More than 12,000 Canadians have signed an online petition calling on Finance Minister Bill Morneau to ensure Canada’s biggest corporations pay their fair share of taxes.

The petition on Change.org was launched by advocacy group Democracy Watch after the Star, in partnership with Corporate Knights magazine, published an investigation last month that showed how individuals pay three-and-a-half times more income tax than corporations.

“Fair is only fair. If I have to pay so should banks,” wrote Stewart Papke, a signatory from Alberta.

The number of signatures from across Canada has been rising gradually, but took off this week on social media sites such as Facebook.

“People are focused on this issue: who is being taxed and who is avoiding tax; who is getting subsidized and who is using loopholes,” said Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch. “This is not going to go away.”

The petition calls for three policy changes: raise corporate taxes, shut down loopholes and impose a special levy on banks.

“Having big corporations and wealthy individuals able to legally avoid paying their ‘fair’ share of taxes falls into the category of things unacceptable in a democracy,” wrote Meredith Moore from Saskatoon, Sask. “Please make it stop, even if they lobby as hard as the doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc. about the small business tax reforms.”

The Star investigation revealed that Canada’s 102 biggest corporations collectively avoided $62.9 billion in income taxes over the past six years. On average, that’s $10.5 billion less per year than if they paid the official corporate tax rate.

The Big Five banks, Canada’s five most profitable corporations, account for a disproportionate amount of tax avoidance: $5.5 billion in 2016 alone.

“Banks in particular need to pay,” wrote Marya Buckingham from Niagara Falls on Facebook. “They are not in the same kind of competition that impacts some corporations.”

The Star report also showed how Canada’s big banks have the lowest tax rate in the G7.

“Banks and big businesses should be taxed as in other G7 countries, and be held accountable when those taxes are avoided through loopholes,” wrote Nicolette Goff from Comox, B.C.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was elected on a platform of tax fairness. Since winning office in 2015, his government has pursued small private corporations for exploiting loopholes. The Star report showed how this approach ignored the far larger problem of tax loopholes used by the biggest corporations in the country, including moving money through offshore tax havens.

“It’s time to stop calling honest, hard-working professionals, farmers and small business owners tax cheats,” wrote Ian Dinsdale from Nobleton, Ont. “Tax those who are the biggest drain on the economy and the largest tax evaders.”

Canada currently has the strongest economy in the G7, yet all levels of government — municipal, provincial and federal — cannot find enough money to balance their budgets, provide social programs and build public infrastructure.

“This is grossly unfair when so many Canadians live under or near the poverty level and services for those who need them keep being cut due to government budget constraints. The tax being evaded could help restore some degree of equality among poorer Canadians,” wrote Helen Hills from North Vancouver, B.C.

“I call on the federal government to change the tax laws so big Canadian businesses and banks pay their fair share. Also close all loop holes that allows them to pay less taxes than they SHOULD pay. When they pay their fair share the federal government will have billions of dollars to invest in health care, education, infrastructure, and more. The amount of profit … they have made is outrageous!!” wrote Miranda Bestman from Edmonton, Alta.

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As calls for tax reform emerge from both sides of the political spectrum, Democracy Watch’s Conacher says such petitions keep the pressure on politicians to act.

“I would not be surprised to see the Liberals take on a comprehensive review of the tax code,” he said. If not, he added, corporate taxes could become an election issue.

Change.org uses a variety of measures to ensure every digital signature is valid, spokesperson Joshunda Sanders said. These include removing suspicious signatures coming from the same IP address and checking for fake email addresses, unusual patterns or entries that appear faster than possible, he said.

“I have no idea what this country would do if there weren’t so many of us little guys,” said signatory Doris Atfield, a 72-year-old retired nurse and social worker from Timmins, Ont. “Those big corporations, with all the money they make, the least they could do is pay a little more tax.”