happiness of all other persons in the society in which they live. They can do so INDIRECTLY only by working WITH OTHERS for the common good or the general welfare of the political community, which is itself a means to the happiness of each and every individual.” Pp. 141 "Ten Philosophical Mistakes" Mortimer J. Adler (1985) “Democracy doesn’t happen because people are given a chance to vote. It happens because of a whole series of interconnected changes in attitudes and in systems.” Toronto Star, 1997-07-09, Richard Gwyn From Letter of the Day by Professor Vaughan Lyon, Political Studies, Trent University Peterborough. “For generations, Canadians have been telling anyone who would listen, they want the MP that they elect and pay to speak for them…. But for this form of representation to occur, we need an appropriate enabling institution.”Toronto Star, 1996-05-06. Stephen Handelman quoting Mikhail Gorbachev; “Democratic systems need to be reinvented, two important ways to do this are through more citizen involvement and decentralization.” – Toronto Star, 1995-10-03. “Canadians need and deserve a counter-balancing measure to hold government and industry accountable - a way for them to band together to advocate their (common) interests as easily as interests can.” – Toronto Star, Dec 19th,
racy in order to retain its power of exploitation and special privilege.” From Will Horter: “A couple of months ago, a lobbyist with close ties to Stephen Harper and the Conservatives addressed a room full of environmentalists with some sobering news. Essentially he told them they and their organizations were “irrelevant” to Harper because they couldn’t move votes or influence electoral outcomes. His message – that ‘modern politics is not about good policy, but vote counting’ – was tough love, but accurate.” – Will Horter: Dogwood Initia-
1995, by Aaron Freeman & Duff Conacher on “Citizen Utility Boards” (CUBs).
“Part of the genius of American Democracy has been to ensure isolated individuals face concentrated state and private power alone, with out the support of an organizational structure that can assist them in thinking for themselves or entering into meaningful political participation, and with few avenues for public expression of fact or analysis that might challenge approved doctrine.” – The Culture of Terrorism,
Not all people are interested in the law making process “Perhaps we should think about developing some kind of body of community members, unburdened by legal training and trial-oriented minds…., Such a group could sound out the neighbourhood and determine what are the policy and administrative of the people. (modified from) Chronicle Herald (NS), 1996-08-01
“A sense of morality, a passion for freedom, and a large and fearless capacity of righteous anger are at the heart of journalism. Otherwise, it’s nothing more than selling ads.” Peter Desbarats, Dean of Journalism, U. of W.O. (1997) "The ability of a party to make a valuable contribution is not dependent upon its capacity to offer the electorate a genuine government option. Political parties... act as a vehicle for the participation of individual citizens in the political life of the country. ...Marginal or regional parties tend to raise issues not adopted by national parties. Political parties provide individual citizens with an opportunity to express an opinion on the policy and functioning of government. Each vote in support of a party increases the likelihood that its platform will be taken into account by those who implement policy, and votes for parties with fewer than 50 candidates are an integral component of a vital and dynamic democracy.” Figueroa v Canada (Attorney General) 2003 SCC 37 Tommy Douglas on Fascism: “Once more let me remind you what fascism is. It need not wear a brown shirt or a green shirt -- it may even wear a dress shirt. Fascism begins the moment a ruling class, fearing the people may use their political democracy to gain economic democracy, begins to destroy political democ-
20 dialogue
MAR.-APR. 2013, VOL. 26 NO.5
tive, 2012-10-17
S. Learner from University of Waterloo quoted Craig McKie of Ottawa: “If Canadians are to have any alternative sources of information and commentary at all in the future, they will have to devise them themselves completely outside the media structures outlined above. As a practical matter, the only way of doing this is to use the Internet as the delivery medium. It avoids the expense of paper, no money changes hands, no bonds of fealty are created with bankers, it does not require a license, and there are no technical means of censorship.” ‘The demand for Representation has a long history going back to sections 51 and 53 of the Magna Carta (June 1215), which says that there should be no taxation without representation’. – COMER Journal, Sept 2012
by Noam Chomsky, p21.
“In the absence of organizational forms that permit meaningful participation in political and social institutions, as distinct from following orders or rationalizing decisions made elsewhere, the “instinct for freedom” may wither, offering opportunities for charismatic leaders to rally mass popular support with consequence from recent history.” The Culture of Terrorism, by Noam Chomsky, p.200
Also from Mr. Chomsky, ‘there is not a single non-partisan NGO that is organized on the same geographical basis as
that by which we elect our representatives’. “A democracy movement should propose new civic structures that give citizens a voice in societal decision-making, mechanisms for citizens to hold people in positions of power accountable, and the means for citizens to band together to counter the power of large institutions. It should create "tools" of empowerment for citizens to use in all the principal social roles they play – as voters, citizens, taxpayers, consumers, workers and shareholders. It should rework the institutions of the country to bring them in line with the realities of a modern, working democracy. And, it should coordinate the efforts of people and groups who want to work together for common reforms.” – Ralph Nader, Consumer Advocate, quoted from a letter to Friends of Democracy Watch
www.dialogue2.ca