The Liberal government has dismissed a Toronto man's proposal to keep politicians honest in an age of misinformation, saying there are already several ways to fight falsehoods.
Federico Sanchez initiated an electronic petition to the House of Commons to propose legislation that would help correct the record when members of Parliament stray from the truth intentionally or simply because they are ill-informed.
Sanchez said he was "very upset" by the lack of federal interest in his pitch.
"It made me feel like they didn't take it seriously," he said in an interview. "If they don't think that there's a problem, then I think we're going to have a lot worse days ahead."
The e-petition urged federal politicians to put forward a bill "to address the issue of perceived and actual misinformation being presented by MPs to the public."
Sanchez, a physician, feared Canada could follow the path of the United States, where he saw an erosion of public trust due to the spread of political misinformation, amplified by artificial intelligence.
The petition called misinformation a growing threat to the democratic process and said a mechanism was needed to verify MPs' public statements to maintain trust in Canada's governing body.
It suggested Canada emulate an approach floated in Wales in 2024. Under the model, if a court found a politician made a false or misleading statement of fact, it could issue a notice directing the individual to make a public correction.
If the politician refused to comply with the notice within seven days, without a reasonable excuse, the court could issue an order preventing that politician from holding office in the Welsh Parliament for a set period of time.
A Canadian e-petition must have 500 or more signatures to receive certification for presentation to the House, which opens the door to a formal government response. Sanchez's petition garnered almost 45,000 signatures from across Canada over a four-month period last year.
In a March 23 response, government House leader Steven MacKinnon said general elections are the "fundamental mechanism" by which voters hold elected representatives accountable.
Beyond elections, Canadians can make their voices heard in other ways, MacKinnon wrote.
Constituents can write to MPs directly on issues of concern or matters of interest — such as real or perceived misinformation — start or sign petitions and attend live parliamentary debates and proceedings, he said. "Committees also seek input from the public on many ongoing studies that are posted publicly," he added.
Parliament has a duty to hold the government to account, while the executive is responsible to Parliament and remains in power as long as it commands the confidence of the House, MacKinnon added. "Together they are ultimately accountable to electors," he said.
MacKinnon also noted the House has the right to discipline members who abuse or breach privileges, such as freedom of speech, and to find members in contempt of Parliament.
Sanchez characterized the federal suggestions for ensuring accuracy and truth in politics as glib, offhand and ultimately unworkable.
He said it is unrealistic for voters to wait years until a general election to hold politicians accountable for misstatements of fact.
When politicians lie without recourse, "you're not making election decisions based on what's actually happening," he said. "It's based on who lies the best."
Sanchez also scoffed at MacKinnon's suggestion that concerned voters could voice their concerns through a petition.
"Well, this is clearly what I'm doing," he said. "But if you're going to get a response like this for your petition, it really kind of makes me question whether petitions actually are taken seriously by Parliament at all."
The Liberals recently tabled legislation that would ban sophisticated deepfake images of key election participants — including candidates and the chief electoral officer — intended to mislead voters into thinking they are real.
The group Democracy Watch has long called for passage of a comprehensive "honesty in politics" law that would offer an accessible means of complaining about a wide range of politically active people who deceive the public.
"An honesty law that covers everyone involved in politics is needed more than ever given how false claims, disinformation and deepfakes can go viral on social media and mislead voters in ways that undermine solving societal problems and affect the results of elections," said Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
