A Prescription for what ails Democracy

What I Would Change About Politics in Canada
Elizabeth May


Democracy is, as Winston Churchill once quipped, the worst system of government, except all the others that have been tried.

He also, less famously said, “The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter,” but I don’t think the average voter is our problem in Canada. And I do think we’ve got a problem.

The symptoms of the problem are easy to spot — low voter turnout, with worryingly low levels among young people with no sign they will start voting once they are over 30, a less than vital Fourth Estate, undermined by an alarming level of concentration of media ownership in very few hands, public apathy, indifference bordering on antipathy toward the whole process, excessive power in the hands of the few (or the one, since I refer to PMO), a loss of respect for the fundamental principle of the supremacy of Parliament, misuse of the talents of Members of Parliament of the large parties as MPs are expected to toe the party line on every issue, big and small, and its flip-side, excessive control by the un-elected top party brass in all three main parties.

Add to this, that the average voter in Canada — if anyone can be called “average” — is incensed by the goings on related to the excessive claims of certain Senators and the outrageous accommodation for Senator Duffy by the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff cutting him a cheque for $90,000 so he could make it seem he had personally paid back what he took through inappropriate means. The fact of a $90,000 cheque from the Prime Minister’s top ranking staff member and closest confidante remains just simply stunning. It was, on its face, illegal. It makes no sense and no sensible explanation has been offered.

So, what could we change to restore the kind of healthy democracy that would re-engage voters, stop the growth in public cynicism and give Canadians a system — and individual politicians –they could believe in?

Here’s a short prescription for what ails our democracy:

1. Get rid of “first past the post” and elect MPs, as is done in most modern democracies, by some form of proportional representation. Make sure every vote counts so voters feel the impact of their vote. Thanks to first past the post, in 2011, a minority of voters elected a majority government. Such “false majorities,” as University of Toronto Prof. Emeritus Peter Russell has dubbed them, have occurred for Liberals as well as Progressive Conservative and now Conservative governments. Such results are only possible due to First past the post.
2. Reduce the powers of the Prime Minister’s Office — regardless of who is the occupant. It is an invention, not mentioned in our Constitution. Its powers and budget are unchecked and unaccountable. It is now at $10 million/year. Cut it in half to $5 million…or cut it more. Its total power in times of majority Parliament is anti-democratic, especially in a situation of a “false majority.” Cut the power of PMO. Restore a healthier Cabinet system of government.
3. Restore a respected, professional civil service. Return to evidence-based decision making. Rebuild the wall between the PMO and the PCO (Privy Council Office). Only under PM Harper have the political operatives in PMO run roughshod over the civil service, contaminating government information with partisan spin. This must be stopped.
4. Pass legislation that deals with concentration of media ownership to encourage the rebirth of local journalism and reduce the powers of a handful of owners (our current legislation dealing with competition in the news media fails to deal with this issue and only addresses issues of the price of media products.)
5. Restore respect for the supremacy of Parliament. Ensure that the control of the public purse is restored to Parliament, where it belongs.
6. Remove the power of leaders of federal parties to sign the nomination forms for their party’s candidates. Allow the caucus members of parties the right to trigger leadership reviews.
7. Senate reform — open conversations and negotiations with provinces. Is abolition possible? Could a council of the federation with more effective representation from municipalities, provinces and territories bring something useful to Parliament?
8. And perhaps most important of all — re-assert the constitutional requirement that MPs are elected to represent their constituents, not to be mere ciphers of the back-room hyper-partisan spin doctors who call the shots.

Bring back Westminster parliamentary democracy. All our rules say we have one; only our political habits tell us we are moving toward an elected dictatorship. This prescription to restore and heal democracy can only be filled when the citizens of Canada demand it.
Canada Day 2013 is a good time to start.

Originally published in the Huffington Post.
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^The military in this instance has acted in defense of democracy. No corrupt political party should be allowed to wield too much power over the people. Political parties are anti-democratic in that they are small groups of organized conspirators who seek to impose their absolute power. Democracy is not about going out to vote for a new dictator every few years, it is a process that is meant to happen all the time. The military and associated security apparatus has a role, it must protect a nation from the corruption of weak "leaders". Take the rise of Hitler as a prime example of how politicians can cause real damage to democratic societies. Hitler was democratically elected but after election he proceeded to dismantle German democracy and violate the human rights of German citizens. The German military should have intervened in the 1930's to protect German democracy. There were plans among the officers to do just that but unfortunately none succeeded. The point is that democracy is not just about elections, it is a process, a state of existence that respects people. My concern is that people from countries without cultural knowledge of what democracy is must have many misconceptions about what it looks like. Even in countries with strong democratic traditions much of the population is unaware of the philosophical origins of the modern world. If you set up a system where a radical segment of the population imposes their agenda on everyone else, that is not democracy. Even if you hold a vote every few years, the winners of the vote still must respect everyone's rights. Democracy is not meant to be about winning power over others, it is about bringing everyone together and finding solutions. I am disgusted that the competing mainstream parties take every opportunity to spout off spin and talking points every time they are granted access to the media. They are all fighting over the opportunity to form a "majority" so they can impose the agendas of their backers. The constant partisan messaging is an exhibition the profound immaturity and ignorance of our politicians. This is in sharp contrast to our brave members of the military who volunteer to risk their lives in service to god and country. I trust our generals more than I do our emperors. Men of honour in the tradition of Roméo Antonius Dallaire and Maximus Decimus Meridius are more trustworthy than most politicians. Just because someone "wins" an "election" it does not mean they are acting democratically or that democracy is healthy and on the right track. Some states have ruling political parties that control the media and arrest dissenters. Some states have ruling corporations and business elites who dominate the political process with money. Just because a vote occurs, it does not necessarily mean that democracy is happening. Democracy is more like a goal on the horizon that we continually chart a course for through reform and reconciliation. Don't get me wrong, we have a lot to be grateful for, our politicians are much better that the thugs of the completely corrupt and evil Chinese Communist party, but there are systemic and cultural issues that need to be resolved if we are to have any hope of dealing with the deteriorating economic and security conditions. We need leaders to put aside themselves, to put aside all sense of self. We must transcend crisis, history, and division to accomplish the preservation of our ideals. Hear me, I am speaking to you. You must make the dream a reality. You, in whatever capacity you serve, must do everything within your power to build our future. You must transcend your"self", and make "us" possible.                       

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Never Forget June 4 1989

Elizabeth May Speaking at Falun Dafa Month Rally on Parliament Hill

Elizabeth May Speaking at Falun Dafa Month Rally on Parliament Hill

" The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) banned the practice of Falun Gong in 1999, using tactics employed against peaceful Falun practitioners including imprisonment, forced labour, torture, murder, Orwellian indoctrination and even allegations of live organ extraction.

Help Elizabeth push the Canadian government to tell the Chinese government to stop their persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Sign or download her petition, get as many people as possible to sign it, and mail it – postage free – to either her Ottawa or Sidney offices. With as few as 25 signatures, Elizabeth can present your petition to the government in the House of Commons. "




Elizabeth May is one in a million. A politician that stands for ideals that you can trust. As you all know politicians are usually the worst kind of people on the planet. The vast majority of politicians have no bravery, they go along with the crowd and never stand for anything. Politicians are usually the opposite of leaders. Politicians go along with our flawed and corrupt systems without ever taking the risk of standing for real change. We are all human, we want to love one another, but the world that we want is not the world that we have. Nothing will change if we do not act to change it, and that requires bravery. The calculation of a better world is not a cold equation of personal gain and power, a better world is build by devotion to sacrifice.

We like to pretend that we are ok as a society, but we are not. Money and violence rules humanity as it always has, and through the process of globalization our responsibility for the ongoing atrocity has been collectivized. Our political processes are games between organized gangs of thugs, just as they always have been. The objective is and always has been to keep you addicted to the things that don't matter and ignorant of the things that do.

I don't want this. I don't want to feed this beast. It will only get bigger. I don't want a world where our money, our labour, our tears and the blood of our sons are spent to enrich foreign dictators. I don't want the money that I spend to be used to oppress people for the ideas that they have. I don't want to engage in a commercial system that enriches psychopaths and hurts ordinary people.

Long ago the ruling families were bound by family ties, today our political entities are bound by commercial ties. Money binds your "representatives" to histories greatest monsters. Money enables "democracy" to occur without informed debate or fair choice. Money makes law. I am not against wealth, in fact I view it as something virtuous, so long as it is paired with moral purpose. 

I am not a radical for wanting to ensure that we live in a world with human rights, democracy, an educated and informed citizenry. This is not the world we are currently building.

The only radicals I see are the thugs in the 1% who want to maintain their power through any means necessary. And it is through this they lose what it is that they seek to gain.

What scares the elite is that Elizabeth May is the most powerful person in Ottawa.
The seeds have already been planted, and they will grow.

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Gradual politicization of Canadian security apparatus threat to independent state

Senior Mounties told not to meet MPs without prior approval

"Specifically, they are to notify a liaison office that co-ordinates RCMP strategy with the office of Public Safety Minister Vic Toews."

"It's not appropriate for the government to reach into the police operation. It's a very, very fundamental part of what we must be assured exists so that the police aren't doing the work of the government, they're doing the work of the public."

" Garrison, who is the NDP critic for public safety, said "these memos raise some very serious concerns about whether the government is interfering in the operations of the RCMP to try and assist in controlling their political message. So I think it's very serious." "

" Liberal Senator Grant Mitchell, critic for an RCMP reform bill, C-42, said he feared the "politicization of the police force." "
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"Non-partisan federal appointment conflicts with role as director for conservative think tank"

"Duncan then asked whether the Canada Revenue Agency would investigate the political activities of the Manning Centre, which is a federally registered non-profit organization, although it does not issue any tax receipts and is not a registered charity."

Government Response:

"That would be unlawful, and it would be inappropriate, and it's bizarre that the NDP would suggest it," said Kenney, who repesents a Calgary riding.

The government makes a response that it would be unlawful to investigate the political nature of a non-profit organization that is organized to funnel industry money into training loyal conservative party goons, just after it spend $8 million taxpayer dollars investigating environmental charities for their alleged political activities.

" In its own words, the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, which runs a "state of the art training centre" in downtown Calgary, is "dedicated to building Canada’s conservative movement – by strengthening the knowledge, skills, ethical foundations, and networks of political practitioners." "

^Read: Organization Training Harpers Brownshirts deemed non-political by government
What about the Government using the CRA against David Suzuki:

Suzuki forges onward despite Tory cuts, CRA audits

"David Suzuki says he finally feels free to speak his mind since stepping down six months ago as a director of his namesake environmental charity, which he founded more than 20 years ago."

" “It’s very demoralizing, because so much of that resource then is dedicated to that process, and the last time we were audited I think it cost over $100,000 of our money to do that, so it’s a very expensive, punitive thing that can be done,” he said. "

"The foundation has been audited three times before. A recent internal review of the its finances found less than one per cent of its resources are dedicated to political activity — well within the 10 per cent legal limit."
One year and $5 million later, Harper’s charity crackdown nets just one bad egg

"An $8-million pot of money included in last year’s federal budget to crack down on charities suspected of engaging in “excessive” political activities has so far resulted in only one having its charitable status revoked, out of nearly 900 that were audited."

"Environmental charities were widely reported to be the primary target of ramped up compliance measures after Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said environmental and other “radical groups” were trying to undermine the national economy by blocking pipeline and other fossil fuel projects."
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"The charity – which had revenues of $14.5-million in 2010 – has two main funding arms. Tides Foundation finances other charities ranging from Big Brothers and Big Sisters organizations to Environmental Defence Canada, and Tides Initiatives does its educational, social and environmental work."

"Environment Minister Peter Kent raised the stakes last week when he accused an unnamed group of essentially engaging in “money laundering,” echoing attacks against Tides launched by Conservative senators and the pro-oil-industry, Conservative-connected group, EthicalOil.org."
"In the March budget, the Harper government ordered the CRA to step up its efforts on education and compliance with charities that engage in political activity.The government said then that it was responding to concerns that some charities may not be respecting the rules, and that it also intended to increase the reporting rules for charities that take money from foreign donors."

David Suzuki charity questioned for alleged partisan politics

"The David Suzuki Foundation on Tuesday became the target of a complaint to the Canada Revenue Agency, just days after its namesake co-founder stepped down amid heightened tensions between environmental charities and the Conservative government."

"A week before, David Suzuki stepped down from the foundation he helped create so he can “speak freely without fear” his words will be deemed too political, according to an open letter posted to the group’s website last week."

"Mr. Ellerton said that organizations should forgo charitable status — and all the economic benefits it brings — if they want the freedom to be political."
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The Caravan - What Up Steve?

The Net Benefit of Liberty

The economics of foreign policy is the ultimate example of the conflict between static and dynamic efficiency. The choice between maximizing short term gain or creating a world where everyone is better off in the long term.

           Foreign Policy is the engagement of the state with the world beyond it's boarders. It's objective is to maximize public good through the cultivation of a habitable international environment. Security is the basis of a habitable environment.

       There is a net benefit resulting from international security. A peace that is based on the principles of human rights and democracy. Political repression is a cost on human society. It deprives us of innovative and capable people. It creates a climate of fear and a culture of apathy. We as a species must end political violence. Intellectuals must be free to devote their energies, time and talents to solving the problems our species faces. The elimination of repression increases public wealth.

       Our democracy, our rights and freedoms must be preserved. They are the foundation of our security. Without these things, our lives can be taken from us at any time for any reason. Our individual security depends on our collective security. Our collective security depends on our collective liberty. Therefore, the strength of democracy is the foundation of our security. Public welfare is maximized in the long term through the reduction of repression and violence, by means of the guarantees to liberty, provided by democratic values.                

J

Rise of Communist China - Why "Its not fine"

TOP SECRET: "The Program" Stellar Wind

The West is turning into china, loosing Freedom

This neatly compiled collection of newscasts puts together the case that something has gone very wrong at the highest levels of our society. The fact that the powerful are so paranoid that they are willing to expend huge amounts of our scarce resources on chinese style surveillance of people who are just expressing ideas shows the degree of separation between the people who make the decisions and the people who have to live under those decisions. Society seems terminally ill. After watching this one I think you will find it undeniable that 1) there is a problem 2) we need real reform.
Out of all the people who hold political power, or at least the facade of political power, there is not one person or persons that are pushing back against the police state agenda. To date, no lone executive has broken ranks with the globalists and issued orders to the political puppets to try and save the day. Is there not one among you, you men of power and privilege, who loves lady liberty more than your false trophys of excess.

I will not shut up. I know fully well the implications of speaking my mind. You can do what you will but I love liberty more than life itself. You do not have my obedience, and that is all it takes for you to lose your power. I am not afraid.

I will not live in fear, and neither will you.

Criminalizing descent

The point at which descent is criminalized in a country is the point at which its government becomes criminal.

  
Henley-Putnam University
http://www.henley-putnam.edu/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henley-Putnam_University

A nationally recognized educational institution founded by members of the Intelligence community with a mission to: "Serve professionals in the strategic security industry, especially within the law enforcement, military and the intelligence community, by increasing their opportunities for advancement in the fields of intelligence management, counterterrorism and terrorism studies, and strategic security & protection management."

The school hosts free webinars (Lectures) examining terrorist groups, drug cartels, and various other  threats to the security of the United States.

On Wednesday Aug. 15 "Henley-Putnam Examines the Occupy Wall Street Movement"

"Learn about how the movement began as a grassroots political effort in New York City and quickly became a threat to the public safety of many American cities."

A threat to public safety?

 

Obscure Information we gather like this is important because it reveals two things.
1) The narrative that various interest groups want us to believe.
2) Can reveal what certain people believe, how they think/ their worldview.

Over the course of many years you must gather a lot of information to form a bigger picture of what is going on around you. The men in black call this situational awareness. A clear picture, broad in scope will allow you to operate more effectively.

My concern is that those in power are framing legitimate political discourse as criminal behavior, that requires the all seeing eye of the intelligence agencies. We all saw how misrepresented Occupy was in the corporate press. We are culturally being engineered to accept a big brother society. Recently stories have been circulating the mainstream press expressing the view that not having a Facebook account is a red flag that should be viewed with suspicion.
 
Some employers and psychologists say staying away from social media is 'suspicious'

Are People Who Don’t Use Facebook Psychopaths?

People Without Facebook Accounts Are 'Suspicious.'

Weather it be the shutdown of the Occupy protests or the Battle in Seattle, we see a recurring pattern of corporate elites using their hired guns (government) to prevent much needed social change. Sure its not as bad on this continent as it is in china...... yet. You have to ask yourself why did the people in charge outsource the economy to china. We all know where this is going, people are catching on and getting restless.

A source informed me that discontent is rising among the Alberta tar-sands workers. Its expressed in the subversive graffiti on the bridges and by the Atlantic accented tongues of the unhappy migrant workers who find themselves living in "The Mack". Their is no love lost between the people who actually do the hard work and those who make it harder. They don't want to build a pipeline to china, they want to refine it here and create jobs for the Canadian people. I suppose the Powers that be will soon deem it necessary to keep an eye on them too. Maybe they already have it covered. It will be hard to portray hardworking oil company employees as lazy irresponsible hippies. Maybe they will just portray the dissenters as dangerous drug addicts.  (Occupy Vancouver Incident)

Who are you more afraid of, a Citizen with Ideas, or the Globalists in your Government.

In the end no matter how they try to spin the story, we all know who the real threat to public safety really is.                
               

The cost of online spying: Your privacy and your wallet

Governement Attack on Freedom