From: Peter Subject: Information on Democratic Reform
. . . it would be great to have some suggestions of how to fix and improve our system as an antidote against cynicism.
REPLY:
A topic dear to my heart, Peter!
Important to put out ideas that lead, but can’t be too far ahead of awareness.
Please feel free to use from following. I prepared earlier for Provincial Green Party Annual Convention coming up in May. There’s more that can be done. As I think of things I’ll try to jot them down and forward to you.
HOW TO FIX DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN CANADA, STARTERS:
- fix things at the Municipal (including rural) and Provincial levels. If democracy is healthy in the Provinces it can become healthy in the Nation.
- CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST RULES MUST BE STRONG AND ENFORCED : Whereas there is a need to reassure the public and reinforce that elected officials recognize their positions of trust:
The Green Party of Saskatchewan will initiate amendments to The Members’ Conflict of Interest Act and the enforcement mechanisms. The proposed amendments will, among other things:
– Broaden the scope of the Members’ Conflict of Interest Act to become Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders (Scroll down to Initial Resources.)
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- ABSOLUTE MUST: CHANGE THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM AND ADVERSARIAL NATURE OF POLITICS (an adversarial system is lousy at finding solutions)
Whereas the first-past-the-post electoral system in Saskatchewan produces unrepresentative results;
Whereas there are efforts across Canada to modernize our electoral systems;
Be it resolved
The Green Party of Saskatchewan will do on-line development of draft legislation to create a Government-funded SASKATCHEWAN CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY.
PURPOSE of the Assembly is to work out, with citizens, an electoral system that will strengthen representative and participatory democracy. The system will move away from an adversarial model to one that fosters co-operation among the persons elected to represent citizens in the Legislature.
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- IN SASKATCHEWAN: RESTRICT CONTRIBUTIONS TO POLITICAL PARTIES AND CANDIDATES: ONLY INDIVIDUAL VOTERS MAY CONTRIBUTE
Submitted by Sandra Finley:
Be it resolved:
– The Green Party of Saskatchewan develop amendments to The Election Act, 1996, PART VII, “Registration and Election Financing”, “Contributions”, Item (6) (etc.) “If a … corporation or trust fund makes a contribution to a registered political party or candidate …”
– The purpose of the amendments is to limit contributions to Political Parties to individual voters.
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- The RULE OF LAW is critical to democracy. It must apply to corporations as well as to citizens. Scroll down to the “BE IT RESOLVED”. There are surely more creative avenues that can be pursued in addition or instead of what I wrote. It’s a starter piece for the brain-storming. I think a critical part of restoring the RULE OF LAW is to talk directly with police officers. Get to know them. Establish relationships. Once in a while I send an email on the topic to some detachments. Lord knows if anyone reads them. But I figure a few might. Doesn’t cost anything other than time. As citizens I think we have to support the Police, it is otherwise impossible for them to do their job. Would YOU arrest people of status, the Geo Bush example, if you did not have public support behind you?
I wonder whether tomorrow’s “citizens” learn in school about why we have the rule of law and what happens if it is lost. And whose responsibility it is in a democracy to see that the rule of law is upheld. See 2009-10-08.
“All persons and entities, regardless of wealth, status, or the political power wielded by them, are to be treated the same before the law.
“The rule of law means that the law is above everyone, every entity and it applies to everyone, every entity. Whether governors or governed, rulers or ruled, corporation or not, no one and no entity is above the law, no one and no entity is exempted from the law, and no one can grant exemption to the application of the law.
“The rules must apply to those who lay them down and those who apply them – that is, to the government and to corporations as well as to the governed. Nobody has the power to grant exceptions.”
People must, of course, KNOW WHAT THE LAW IS, if the rule of law is to be upheld.
WHEREAS
– The rule of law is essential to democracy
– The rule of law means that the laws are applied fairly to all, regardless of wealth or stature or office or organization
– People are more likely to comply with the law if they see that is it fairly and equally applied.
– You can have a measure of PEACE in the community if the Rule of Law is upheld.
– Persons should not be able to escape the rule of law through their association with a corporation or other entity
– Unfair or unequal application of the law leads to the break-down of the rule of law
– Without the rule of law the likelihood of violence increases
– In pre-war Germany, people did not stand up and insist that law-breakers be arrested and tried in courts of true justice.
– As bad people amassed power, they were allowed to break the laws with no fear of prosecution.
– The Government of Saskatchewan and Western Economic Development have contributed tax dollars in partnership with Lockheed Martin Corporation
– Lockheed Martin Corporation has a lengthy record of court convictions and fines and was influential in the decision of the Bush Administration to launch an illegal war of aggression on Iraq with devastating consequences.
– George Bush came to Saskatoon and was not arrested for crimes against humanity in spite of the evidence and laws submitted to the Chief of Police, the RCMP in Saskatchewan and Canadian Border Services. George Bush and others of his administration are named in documents that record the crimes against humanity that accompanied the illegal war of aggression on Iraq.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
– The Green Party of Saskatchewan explore creative ways to legislate a requirement that corporate or commercial entities that are in contract with Government agencies (tax-payer money is involved) must have a thorough background check. The check should be posted on-line, available to the public. The purpose of the background check is to determine whether there are such things as outstanding liabilities owed to the Government, court convictions in any jurisdiction in the world, court cases settled out-of-court, the amounts paid in fines, and so on. If the commercial entity cannot pass the background check, then the Government may not enter into contract with it. The officers of the commercial enterprise are to be held accountable.
– The Green Party of Saskatchewan work on draft legislation that bars any commercial enterprise that produces goods or services or is involved in activities that are illegal in Canada or under International Law from participation in Government contracts. The laws that apply to individuals apply equally to the individuals who represent the commercial enterprise – – parent or subsidiary.
– The Green Party of Saskatchewan request an audience with the head of Division F (Saskatchewan) of the RCMP to discuss what will happen in the event that George Bush or others of his administration visit Saskatchewan again.
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RESOURCES: (for my own use)
http://www.sasklawcourts.ca/default.asp?pg=pc_about_judicial_independence
One of the cornerstones of the Canadian legal system is the rule of law. This is the ideal that all people are equal before the law without discrimination. For example, the rich do not have more power than the poor and women have the same rights as men. The rule of law also means that no one is above the law. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is also very important. This document enshrines the rule of law and protects individual rights and freedoms.
“The clearest way to show what the rule of law means to us in everyday life is to recall what has happened when there is no rule of law.” (Eisenhower)
| “The rule of law can be wiped out in one misguided, however well-intentioned, generation.” |
| William T. Gossett quotes
Are you interested in doing business with the Canadian public sector? MERX Canadian Public Tenders is an easy, fast and efficient prospecting tool to help your business grow. New opportunities are listed daily from all levels of government including the Federal and Provincial Governments as well as the MASH sector (Municipal, Academic, School Boards and Hospitals) from across Canada. = = x=x == x= x= = = == = = = = = = = = INITIAL RESOURCES: The Members’ Conflict of Interest Act, Govt of Sask. http://www.justice.gov.sk.ca/Members-Conflict-of-Interest-Act Conflict of interest Act, Government of Canada. Date Modified: 2008-08-06 http://ciec-ccie.gc.ca/Default.aspx?pid=12&lang=en [10] The Canadian Federal Courts of Appeal have clarified that the conflict of interest provisions prohibit any apparent conflict of interest. See Threader v. Canada (Treasury Board), [1987] 1 F.C. 41, 43 (Can.). RESOURCES: http://ubcm.fileprosite.com/content/pdfstorage/2492610345252005113829AM27993.pdf |