Following a Petition's Path

My petition's signing period is over. What happens next?

• The MNA presents the petition to the Assemblée nationale.
• The petition may be examined in parliamentary committee.

See the guide entitled Presenting a Petition at the Assemblée nationale du Québec (PDF, 4 MB).

When will my petition be presented to the Assemblée nationale?

Petitions are presented to the Assemblée during Routine Proceedings. If your petition is an e-petition, it will be presented at one of the first three sittings after the date on which the signing period ends.

How can I know whether my petition has been presented?

• The presentation of a petition is recorded in the Votes and Proceedings and the Journal des débats (Hansard), for the Assemblée sitting in which it took place.
• On the Consulting a Petition page, you can see the abstracts of e-petitions tabled since 2009.

What happens next?

• The petition is forwarded to the appropriate parliamentary committee. See the list of subjects that fall within each committee's area of competence.
• The committee has 15 days for deciding whether to examine the petition.
• A committee that decides to examine a petition must produce a report to be tabled in the Assemblée nationale within 30 days.

Will I receive a response?

• The Government must provide a response to a petition within 30 days.
• The time starts running at the end of the 15 days for the committee to decide whether to examine the petition, or on the date when the committee decides not to examine the petition. If the petition is examined in committee, the time limit starts on the day the committee's report is tabled.
• The Government's response is tabled in the Assemblée nationale and posted on the Consulting a Petition page.

The proceedings have been suspended for an extended period… Will my petition be forgotten?

No! This has no effect on the petition process, except that certain time limits may be extended.

What happens to my petition in the event of the prorogation or dissolution of the Assemblée?

The prorogation of the Assemblée (ending of a session) has no effect on the petition process, except that the 15-day time limit the parliamentary committee has to decide whether or not it will consider a petition may be extended.

However, the dissolution of the Assemblée ends any requirement for the Government to respond to a petition.

Additional Information

• Presenting a Petition at the Assemblée nationale du Québec (PDF, 4 MB)