A Canadian Sovereignty Manifeste

I'm relatively new to the site and just read this thread. For the past few weeks I've been independently thinking of exactly what's been going on here (though I doubt our current corporate/political system would allow itself the loss of power proposed by this manifesto without a fight). Personally, I'm opposed to partisan politics as they simply don't seem to work in this country. If we were to demand the elimination of partisan politics and force all politicians to run as independents in this manifesto I believe we would see the following benefits: <blockquote>- Less outrageous spending on elections - It would be a lot more difficult for corporations/special interest groups to pursuade politicians to bend to their will. In the partisan system, you only have to convince/bribe the party leaders and the rest will follow suit. In a non-partisan system they'll have to bribe a majority of the politicans, which would be significantly harder - It would stop polarizing the population on something as totally irrelevant as our current partisan political structure (which ultimately amounts to nothing more than a different colour on the campaign sign) - It would make politics interesting again, as each candidate would be responsible for their constituencies instead of just follow the party line. Controversial or undesirable legislature could no longer be railroaded into law by a majority party. - Canadians would have to become more involved in the political process as they would no longer be able to simply vote for the candidate who belongs to party "X" (how many people do that without even knowing anything about the candidate?) </blockquote> Those are just a few of the reasons why I would want to see a ban of partisan politics included. I know the manifesto as it stands states something along the lines of "...whether partisan or not...", but I'd prefer to see it more absolute. In my opinion, political parties have no place in a true democracy as they're nothing more than legalized cabals. That's just my two cents. I'm open to discussion on this subject and I hope further discussion continues. Keep up the great work!

What a brilliant idea: a non partisan political system where MPs are strictly accountable to the People. No party politics. Welcome to Vive Clayton! PS This one looks rather difficult to implement. Can you imagine a party that would champion the elimination of our political party system? Luv it. Sounds like a roadmap to DD. Marcarc: you have been rather quiet?

[QUOTE BY= gaulois]Can you imagine a party that would champion the elimination of our political party system? Sounds like a roadmap to DD.[/QUOTE] Unfortunately, I see the road from here to there as being a bit. . . 'bumpy'. No matter what we do at the voting booth, I don't believe we live in a democracy anymore. I'm reading 'Nessecary Illusions' right now, can you tell? Welcome, Clayton.

[QUOTE by: Canuck]This one looks rather difficult to implement. Can you imagine a party that would champion the elimination of our political party system?[/QUOTE] I've put a lot of thought into how that goal could be accomplished. To form a new political party whose primary mandate was the elimination of partisan politics seems hypocritical, and I'm not sure it could even be done legally. I also doubt that any of the existing parties would campaign on the elimination of partisan politics - it's not in their best interests. I'm a software developer by trade. Many times have I worked with software that was originally written with the best of intentions but over time became so bloated and impossible to manage that the decision is ultimately made to start over from scratch. The experiences from developing it the first time and what was learned since then allows the construction of a better, more efficient system. It's not a bad thing, nor is it an insult to those who constructed (and maintained) the original system; sometimes starting from scratch is the right thing to do. The alternative is to keep fighting a losing battle until the system becomes so unstable that it ultimately crashes. I believe that with what we know now and the technology at our disposal we could very effectively create a new political infrastructure for Canada that would be much more effective and efficient than the lumbering dinosaur that our current system has become. Unfortunately, I would imagine that nothing short of a coup d'etat could achieve this goal. But maybe that isn't a bad thing. I feel that the desire to destroy and recreate our political system is very healthy for any democracy; we should always be looking to improve.

[QUOTE BY= claytonrumley] ...I believe that with what we know now and the technology at our disposal we could very effectively create a new political infrastructure for Canada that would be much more effective and efficient than the lumbering dinosaur that our current system has become. Unfortunately, I would imagine that nothing short of a coup d'etat could achieve this goal. But maybe that isn't a bad thing. I feel that the desire to destroy and recreate our political system is very healthy for any democracy; we should always be looking to improve.[/QUOTE] Yes technology is there but People are not yet, and neither are our medias. Action has to occur at the media level and likely with more NGO initiatives like Vive. You will notice that none of the political parties have a new media policy. It is going to be a long haul. Have been/am still there with the "Dead Ducks" microcosm....

[QUOTE BY= gaulois]You will notice that none of the political parties have a new media policy. It is going to be a long haul. [/QUOTE] As witnessed during our invitation to debate during the election. The only parties to participate with real people and real debate were CAP, NDP and Green. And I suspect, only because the candidates were regulars here anyhow, and know that new media exposure benefits all (candidates and the reading public). Parties that really needed exposure with our help, Alberta Reform and Communist for example, just posted the same boilerplate response anyone could find on their websites. Can we wait for a party to come along that will put elimination of the party system in it's platform. Or should we support parties that already support portions of Direct Democracy and hope that they throw in for the whole package?

[quote by: Dr Caleb]Can we wait for a party to come along that will put elimination of the party system in it's platform. Or should we support parties that already support portions of Direct Democracy and hope that they throw in for the whole package?[/quote] Rather than waiting, perhaps a new party should be founded by Vive members using the manifesto as its platform. Then we don't have to hope that one of the non-mainstream parties will adopt some of our desires (and odds are the mainstream ones certainly won't). The odd thing about creating a new party is that the only party line will be the elimination of the partisan system...after that is done, each MP would follow their constituency's desires within the spirit of the manifesto.

I do like this idea of a party that would abolish the political party system. However once elected in and dismantling the political party system, how would one set priorities, agendas, etc.. without a political party??? It gives me a headache just asking. <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/rolleyes.gif' alt='Rolling Eyes'>

[quote by: gaulois]However once elected in and dismantling the political party system, how would one set priorities, agendas, etc.. without a political party???[/quote] My opinion is that government should be simplified. We don't need to spend tax dollars so that pressure groups can inflict social engineering experiments on us or to have some think-tank's idea of whatever Canadian "culture" is rammed down our throats. I think the government should be reduced to providing the basic services we need to live and function in our society (good roads, efficient health care, waste disposal, etc.) and let Canadian culture evolve on its own. That being said, the short answer to your question is that once the partisan system is abolished the government enters a "maintenance" mode; providing the basics and adapting to new changes in culture and technology while staying within the framework of the manifesto put forward here. The whole concept of agendas and priorties as we understand them today would really cease to exist as there would no longer be a party structure to support a mass agenda. Individual MPs could still have their agendas (hopefuly) driven by their constituents and introduce bills, etc. to be voted on by the rest of parliament. The thing I like most about it is that a federal election doesn't necessarily determine the direction the country is headed (i.e. Liberal or Conservative or whatever); it would put a lot of excitement and interest back into politics, something that the apathetic and cynical generation I belong to sure could use.

In regards to the whole "independent MP" thing. Yeah, it would be nice to see more independent MP's in Parliament, but that's never going to happen. Party politics appeal to Canadians who want to find a group that perhaps shares their values and/or goals. Besides, who would form the government? You'd get too much bickering if Parliament were indeed a caucus of independents for anyone to set the agenda. As for "outrageous election spending", it wouldn't matter if the system were partisan or not. Candidates would still have to get money for their campaigns, so again, it wouldn't matter. The best thing you can do is pass legislation to limit a party's power, so that instead of Mr. Joe MP having to vote against a policy he's campaigned to vote for, he gets to do what his constituents voted him in for.

Our Demands: Strike through to Our Decree: This, we the Sovereign body Decree: Government shall honour the Social Contract as laid out before them. Corporations will shoulder the tax burdon of a Flesh and Blood Person, User pays! Pay into the Commonweal The law locks up the man or woman Who steals the goose from off the common But leaves the greater villain loose Who steals the common from off the goose. The law demands that we alone When we take things we do not own But leaves the lords and ladies fine Who take things that are yours and mine. The poor and wretched don’t escape If they conspire the law to break; This must be so but they endure Those who conspire to make the law. The law locks up the man or woman Who steals the goose from off the common And geese will still a common lack Till they go and steal it back. —Anonymous