Kitchener Centre MP sponsors petition targeting ticket resale prices

One local Taylor Swift fan is taking her bad blood with resale concert ticket prices to the federal government.

Melanie Hains, from Kitchener, spent the last several months attempting to buy tickets to see The Eras Tour in Toronto but was unable to because of high resale ticket prices. Now, she has started a petition, sponsored by Kitchener Centre MP Mike Morrice. One example listed in the petition noted that one resale site had tickets in August going as high as $13,000 and being listed as a “great deal.”

“For the cost of Toronto resale tickets alone, we could have flown our family to Europe and also covered our hotel and the concert,” said Hains in a press release.

The petition calls on the federal government to look at how other countries regulate the ticket resale market and to come back with a set of reasonable measures of its own. Examples listed in the petition include how, in Portugal and Denmark, tickets cannot be resold for more than the original price.

Morrice said the current system is “completely out of control” and is does not have to be this way.

“There are so many options available to the government of Canada that they could be taking,” said Morrice. “$13,000 for a ticket is no ‘great deal’ and it certainly is not one that most folks in our community can afford.

The petition requires 500 signatures for Morrice to bring it to the House of Commons floor early next year. The government would then have 45 days to respond after being presented.

The petition is open until Dec. 19. A link can be found here.