Petitions to go Archaic in the House of BlackBerry's

I thought it not possible to become worse - the behavior of our Members in the People's House - but worse it has become.

In order to comfort the growing anxiety of one Minister of Natural Resources - Speaker Ross is going to change the standards for petitions.

I will post the Hansard of his diatribe as soon as it's released. That may change too - and perhaps taping of the House will stop and all will have to be done in shorthand.

Wiseman decided that photocopies are not real tradition - originals are the way to go. He preached about copying machines not even available when petitions started in the 1920's-30's. Poor old James Watt - when he thought he had a great idea in 1770's.

In either case the nonsense of the petitions continues and now the Tories want to make it more difficult for people to be heard. More complicated and archaic unlike let's say this:

The Hansard in March of 1991

MR. TOBIN: Mr. Speaker, I have a petition I would like to present on behalf of approximately 400 parents of the Marystown Central High School. The petition is part of approximately 2,000 or 3,000 I have presented so far in the House, and I think I have something like ten or twelve more petitions I will be presenting over the coming days.

This petition says, `We are concerned about the serious damage which will be done to the education of our children in the community if there are any cutbacks in education funding. We are especially opposed to funding cutbacks which will affect the Marystown Central High School by reducing staff, making it impossible to increase staffing if required, creating class sizes so large that students cannot learn, reducing or eliminating remedial guidance and library services, making it impossible for the school board to fund new programs and facilities. Decreased funding for education at this time would undo the real progress of recent years and seriously harm the future of individual persons of our Province. We now ask our Government not to impose funding cutbacks on the education of our children.'

Mr. Speaker, I see the Minister of Education looking somewhat bewildered by the prayer of the petition. I do not know why.

That would have been Glenn Tobin who's petitions eventually landed him as boss of the Liquor Corporation.

Now the Tories want a change. Tradition - authenticity- that's what they're after.

All this while they TWEET in the House of Assembly from a BlackBerry.

What an absolute embarrassment they are - these Tory puppets. On high we shall preach that which we do not follow.