Building Democracy in Canada ...
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 22 October 2014 22:15
- Written by editor
BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN CANADA
If we want a better Canada, we need more democracy. Democracy is 'government of, by, and for the people'. Not government of the corporations, but government of the people.
The corporations that control Canada are plundering our nation. To get our Canada back, we have to fight the corporations, beat them, take back our country, and fix things up.
Health Care is one example of how they treat us. Canadians are forced to wait for health care because the corporations know they have to ruin our public system before they can privatize it; and long waits are a part of the plan. As for those who suffer and die - Corporate Canada does not care. We need to regain control of our health care system - and make it work for us.
And it's not just health care. Our corporate rulers create Homelessness and Poverty. They send our jobs overseas by the tens of thousands. They refuse to pay taxes, and they create huge public debts. They have genetically contaminated our food supply, poisoned us with chemicals and pollutants, and on and on.
But these things - as bad as they are - are just 'symptoms'. The real problems are that we don't have a free press - or a democracy - in Canada. These are things we have to fix. And we can. How to build democracy in Canada:
1. We need a media that works for us. Democracy requires a free press, and if we want democracy we have to build that free press.
2. We have to realize our democracy is gone. And we have to set to work to take it back.
3. We need to discuss our Voting System. Our First Past the Post voting system does not give us the governments we vote for. In the last federal election the Greens got about 600,000 votes and the Conservatives 6 million. The Greens elected one MP, the Conservatives more than 160. Why should ten times the votes give 160 times the seats? Most Canadians want a better voting system, but our rulers won't allow it - because what we have works well for them.
4. We need to reform our Parliaments. Why do our Premiers and Prime Minister control the people WE elect. The people we elect are supposed to represent us - not be controlled by corrupt party leaders. In a democracy, the citizens control the politicians; in Canada the politicians control the citizens - for the benefit of The Corporations. We can change this.
5. We need to control the political parties. If the big political parties are corrupt and undemocratic - and they are - then nothing good will come from them. We need public oversight of the parties, to ensure that the people who run them are honest.
6. We should look at 'Direct Democracy'. With Direct Democracy, citizens vote on important issues, to force politicians to do what we want. Direct Democracy is something we should discuss, and move ahead with if we want.
7. Citizens Assemblies ... are groups of average citizens, brought together to look into important issues - like those above - and come up with solutions. These Assemblies can help us move forward because they give citizens some power and a way to express our ideas. We should learn about Citizens Assemblies and start to use them if we think they can help.
It's up to us ... Let's take our country back and build the democracy we need.
jack etkin
Website: www.thebridgenewsservice.com
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
