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CAPP Ottawa wants to heap a pile of Valentine’s Day cards (“I love Democracy” and the like) on Mr. Harper but we need your help.
So far there are only 84 members at the Valentine’s Day Cards for Democracy FB Group. Out of 222,384!?!? Please join the FB Group “Valentine’s Day Cards for Democracy” and forward the Event Invitation to your contacts.
Collect cards from family, friends and co-workers to send on.
Please post the link to your regional CAPP sites. Please repost this request regularly on the CAPP sites since we only have a short window of opportunity for this initiative. Thanks for your help, and let’s get those cards rolling. Cheers.
It was magnificent. After three weeks of online and off line organizing, tens of thousands of people across generations and political persuasions took to the streets in 65 cities and towns across the country and around the world to stop the erosion of democracy in Canada.
Organized mostly by activists in their 20′s, using the tools of social media to reach each other across the vast distances of land and political discourse. they found that tens of thousands of Canadians really do want their voices to be heard in the democratic process. Prime Minister Harper made the mistake of pride and arrogance so often the downfall of autocratic leaders by saying that Canadians wouldn’t care that he shut down Parliament. That’s what really pissed them off.
The protests had enough of an impact that you have no doubt seen the TV news and reports from mainstream media, as well as on Facebook, Twitter and rabble.ca. But I am enough of an old leftie to think an analysis of its significance is useful.
As I said in my speech to the Toronto rally below, the method of organizing this rally was completely unprecendented in Canada. Activists in Europe have been using networking through social media and text messaging for a few years now. Some of the most important protests we have seen in Europe over the past years have been organized this way. What the networking does is allow for individuals without organizational or institutional support to organize in a new way.
The Facebook group started by an indivdual student at the University of Alberta grew exponentially and allowed a space not only for 210,000 people to indicate their anger at Harper’s proroguing Parliament but also a for activists to begin organizing protests. In all my years of organizing, I have never seen a truly spontaneous protest like this.
Moreover, in a country like Canada, organizing a national demonstration without resources has been almost impossible. Even in the pro-choice movement in the 1980′s, the most powerful movement of my life in Canada, we would not have been able to organize simultaneous protests in so many cities. It is the decentralization, the low level of entry, and the ability of anyone to call themselves part of the CAPP (Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament) as long as they oppose the Prorogue that makes it possible. So there were protests in dozens of small towns, a few cities around the world and even a single protester in Oman. The protests were organized differently in each city. In Toronto, there were no politicians permitted to speak, in Ottawa, the leaders of the Opposition parties were featured but the message was similar developed through online media. Social networking, this time through live reports on Twitter, also allowed the organizers to control the message including how many protested, 25,000.
Secondly, a new generation of leadership emerged through CAPP. Christopher White who started it all is an Anthropology grad student from University of Alberta. In Toronto it was three student activists, all three people of colour. In most places, it was individuals rather than organizations who organized events. The political parties came to support it late in the game with the exception of Elizabeth May from the Green Party who is the only leader who seems to understand social movement politics, followed by the Liberals and finally the NDP. The issue of proroguing did not cross the Quebec border and protests in Quebec were small and mostly anglophone. The leadership was young but the participants were all ages.
First off, this was actually my first protest/rally experience in my almost 25 years on this earth… and this was certainly not by accident. For the most part I am against the concept of protests. I feel they often get out of hand, get off point, and are generally ineffective.
That said, why did I attend this one? Well, it was for a cause I truly believe in, but moreover, I knew that with the large numbers that were expected for this rally I felt it actually could make a difference. Now honestly speaking, I have absolutely zero expectation of these rallies changing Stephen Harper’s policies, but I definitely do think it will motivate the opposition parties knowing so many Canadian’s are behind them and moreover will motivate Canadian voters to vote against Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. This is why I attended this rally.
Now, was it successful? Well, in Toronto I definitely think it was. There were definitely thousands of people out at Yonge-Dundas Square, numbers I have heard ranging up to 7000 and that is a number I would absolutely believe. It was a gigantic crowd. I was impressed. Canadians are disappointed with Stephen Harper’s blatant sidestepping of the democratic process, and today we were heard loud and clear.
The crowd had many great/amusing signs, but there was one thing in particular that did bother me – the NDP’s overbearing presence (in terms of signs) at a rally that was specifically designed to be non-partisan. The Green’s and Communist Party (yes, the Communist Party) had signs there as well, but there was no party as obvious as the NDP. I actually only saw one Liberal sign all day, which I was impressed by. The NDP didn’t seem to understand the concept of a non-partisan rally, and this disappointed me as I feel their blatant partisanship hurt the message of the rally.
I thought this was non-partisan, Jack?
Beyond that I was certainly a little confused by strange songs at some points (Oh Canada to anti-Harper lyrics offended me a little) and some more radical speakers than I wouldn’t generally agree with, but for the most part the rally was a very positive experience. I would say, other than those few minor points I was very impressed with the rally today. We got a huge crowd, which was for the most part happy, peaceful, good spirited, sometimes amusing, and appropriate for kids. I always fear protests can get a little extreme and dangerous, but today’s protest stayed safe and good spirited.
In the end, and despite the minor gripes I did have, we held over 60 separate rallies across the country – and the reality is that today we got our message out. I hope the media coverage tonight is strong, because Canadians who were not out deserve to know what was going on today and why. Stephen Harper – I know you wanted Canadian’s to not care that you decided not to show up for work, but we do. You’re not doing your job, and we are not happy. Now Canadians need to stand up in the next election and show their frustration at the ballot box.
Hey Steve, look at the crowd. We do care. Too bad for your anti-democratic agenda.
People in general already know *who* Harper really is underneath it all and they are not happy with being repeatedly manipulated. Facebook is uniting a formidable force. Sitting bull Canadians usually a docile and easygoing group, now no longer exists!
This translates into votes down the road… as this will not be forgotten. Neither will the income trust scam- elderly people take note of your statements this year!
His actions are blatantly degrading our Parliamentary system and rendering our House of Commons more and more redundant with his every move.
We all agree? Alright, so what’s next?
Being completely honest here we need to realize that at this point Parliament is not going to be called back until March. It is great the Liberals are going back, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see the NDP and Bloc follow suit, but lets be honest, Parliament will not formally resume until March. This is not going to change. We are all angry about it obviously, but lets focus on legitimate goals moving forward.
So when Parliament resumes in March what will be on the agenda? Obviously the economy and some of the scrapped bills will be reintroduced… but what else?
Well, this whole debacle (and last year’s painfully similar debacle) has shown us that we need serious democratic reform in Canada. People from all party’s seem to agree these days, with the exception of the Conbots who are stuck on their baseless talking points, but even a good number of Conservatives I have spoken to agree with me here.
This article in the Globe and Mail was the one that really got me thinking about this. It’s a very smart article, and I hope all Canadians take a read though it. I think it is very important.
But to actually be successful at democratic reform our party’s need to drop the partisan talking points and do what is best for Canada, not what’s best for their party’s electoral chances. This needs to include the Liberals taking accountability for their part in the degradation of our Parliament, because this was not solely a Conservative problem. Canadians need a democratic, responsive, and effective government but there needs to be significant change in order for this to happen, and this change will take multi-partisan cooperation.
There have been many times Canada has taken on Constitutional reform – 1982, Meech Lake, Charlottetown – but I can’t, at least off the top of my head, think of a time that Canada’s government focused directly on overall democratic reform, but this is what we need right now.
Most of the reform ideas I have heard of recently have been focused in certain areas – Senate reform and Electoral reform the most popular of these – but recently there have been no high level talks about a legitimate overhaul of our democracy as a whole. Admittedly this will be a lot of work, but for the integrity of our country’s government it will be completely worth it.
We need a legislative system that cannot be called to a halt on a whim. We need a legislative system where our MP’s have the power and ability to actually represent their constituencies, without the fear of the party whip. We need an electoral system that allows for the number of votes cast to actually be represented in the House of Commons. We need an Upper House that has a purpose and some semblance of democratic legitimacy. Canadians are becoming very disillusioned with our system and it can be seen in both the grassroots Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament movement and can be seen even clearer in our abysmal voter turnout in recent elections. Our system has many problems, and we need to look towards a solution to restore our Parliament’s legitimacy both domestically and on the world stage, because our current system is a massive embarrassment.
The Solution
It is time to restore Canadian democracy, and this will be through how we legislate.
We need to look at everything we do and look at the best practices of other countries. We need to assemble a multi-partisan group of leaders to lead this charge along with top political academics.
I am not going to claim being an expert on the subject, but I do know that we need significant change in this country. Just off the top of my head I can think of a good number of areas that we need to look at:
Ties to British Monarchy. Honestly, why are we still a part of the monarchy? To me this makes no sense. The Governor General herself has proven the position redundant over the past year or so. She gives in to every request by the Prime Minister, costs taxpayers a fortune, and runs “ceremonial” events. We have other people who can do these things. And by getting rid of the Governor General we can then vest ultimate power in Parliament. What a novel concept…
Our electoral system. Our current system consistently elects false majority governments, the last few aside. Often majority governments are elected with significantly less than a majority of the legitimate votes cast, making many Canadian votes mean essentially nothing. Groups like Fair Vote Canada have been working on this for years, as well as referendums have taken place in multiple provinces. It is time that our Federal government starts to look at a more fair electoral system.
The Senate. Ah the Senate. Honestly, what do you do? Yes you read through and pass bills from the House of Commons. Often you send Bills back for review as your position of “sober second thought.” There are generally three options I hear on this one. First, keep our current system. Second, elect our Senators, and realign where Senators come from in the country (equal representation). Third, simply abolish it. There are arguments for all three, but this is something that needs to be seriously looked at from a Constitutional level. This body is incredibly expensive for Canadian taxpayers, so it certainly better serve a purpose, and in my opinion, right now it barely does.
MP’s job description. MP’s need to be more independent. They need to be able to do investigative research – not just depend on what the PMO will agree to release. They should actually be responsible to their constituencies because lets be honest, right now they are far more responsible to their party brass than to the constituents who they theoretically represent. Also, MP’s who show discontent and disagreement within a party should be allowed to do so. Someone shouldn’t be turfed from the party or blocked from running for reelection for having a different opinion. Obviously, from a party’s standpoint, there is always hope that unity holds up, but if there is enough disagreement between backbench MP’s and the Cabinet (for example) it is likely that they could change the course of the party. Right now we have a Parliamentary system where the individual MP’s opinion doesn’t matter. They must submit to the will of the leader, and that is the end of the story. In this system there is little or no way for an MP to effectively represent their constituency. This needs to change
Number of MP’s. This I feel should be seriously looked at. How many people can one person effectively represent? Is it more, less or the same as our MP’s currently are representing? Especially if their job is recalibrated to be more legitimately representative to their constituents this number may be significantly different. We need to do studies and figure the proper number out.
Size, purpose, and power of cabinet. We have a very powerful executive in Canada. Now it would be completely idiotic in my opinion to suggest getting rid of this function because then nothing would ever get done, but to look at its size, purpose, and specifically power would be a very good use of time. The cabinet needs to remember that it is indeed responsible to the legislature, but historically has not always done this.
House of Commons procedure. As it is the topic of the day, lets use prorogation of Parliament as an example here. We need to look at who holds decision-making power over procedures like proroguing Parliament, and why. Should there be a majority vote of the House of Commons needed? In any case, there needs to be serious discussion into placing limits and rules surrounding these procedures.
Coalition governments. Is this term almost a curse word in Canada these days? I have no idea why coalition governments are such a scary concept to Canadians. They actually allow a minority government to function because you can have a majority of MP’s on the same page. We could actually have stable and long lasting minority governments if a coalition was an option to Canadian political parties. We as Canadians need to accept that this is a legitimate option.
Set election dates. Ontario has implemented this quite effectively, but federally Harper’s attempt was killed by… umm who again? Oh, by himself. This is an initiative I do agree with though, because it allows all party’s, not just the sitting government, to know when an election is coming up in order to properly prepare. This of course comes with challenges when it comes to minority governments, but if we effectively move forward with democratic reform minority governments should be much more stable, like in most of the world, thus making set election dates possible.
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If all of the sitting party’s were to get to work on the task of democratic reform it would also be a great opportunity to practice being a minority government. No one party’s single agenda should or will be the one passed. There need to be negotiations, party’s giving up things in order to get others. It’s a give and take people. You run a minority government (Harper, listen up here) and everyone should get a say at some point, proper negotiations need to take place.
Lets restore confidence in our government by creating a system that actually works – because clearly our current system does not. We have a Prime Minister running a minority government, but acting like a majority because when an opposition party threatens an election the Prime Minister’ polling numbers skyrocket because Canadians don’t want another election. He can call off the legislative session whenever he wants and run away from controversy.
Canadians clearly want a Parliament that actually works, and the one we have does not. You can look at the plummeting voter turnout rates simply to prove this. Canadians have become apathetic because of a broken system (incredibly successful Facebook group aside) and it is time for the Canadian political party’s to step up, take responsibility, and fix it.
I realize this will take a lot of work, and both legislative and constitutional changes, but if it restores our Parliament to a high standard of governance it absolutely makes it worth our legislators investment of time and resources.
There are two arguments I keep hearing about the Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament group on Facebook.
As my Conservative friends keep reciting to me, “who cares? That is only 0.3% of the Canadian population”; or
A fantastic grassroots movement mobilizing 100,000 Canadians for a mutual cause.
The reality is somewhere in the middle though, and really depends entirely on what people do from here. I’m not trying to be pessimistic about this group – it really is quite the accomplishment to get so many Canadians on the same page for a single cause – but I’m trying to be realistic at the same time.
To my Conservative friends? 0.3% of the population can make a huge difference, and you’re starting to see it in the polling numbers. It may not be a huge portion of the population, I admit that, but look at the press it is making. Look at the influence that social media can have on the public discourse. We have a large group of discontented Canadians at our fingertips, ready to help out the cause. Facebook has allowed active citizens to congregate in a single place, and has pushed out the word that Harper is playing partisan games by proroguing parliament, and subsequently, Canadian democracy. Harper wantd to hide behind the shroud of the holidays and the Team Canada announcement when he announced he was proroguing parliament, but never assumed a movement like this would form. He bet wrong on the complacency and apathy of Canadians, and we are proving this.
To those in this group? It is time to make the doubters eat their words. We can’t just rest on the fact that we have put a large number of people in a group. We need to be active from here in. We need to use the platform that has been created to move our agenda forward, but that means we all need to become active outside of this group
Write your MP, write Stephen Harper, write the Governor General, write the opposition leaders. Let those people know your opinion.
Come out the rallies on January 23rd. These rallies will be incredibly important in letting Stephen Harper know Canadians aren’t as apathetic as he hopes we are. At the rallies we can let him know that he cannot run this country like a dictator, he has to be responsible to the legislature, and thus the citizens of Canada
Get involved with and donate to a political party. Admittedly, I would love to push everyone to become a member of the Liberal Party, but I am going to avoid being too partisan here. Join, get involved with, and donate to a political party. Heck, even the Conservatives. The members set the agenda for these party’s in many ways, and if the members of the Conservatives were to stand up to Harper and tell him to cut out tactics like these, it is likely he would. Political party’s are the root of our system, and they need support to do their work. Get involved with one. Put your time and your money – really anything you afford – towards their cause and you will indeed make a significant difference.
In the end we need to let Stephen Harper know that his agenda will not be allowed to move forward unchecked. He has a minority government for a reason and needs to start governing like he has one. Canadians clearly do not want an election right now; we just had an election 15 months ago. He needs to start governing properly, like a minority government. Negotiate, and bend your agenda to find mutual ground with other parties. That is how a minority government is supposed to operate. Don’t simply push your agenda like a majority and expect Canadians to accept it. You know Canada doesn’t want an election and this is why you feel you can govern as you do. You think if you go back to the polls that you will get a majority. Canadians need to show Harper he is wrong. If he really wants to push an election we need to ensure he gets the exact opposite of what he wants – removed from his office.
Become an active citizen. Don’t just rest on the fact that you have joined the Facebook group and have “done your part.” You haven’t. Get out there, contact those who can make change, attend rallies, and get involved. You can make a huge difference, but only if you step out of the Facebook group and become a legitimate active citizen.
Want to help out? We need to get the local event information out of Facebook and onto these pages! I can’t do that alone, so I’m asking everyone to adopt a city – it doesn’t even have to be yours!
What you do:
Keep an eye on the Facebook group for that city and make any necessary changes on this site
How you do it:
Register here at NoProrogue.ca and then let us know through the contact form which city you’d like to adopt.
Once you’ve adopted a city, you’ll have editing access to that page and the main events page.
I really appreciate all the support, but this site will be of little use if we can’t keep it up to date with the latest information!
If you can help keep this site up to date, please register below to begin submitting blog posts. If you are planning an event in your community, contact us to request your own page here!
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