In March, the Finnish government passed a Citizens’ Initiative Act, a modification of the Finnish constitution, which allows registered voters to propose new laws. The Act states that every legislative proposal that gathers 50,000 signatures (less than 1% of the 5.4 million population) within six months will go to Parliament for a vote.
Last month, this crowdsourced law-making initiative went online through an open-sourced platform called Open Ministry. For a proposal on Open Ministry to reach Parliamentary consideration, there doesn’t have to be a majority of citizens in favour of it. Instead, any proposal with 50,000 “shares” (likes or dislikes) is put through as a law of interest.
While this may sound a bit lighthearted and reminiscent of Facebook, the system is being taken seriously by Finnish citizens. The first proposal to cross over to Parliamentary consideration is a ban on fur farming, which collected more than 56,000 shares, with the majority being in favour of the ban. Other examples of proposals already listed include a ban on energy drinks being sold to under-16s and a referendum on the alcohol laws, where the government has a monopoly.
If this system was to be put into effect in Canada, a quick survey round the Precedent office revealed that proposal suggestions would range from extending the last call from 2am to 4am, to later transit hours of operation and a ban on the possession of handguns.
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