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Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On November 19, 2012

Canadian Press is reporting that pro-life MPs have discovered another tactic that they can use in the House of Commons.

Following the failure of Motion M-312, what pro-life MPs have started to do is to present pro-life themed petitions to the House. Petitions from the public are almost always heard after Question Period, and this allows the presenter of the motion to address the subject briefly.

However, the story adds, "The House of Commons manual of procedure and practice states that MPs are not bound to present any petition, nor does presenting a petition signify an endorsement." This would allow Tory MPs to tell Harper, "I'm just presenting the petition. You don't want me to tell my constituents to get lost, do you?"

CP adds that of the more than 20 such petitions so far, all save one by Lawrence MacAulay of the Liberals have been presented by Tories.