In solidarity with CAPP

Citizens Engaging Democracy, Newmarket-Aurora hosts

The National Day of Discussion

May 15, 2010

ACROSS CANADA

Featuring Dr. Nelson Wiseman, PhD.

(Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto, and author of In Search of Canadian Political Culture.)

Date:          Saturday, May 15, 2010

Time:          1:00pm – 3:30pm

Location:    Trinity Anglican Church, Binions Hall (downstairs)

                   79 Victoria Street, Aurora, Ontario)

Admission: $10.00 (or “pay what you can”)

Join us as we discuss the changes in Canada’s democracy and learn more about the current situation in Canada’s Parliament. 

We are honoured that Dr. Nelson Wiseman has agreed to speak with us on May 15th to share his expertise on the issue of Parliament, prorogation and Canadian political culture.

Dr. Wiseman is a frequent political commentator for Canadian TV, radio and print news, who has authored the book In Search of Canadian Political Culture. He has just returned from attending the House of Commons Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to discuss the issue of prorogation. Along with other experts, he has recommendations to make to limit the misuse of prorogation by future governments.

Bring your questions about is happening on Parliament Hill, and what the implications are. It’s time to start thinking about your next federal vote.

Event page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=103765372990213

Citizens Engaging Democracy, Newmarket-Aurora Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=257710977525

Dr. Marco Fonseca spoke for approximately 45 minutes to a spellbound audience, sharing his experience of life growing up in Guatemalan dictatorships and drawing parallels to the erosion of our democratic institutions here in Canada. As he put it, "I know a dictatorship when I see one!"

He was not implying that Canada is currently a dictatorship, or experiencing the horrors of some countries where political persecution and insurrection cause citizens' daily lives to be violent and unpredictable. Dr. Fonseca did, however, pinpoint the problematic areas where our current government is creating conditions that could easily lead to a repressive state control.

The lack of respect paid to our major instrument of democracy -- our House of Parliament -- is a major sign that the government considers its representative role to be unimportant. And before we get complacent about considering ourselves a democracy because we vote to elect those representatives, Dr. Fonseca reminds us that some of the regimes responsible for the major atrocities and wars of the twentieth century had their origins in democratic elections.

So it isn't voting that makes us a democracy -- nor is it having elected representatives.
Then what is it?

Dr. Fonseca says that democracy is an intangible process that is owned by the citizens of a country. He quotes the philosopher Seneca's idea that democracy is the "steam" that drives all of our institutions -- but the "steam" is generated by the heat of citizens' involvement in their own political culture. If citizens are consulted or active only at election time, there is no heat generated to power the turbines of government. Simply put, democracy is what happens BETWEEN elections.

It is citizens' willingness to engage and debate issues of the day, to inform and communicate with each other and with their elected representatives that will save the day, according to Dr. Fonseca. He gave some contemporary examples of ways citizens are consulted by, or act as an advisory forum to, governments making policy or designing budgets. One such example is participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

A young member of the audience pointed out that citizens in the age group 18-35 are not at all engaged by political issues in Canada, being more likely to focus on economic issues as they are not connected to politics. Dr. Fonseca agreed with him that this fact creates conditions which again make it much easier for government to consolidate and misuse power, due to a lack of scrutiny on, or understanding of, our processes and institutions.

Dr, Fonseca also commented that Canada's international image as an enlightened democracy with strong peacekeeping and environmental commitments has been badly tarnished -- he described us as becoming a "pariah nation."

In spite of the dismal nature of the discussion, Dr. Fonseca's insightful critique and interesting delivery made the lecture seem more like an inspiring call to action than a blast of bad news. He credited the audience with taking an important action -- organizing and attending rallies and information meetings -- that was the most effective tactic they could use to counteract the erosion of our democracy.

Best of all, our Conservative Member of Parliament, Lois Brown, had accepted our invitation to attend and had to sit and listen to this information. Whether she was able to completely understand it or come to terms with her own involvement in it is doubtful; she was heard to say she disagreed with every part of the talk.

Which part did you disagree with, Ms. Brown?
The part about the necessity to engage citizens in the political life of their own country?
The part about needing to involve young people in caring about civic responsibility?
Or was it the part about Conservative ideology priorizing the free market over accountability to citizens?

A number of people took the opportunity to sign a petition requesting that legislation be changed to prevent future misuse of prorogation, and to read material about interrupted bills, Fair Vote and the RSVPs from local politicians.

Earlier in the meeting, CAPP/CED-NA organizer Neale Croucher presented information to the group about the unfortunate implications of Bill C-6, one of the trashed bills which is likely to be reintroduced. It is extremely unpopular because of its provisions concerning house searches, which appears to have not taken Charter Rights into account, nor the civil liberties of Canadian citizens.

The weather was extremely bad, causing many people in snowy areas to miss the meeting. However, we were very pleased with the turnout, and we hope to keep people coming back for more exciting events. For example, we plan to celebrate Parliament's return in Newmarket on March 3rd. We also plan to host Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch and a spokesperson for Fair Vote Canada at future Community Meetings.

IF you'd like more information about Citizens Engaging Democracy, Newmarket-Aurora, please email precision_english@hotmail.com or visit our Facebook group (Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament, Newmarket area) at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=257710977525&ref=mf#!/group.php?v=wall&ref=mf&gid=257710977525

You can find the video of Dr. Fonseca's talk on that group very soon.

We'd love to hear from you!

Thanks to all the organizers and especially audience members who made this such an exciting, inspiring event!

Thanks to: Neale, Ellen, Dave, Dan, Wade, Gerry, Glenn, Vanessa, Carter, Wayne, Nick

Delicious Free Trade coffee came from Everything Chocolate Cafe, 130 Davis Drive, Newmarket Plaza http://www.everythingchocolatecafe.com

Thank you, Teresa Latchford and the staff at the Era-Banner.

Some people still do not know what prorogation is, and if they do, they don't know why we are making a big deal out of it. On Facebook, people are sharing info that is adding up to a disturbing message: Canadian democracy and our image as a nation are in a shambles, without our being much aware of it.

Off the Internet, people are unable to get the information they need to scope this situation and take action. A citizen's role in a democracy is not merely to vote. We have to participate actively in the life of our politics and take back our government when it goes out of line.

Informing people is our first job.

Tackling the apathy of voters who no longer believe their government represents them is a close second. The government is counting on that apathy to cover their tracks. They think we are too stupid or busy with survival to pay attention to them.

So it was extremely heartening to see this article in the Era-Banner, helping to get the word out about our "Holding the Line on Our Democracy" event. This will give us something to talk to our neighbours, co-workers, friends and family about. Give us an opportunity to say -- look, something IS wrong, and I want to stop and take a closer look at it.

So -- talk it up, and join us for an inspiring and informative event.
Contact us at precision_email@hotmail.com for details or to become involved!

http://www.yorkregion.com/printarticle/103205

"The erosion of Canadian democratic institutions and spaces has now reached critical point. This means that what used to be extraordinary or unexpected -- like the suspension of democratic debate in the House of Commons or Non-Governmental Organizations for the sake of political survival and the survival of particular vested interests -- is now becoming ordinary, even expected. This is a very dangerous development and people who have a shred of care about the democratic well-being of their country should do something about this critical situation."

2. What happened that has motivated you to speak up at this time?

"I have been reminded of just how precious and fragile liberal democracy and its institutions can be when threatened by blind, uncompromising and intolerant ideology, I mean Conservative ideology. The repeated closure of Parliament by means of the seemingly legitimate tactic of 'prorogation' has deeply reminded me of how dictatorial regimes behave in so-called 'Third World' countries. One seemingly justified tactic often used by self-righteous and intolerant regimes who, through their own fault and lack of respect for the will of the people or even common sense, have come to be under the scrutiny of citizens, is to close the political spaces where citizens can most directly demand accountability and do so 'in the name of democracy'. This is exactly what is happening in our country and we must not tolerate it. I feel personally compelled to express my critical view against the erosion, and potential destruction, of the few actually functioning democratic institutions that we still have in Canada."

3. Do you feel it is important for ordinary citizens to take part in their democracy? If so, why?

"Hannah Arendt used to say that 'When we were told that by freedom we understood free enterprise, we did very little to dispel this monstrous falsehood. Wealth and economic well-being, we have asserted, are the fruits of freedom, while we should have been the first to know that this kind of happiness has been an unmixed blessing only in this country, and it is a minor blessing compared with the truly political freedoms, such as freedom of speech and thought, of assembly and association, even under the best conditions.' Arendt's acute observations on freedom remind me that, when the push comes to shove, the ultimate kind of freedom we should be really concerned about is not whether we have freedom of enterprise in this country, but the freedom to determine our future together, not just our future as isolated individuals.

"And the idea of determining our future together reminds me, quite acutely, of the ancient Roman thinker Seneca and one of his interesting definitions of the word 'freedom'. According to Seneca, 'freedom' is not something we are born with or somehow posses intrinsically, but it is something we do, something we must engage in publicly, something we must be again publicly if we are to preserve it and grow it. Freedom, he says, is participation in public life.

"So, when we do not take part in the public life of our political community, the very meaning of our citizenship -- a key element of what it is to be Canadian -- is at risk either of being lost or of being instrumentalized by others for their own private purposes."

4. What are a couple of ways for people to engage the political system in Canada that, perhaps, they had not considered before?

"We are now living in the digital age and people are becoming increasingly engaged and politically mobilized through the medium of the Internet. There is today no real excuse for people not to be able to link up with online communities of concerned citizens mobilized around issues of central concern not only to them, but to our country. And people can do this from the comfort of their homes.

"But online activism can only go so far and it is certainly not the only way to become engaged in our political community. One good old-fashioned way is the town hall meeting, the gathering of communities, the face to face and local social networking that brings actual physical individuals together around pressing issues to them and to others. Although we live in an age of naked and rampant self-interest, an age when some people say that democracy begins and ends with the vote, the ethos of participatory community life is still there and becoming increasingly more salient as the unsustainable world that has cocooned individualist consumerism and political alienation falls apart under the weight of climate change, economic crisis, and meaninglessness. So, simple political engagement with local issues -- from school councils to local green campaigns -- can be a marvellous antidote against the hollowed-out idea that democracy is only about elections."

5. Do you feel that we are experiencing a democratic crisis in Canada? Will you be discussing some possible causes for this during your talk?

"Yes, I think that's what the above answers address and what the talk is fundamentally about. A title? Let me get fancy: Dictatorship by Stealth: The Conservative Erosion of Canadian Liberal Democracy. How's that?"

  Biographical Details for Dr. Fonseca:

  Marco Fonseca was born and raised in Guatemala City and, without a doubt, dictatorships he grew up under were one of the most important factors in shaping his political outlook. While in Guatemala City in the early 1980s he studied in the School of History at the national university of San Carlos before migrating to Canada in 1985 as a political refugee of the civil wars that wracked Central America in the 1980s.

While working the late-night shift at a carpet manufacturing company in Waterloo, Ontario, Fonseca came into contact with scholars at the Peace and Conflict Studies program, Conrad Grebel College, University of Waterloo who encouraged him to move to Toronto, attend York University and study Latin American politics.

  Fonseca received his Ph.D. in Social and Political Thought in 2000, specializing in political philosophy and Latin American Studies. More recently, he has turned his attention to the critical study of the theory and practice of civil societies in the Western Hemisphere, including Canada, as part of his teaching at Glendon College.

While writing his Ph.D. dissertation in London, England in the late 1990s, Fonseca also held a part-time position as a lecturer at Middlesex University, where he taught courses on the political and economic history of Latin America. After his return to Canada and completing his Ph.D. in 2000, Fonseca's most recent appointment is in the Department of International Studies, Glendon College, York University, teaching courses on theories of International Studies, the International Relations of Latin America, and civil societies in the Western hemisphere.

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Press Release – For Immediate Release February 15, 2010

From Citizens Engaging Democracy, Newmarket-Aurora

presenting

"Holding the Line on Our Democracy."

February 25, 2010

7:00pm

Binions Hall, Trinity Anglican Church, 79 Victoria Street, Aurora, ON

Suggested donation: $10.00/pay what you can

On Feb. 25^th, join us for a local community meeting to educate and inspire local voters.

Featured Speaker:

Dr. Marco Fonseca, PhD. (Department of International Studies, Glendon College) will discuss the topic of grassroots democratic movements, with a focus on Canadian participatory democracy. He points out that, “when we do not take part in the public life of our political community, the very meaning of our citizenship - a key element of what it is to be Canadian - is at risk of being lost.” Our democracy is in crisis and it is up to all of us to let those in power know that we are watching and we want change.

Our Goals:

• to reach Canadians who are still not aware that we have no sitting Parliament

• to educate citizens about threats to, and the erosion of, our democratic system

• to engage people, knowing that low voter turnouts and apathy lead to the election of governments who do not represent us

• to tell our elected representatives to do their jobs in the House of Commons

• to take action, preventing the misuse of power from being repeated.

We are presenting a petition requesting a legislative change to prorogation procedures.

We are also presenting information about related organizations so that people can take action and communicate with their government.

All local elected politicians will be formally invited to attend as observers.

Background: The shutdown of our Canadian Parliament in December 2009 by a minority government --in mid-debate of 37 pieces of legislation -- was only the biggest symptom of our ailing democratic processes. On January 23, 2010, in over 60 peaceful, non-partisan rallies of 29,000 concerned Canadians, we let our politicians know they had crossed a line. The 225,000 members of Chris White's Facebook group, Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament (CAPP), proved them wrong as almost 30,000 Canadians marched in the streets telling their politicians to "Get Back to Work."

Canadians Engaging Democracy, Newmarket-Aurora is a group of local citizens who met to coordinate the January 23 rally and feel that ongoing work is necessary to engage and inform voters. We want our democracy back.

Please join us in "holding that line" for our democracy!

Press contact: Liz Jefferson Website: http://ced-na.posterous.com/

For details, please call (905) 868-9183 or email precision_english@hotmail.com

We invite you to join us as we make the transition from simply protesting the shutdown of Canadian Parliament, to informing and engaging citizens in taking active roles in their own democracy. That work continues!
Please join us at a townhall meeting to hear Marco Fonseca (Professor, Department of International Studies, Glendon College) speak about grassroots movements in civil society.
We will be discussing what citizens can do when their country's democratic processes are under attack, and some of the specific issues involved in our own Parliamentary shutdown. There will be a petition for signing, which will request legislative change to prevent future prorogations of the special kind we saw in December 2009.

Event: "Holding the Line on Our Democracy"
Who: Citizens Engaging Democracy (Newmarket-Aurora area)
Date: February 25, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Suggested voluntary donation: $10 (pay if/what you can)
Place: Binion Hall, Trinity Anglican Church, 79 Victoria Street Aurora, ON L4G 1R3
Speaker: Prof. Marco Fonseca

Background Info on "Holding the Line on Our Democracy":

On January 23, 2010 at 1:00pm, we stood up for democracy in Canada.

Somebody needed to!

In Newmarket-Aurora, our ralliers stood on the same ground where the 1837 Rebellion began. At the same time, all across Canada and the world, about 29,000 Canadians sent a message that Stephen Harper's prorogation of Parliament was something we did care about, very deeply. It was a non-partisan, grassroots event that included politicans and people of all ages and political stripe, or no political stripe at all. It was a strong, positive, community-building moment. Most of the 200-250 people gathered in Newmarket Town Square had never been to a political rally before.
Now, although Chris White's original Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament group on Facebook (now 225,000 members) is still a gathering place to share information, we have moved into our local communities to continue the work he helped us start. We hope to use the name "Citizens Engaging Democracy" to show that we are moving beyond the prorogation issue toward informing citizens about the political situation here in Canada and engaging people in taking an active role in their democracy. This work will continue past March 3, 2010, the date when Parliament is scheduled to re-open.

In Newmarket-Aurora and area, many people are still not even aware that our Parliament is shut down; important discussions and investigations were interrupted; legislation was scrapped in mid-debate. Various unconvincing excuses have been offered to us about why: for the Olympic Games! To recalibrate on the economy! To increase stability!

We were told it was a routine measure.

We now know it was not.

Far from it.

The prorogation in 2009 is just the biggest ugliest kind of symptom; it has suddenly crystallized our awareness that our democratic process has been ill for some time.

At a time when our military is fighting for democracy overseas, in countries where people risk their lives for the opportunity to cast a vote, Canadian voter turnout is appallingly low and voters are increasingly apathetic.

Canada's reputation as a country that cares about peace, healthy environment, and human rights has been damaged badly.

Our journalists cannot easily access information about our government's workings, and often they are forbidden to ask questions at press conferences.

Our Opposition parties -- who are also elected to represent us -- are prevented from doing their job of debating policy and legislation.

The government has refused a request BY PARLIAMENT to submit certain evidence to a Special Committee investigating the Afghan detainee torture issue.

There is a tangle of issues that, once examined, show a general trend toward decreased transparency, decreased accountability, propagandizing and perhaps even misuse of power by the Stephen Harper government.

Harper certainly is not the only Canadian politician in history to abuse power. However, he has consolidated an unprecedented amount of control over his ministers and MPs, and crossed many lines we do not want to see crossed. We, the citizens of Canada, can insist on taking back our government. These elected representatives should work for us.

Parliament is our House.

Informing yourself about these issues is as important as your next vote.
Apathy is very tempting when information is misleading or confusing and people are busy just trying to survive.
Become a Citizen Engaging Democracy. Attend "Holding the Line on Our Democracy Event" on February 25, 2010.
Communicate with as many people as you can about the issues. This includes writing to MPs, journalists, you name it. And...

Don't take anybody's word for any of this -- do your own investigation. Use a variety of sources.

Don't wait till later to find out THIS was when we should have drawn the line.

Event page on Facebook (please join!): http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=app_2344061033&ref=mf&gid=257710977525#!/event.php?eid=293774042361&index=1

Our Facebook group for Newmarket-Aurora: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1280807687#!/group.php?gid=257710977525&ref=mf

Chris White's group that started it all (great info and discussions!), Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1280807687#!/group.php?gid=260348091419&ref=mf