noted and signed by a witness, directly on the petition.

How the Bill gets presented: It's neither a simple nor easy process

If you're interested in an outline of the step by step process, read the .pdf in the Horse Protection Canada Files. If you're really, really interested, go here: http://www.parl.gc.ca/compendium/web-content/c_g_parliamentaryprocedure-e.htm

Write to the Minister of Agriculture

Gerry Ritz is a Federal politician, so any Canadian may write. And it's postage-free! Please remember to utilize the wording of Bill C-544. Sure, say what horses mean to you, and why you want this atrocity to stop. But you're writing specifically to ask for support in helping this Bill to pass.

Because Gerry Ritz is the MP for Battlefords-Lloydminster in Saskatchewan, we really need people in his riding to write to him. If you know any animal lovers in Mr. Ritz's riding, please ask them to write ASAP.

Constituency Office

1322-100th Street
North Battleford, SK
S9A 0V8
Tel: 306-445-2004
Fax: 306-445-0207

Ottawa Office

781 Confederation Bldg.
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
Tel: 613-995-7080
Fax: 613-996-8472

Here's another MP you should write to:

Liberal Agriculture & Agri-Food Critic

Also a Federal politician, as well as an MP. Write postage-free.

Wayne Easter, MP

Agriculture & Agri-Food Critic

Malpeque Constituency Office.
4283 Rte 13, Unit 1
Hunter River, Prince Edward Island
C0A 1N0

Phone: 902-964-2428
Toll Free: 1-800-442-4050
E-mail: eastew1@parl.gc.ca

Great Essay About Why Online Petitions Aren't Effective:

(Besides the fact they aren't admissible in Parliament)

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/internet.asp

Tips for getting support for Bill C-544:

-Where ever you are petitioning, have the one page FAQ sheet available: Download
The Horses Are Calling from the Files page. Click on the Download link on the right side of this page. All the files are there: petitions, flyers, Summary of Evidence, The Horses Are Calling FAQ sheet, a scientific article on phenylbutazone in horse meat. Download and photocopy away!

-Host a write-a-thon for your friends or community. You can get a lot of writing done in a supportive setting. These can be letters to editors and MPs. Or brainstorm which celebrities might come out publicly in support of ending slaughter.

-Approach pet stores. Animal lovers are generally very supportive of anti-cruelty measures. Spend some time yakking with the staff. They're eager to learn about the issue. You'll make cool new friends, too!

-Tack and feed shops seem like logical places to leave petitions. But remember: many
pro-slaughter people may be customers. You can try, but don't be too offended if your request is turned down.

-Approach equestrian centres and ask the manager if you may post a petition and info sheet on the barn bulletin board.

-If you're not particularly outgoing, simply put out small flyers that say something like, “The Horses Are Calling: End Inhumane Canadian Horse Slaughter. Support Parliamentary Bill C-544. Go to www.horseprotection.info to find out what you can do.”

-Where ever you are permitted to leave petitions, be reliable. Tell them when you will pick up, and keep your word. Be pleasant to staff. Stay aware of deadlines for sending petitions in.

-Don't argue don't argue don't argue. If you run into someone who doesn't understand the issue, simply refer them to resources such as www.horseprotection.info, www.defendhorsescanada.org, equinewelfarealliance.org and www.kaufmanzoning.net, where they can view videos and veterinary testimony. If you run into a pro-slaughter person, you probably can't change their mind. Be wise.

-Activism can be hard. Stay safe and keep your sanity. If you need to blow off steam, hit a tennis ball or a pillow, go for a run. If you need to cry, go for it. If you feel like you can't look at one more picture of a suffering horse, give yourself time off. Both you and the campaign will be better off if you feel fresh.

-Focus on the people who feel the way you do, or who would act if they just had more information. There are plenty of decent people.

-Write letters to editors.

-Consider writing a piece about your own experience with horse slaughter: as a witness, an auction attendee, or someone who lost a horse to slaughter. There are many of us. Whether we worked on the race track and saw our babies loaded on the kill truck, or had a precious pet stolen and then sold to slaughter, we carry this grief. The public and media is touched by how tragedy impacts our lives. Horse slaughter IS a national tragedy. Don't hold back now, when the horses need you.

-Post on animal-related online bulletin boards.

-Tack information on community bulletin boards. Supermarkets, coffee shops, community centres, etc. It's a good idea to ask the manager before you do.

-Farmers markets and summer festivals.

-It's horse show season. Ask a local show committee head if you may set up a table at the show, with petitions and info.

-Hold a yard sale and have the petition and info handy. Best is a multi-family sale, well advertised. They draw the most attendees. Have a large sign on your table re: horses. A big horse picture or poster is good. People are naturally drawn to horses.

-Do not attempt activism at a horse auction, unless it's actually rescuing a horse. Half the crowd is kill buyers, most of the rest are rescuers who know the score. Passing around a petition or flyers is likely to get you arrested for trespassing on private property, victimized by a kill buyer, or even p*** the auction manager off enough to ban rescuers. You DO have the right to call police or Animal Control if a kill buyer tries to load a clearly injured, pregnant or disabled horse. Such animals are not legally permitted to be shipped to slaughter.

-If you have any connection to a media person, now is the time to contact them. It doesn't matter how small a paper or local a TV/radio show. You never know who's reading, watching or listening. If you're a student, get a blurb into the first issue of a campus paper this Fall.

-Ask your local mall if you can set up a table with petitions and info sheets. At times, you may be offered a place in a business whose activities you don't agree with. Let your conscience be your guide---if you really can't stand that store, don't go! If you're gritting your teeth, you won't get many petition signatures, anyway. Be smart, and follow your heart.

-Some liquor stores will allow you to set up an outside table with petitions and info. This is a valuable, high-traffic space.

-Get your spiritual group, church, synagogue or mosque to write letters and sign the petition. Get a blurb into the newsletter.

-Pass the petition around your sports or social club.

-We're all Facebooking, Twittering, blogging, etc. Get the word out about Bill C-544, and send people to www.horseprotection.info and Canadian Horse Defence Coalition for resources. Join the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition Supporters Facebook group.

-Belong to a Meetup group? Post a message on the group bulletin board, or send out a group email.

-Blitz universities and colleges. A person does not have to be of voting age to sign.

Thank you for joining us in supporting Bill C-544. As long as slaughter is legal, no horse is safe.

Mail to MPs is postage-free.