Should you petition
Petitioning Town Council may not always be your first course of action. Operational or Administrative matters are sometimes best resolved by appropriate Town staff. We encourage the communication on your topic with the responsible department to ensure that you have the most recent topical information.
Who can petition
Anyone who is at least 18 years old and a resident of the Town of Kirkland Lake, including businesses and unincorporated associations where the majority of the membership consists of Town residents, may petition Council.
Rules governing petitions
At a minimum, a petition must contain the following:
- A statement of purpose. This statement of purpose must be repeated at the top of each page.
- The signatures of a least two citizens currently residing in the Town of Kirkland Lake
- The local addresses of each citizen signing the petition.
- The name of a spokesperson (or “principal petitioner”) including their mailing address, street address and telephone number.
- The subject of any petition must be a matter over which Council has the power to act. In other words, the topic must be a municipal responsibility rather than a Provincial or Federal matter.
Preparing a petition
The “principal petitioner” or “spokesperson” is the person who has initiated or organized the petition on behalf of citizens, businesses or organizations. If the petition is from a business or organization (unincorporated body), then a duly authorized officer of the business or organization should sign the front page of the petition on behalf of the business or organization. That person’s position within the organization (i.e. owner, president, secretary, treasurer, etc.) should also be included. This person will be the main contact for the petition. Ensure that the spokesperson’s name is clearly printed and that their mailing address, street address (if it differs) and their telephone number are provided. Please include a daytime telephone number where the spokesperson can be reached between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. You may also wish to include the spokesperson’s fax number and an e-mail address.
Petitions must:
- be in English
- be addressed to Town Council
- ask Town Council to take some action on the subject matter or concern of the petition,
- identify the principal petitioner or spokesperson,
- include the signature and local address of each petitioner.
Do not attach letters, affidavits or other documents to the petition.
Collecting signatures
A petition requires a minimum of two signatures to be accepted.