There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking
at the root.
Henry David Thoreau
Below is the initial draft of CACL's Policies, and Principles and Standards Platform.
We are pursuing a platform that truly represents the basic values of all Canadians.
This not not just rhetoric. It is a fact that about 95% of Canadians, and in fact people in nearly all human cultures, agree about the issues that are of fundamental importance to everyone.
We are interested in your comments and feedback.
The Canadian Anti-Corruption League (CACL) recognizes that fear is the most critical factor threatening freedom in any country. Whether it be fear of freedom to speak, voice opinions that differ from government or the freedom to walk at night on our streets.
We believe laws are created to facilitate ease of movement in a civilized society. They are not meant to control society as in a police state. There are several laws which are being passed or have already been passed in the name of security which CAP believes are threats to our civil liberties and democracy.
It has to be acknowledged that fear is one of the predominant emotions of our times. Women, especially, are afraid to walk alone at night - sometimes, even in the daytime. So a principal aim of CAP's policy is to reduce that fear to the maximum extent possible in today's society.
There are two characteristics predominant amongst people who commit crimes. First, the vast majority has been abused at some stage of their lives. Second, the majority is unemployed at the time the crime is committed. This is one more powerful reason that the The Canadian Anti-Corruption League is committed to a policy of full employment (about 4% unemployed).
Achieving that, in itself, would reduce the crime rate significantly.
Of those who do commit crimes there are two distinct categories. The first includes hardened criminals and repeat offenders. For those, we would provide stiff penalties and eliminate automatic parole. The second comprises first-time offenders and persons guilty of minor crimes. For these we would ease their path back into civil life and encourage them to stay clean. Rehabilitation is by far the most cost-effective way of treating criminal behaviour.
We would give judges wider discretion about trying young offenders in adult court. We know of young people who have committed serious crimes because they knew they would not be subject to the full impact of the law.
Another reform would be to fund enough additional judges so that cases could be tried more expeditiously. It is totally unacceptable to see cases, including serious crimes, being dismissed because too much time had elapsed.
The Canadian Anti-Corruption League believes that prevention should be the policy of choice for a just society. We know that poverty contributes to crime rates. We know that children who live in poverty are less likely to excel in school, and to be left unsupervised. We know that opening up extracurricular activities to all our children will keep them healthy, active in positive ways and less likely to begin a path of criminal behaviour out of boredom. A full athletic program within a publicly funded school system would assist with that goal. Criminals are not born they are created! All people in our society need to be given the tools to become contributing members of society and we believe it is government's role to create policy that encourages that atmosphere.
On the subject of abortion, we respect the Supreme Court decision of 1998, which ruled in favour of a woman's right to choose. And we fully endorse the Charter of Rights declaration of equality of gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation. We also fully respect our member's right to moral conscience. Therefore all elected The Canadian Anti-Corruption League MP's would be free to vote according to their conscience on moral issues.
Whereas:
Secrecy is the breeding ground of power abuse and corruption and is the modus operandi of the forces operating Canada and the world.
Therefore:
The CACL commits to complete openness as a fundamental principle to democracy and to a complete absence of secrecy in the party and in governance of the country.
Lobbying shall be done only with government staff in front of a panel of consisting of persons of qualified expertise and several Canadian Citizens. Any person that attempts to lobby in person shall be deemed to have committed an indictable offence.
Canadians have expressed great dissatisfaction with the way parliament works today.
Canadians are insulted with the behaviour of our MP's during Question Period and don't like to see the party whip used to make MP's follow party line. We understand and agree.
We would change the rules for question period-in part, limiting the number of days ministers spend in Question period.
We would make all votes in the Commons, except those clearly defined as votes of no confidence, "free votes" where MPs could vote according to their conscience and the wishes of their constituents.
We would change the rules for Question Period. The principle of Question Period is good. Ministers should be accountable for their actions. But to have them all there five days a week, like a row of sitting ducks in a shooting gallery, is an incalculable waste of time.
Instead, we would adopt some variation of the British system under which ministers are questioned in rotation. Advance notice of the questions would be given, but supplementary questions on the same subject would be allowed. Two days a week the Prime Minister would answer questions of either a general or urgent nature. Not only would a change along these lines bring improved decorum to the House, it would multiply the hours ministers have available to learn their departments and make the decisions that might otherwise be left in abeyance.
We would give Members of Parliament a real function in the legislative process. We would actually have MPs in all party committees draft legislation for submission to Parliament. This would be a sharp departure from the present practice where nearly all legislation is written by public servants, approved by cabinet and rammed through parliament with the help of the government whip. The advantage of giving MPs a greater role is that most legislation would then be nonpartisan, the product of the best minds from all the parties. It would allow MPs to more clearly express the wishes of their constituents, and it would make MPs "some bodies" instead of nobodies.
As the "first past of the post" method of electing members of parliament does not result in a House which truly reflects the views of the electorate, the The Canadian Anti-Corruption League is committed to the principle of proportional representation which would result in a Commons more in tune with the real wishes of voters.
One of our reform policies has already been addressed. Specifically that is with regard to drastically reducing the amount of money corporations could contribute to a party, so their money wouldn't play such a dominant role in election campaigns. We would require television and radio stations to provide limited amounts of free advertising to all parties as a public service.
One further concern is the lack of any popular control of government between elections. The party whips are so pervasive that voter's wishes are often ignored. Consequently we are committed to citizen's initiatives and referendum based on the Swiss model. We are convinced that if such a system had been placed it is likely that we would have been spared the Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA and the Goods and Services Tax.
Currently, money creation in Canada is a virtual monopoly of the private banks. The Canadian Anti-Corruption League will return to the economic and monetary system we had from 1939 to 1974 when the money-creation function was shared between the government of Canada, through the Bank of Canada, and private banks.
This would provide the fiscal flexibility necessary to fund health care and other essential services without increasing taxes.
There is no reason why the Canadian Government on behalf of the people should not be able to borrow from the Bank Of Canada and the Bank of Canada should be a Canadian Institution owned by the Canadian people for the purpose of funding government activities and these activities must have independent oversight with the authority to investigate and question any nefarious activity
Canadians have been duped! We were led to believe that the Canada - U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) were "free trade" agreements. They were not! They are a Charter of Rights for Corporations.
The The Canadian Anti-Corruption League fully supports fair and responsible trade FTA, NAFTA, CAFTA do not represent fair trade.
The National Treatment Clause
The most under-discussed 'clause' means that foreign investors have the
unrestricted right to invest in Canada: (a) without conditions and, (b)
without limits. We have lost the right to say that only foreign investment
that is beneficial to Canada is welcome.
NAFTA must be abrogated! - It must be cancelled!
NAFTA is worse than FTA because of Chapter 11 which allows U.S. and Mexican
investors the right to sue us if any of our governments, federal, provincial
or municipal, passes or amends a law that affects their profits or future
profits. North American Security and Prosperity Initiative must be cancelled.
Smart Regulations must be cancelled.
Climate Change / Global Warming
Water, air and soil are the basis to sustain all life forms. The CACL
will not sacrifice any of these for the sake of greed or the pursuit of
profit.
Cleaning Up Our Toxic Country Policy
All policies must be respectful of our environment. We must always strive
to create an atmosphere where people can live in a healthy manner. We
must encourage responsible decisions and penalize decisions, which are
detrimental to the environment. Our food, water, air and soil are the
basis to sustain all life forms. We cannot afford to sacrifice one for
the sake of greed or pursuit of profit.
We support the family farm, organic foods, sustainable, responsible agriculture, fisheries, and forests. We support the Kyoto Protocol and water as a human right.
It is no secret that the Canadian farming industry is in crisis. Instead of small is beautiful, which it really is, it has become small is bankrupt or soon to be driven out of business.
This is largely the product of globalization and the so-called "free trade" agreements that have opened our country to predatory practices. A few large trans-national corporations want to monopolize the world food supply from seed to feed to production and finally processing in order to make both producers and consumers totally dependent.
Canadian officials, over-zealously pushing the ideology of a world without borders, reduced subsidies on Canadian wheat unilaterally ahead of the U.S. and the European Union. This has resulted in more than 25,000 Manitoba and Saskatchewan farmers going bankrupt in 2001 ~ a portent of worse to come.
Our supply management system for dairy and poultry products is also under attack. The Liberal government tells us that the system is not open to negotiation. But they are not telling us the truth. As long as we are subject to the FTA, NAFTA and the World Trade Organization our supply management system is doomed. There is no way to protect it as long as these treaties are in effect.
That is just one of the reasons CACL would abrogate (cancel) the FTA and NAFTA and take agriculture off the negotiating table under the WTO. Immediate and urgent action is required and if CACL is given the balance of power we will insist on regaining control over our destiny and negotiating "fair trade" agreements that are mutually beneficial.
Meanwhile the situation is so desperate, comparable to the 1930s for western farmers, we would demand extraordinary measures.
First:
A moratorium on the foreclosure of mortgages on farm properties to stabilize the situation until remedial action can be taken.
Second:
Farm mortgages would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and debt written down to the point where the farm could be reasonably expected to operate at a profit.
Third:
Grain subsidies would be restored until the U.S. and the European Union abandon theirs, which could be quite a long time if one can believe spokesmen for the European Union. The purpose of these extraordinary measures will be to restore a way of life, which is loved by many and to prevent Canada from becoming dependent on foreign sources for our food supply. Every country should retain some independence - especially when it comes to the staff of life.
The fishing industry, too, requires careful review. Ottawa officials refused
to listen to the pleas of fishermen in the Atlantic Provinces and the
result has been chaos in the industry.
CACL would either listen to the people who know the business, or turn jurisdiction over to them if that proved to be the only solution. Again the needs of the inshore fishermen would be given preference over the interests of trans-national corporations.
Canada needs a hard and fast policy to protect its forests. Clear-cutting
should be abolished through a national policy, and the provinces urged
and rewarded for observing it. The object should be a sustainable harvest
of forest products in perpetuity.
Another area of concern is our boreal forests. They are slow-growing trees and are being harvested at an unacceptable rate. We complain about the Brazilians devastating their rain forests to the detriment of world conservation measures. They have equal right to fault us for not protecting the boreal forests, which are also essential to the preservation of the ozone layer and the survival of our planet.
Social policies are tied to our trade and monetary policies. Most importantly,
CACL would abrogate (cancel) trade agreements that contain a "national
treatment clause" allowing us to regain control over our social policies.
1. We would ensure that money creation was shared between the Bank of
Canada on behalf of the people and private banks to adequately fund our
social needs
2. Ensure that all of society has access to affordable housing, especially
our most vulnerable, our mentally ill, disabled, elderly and our children.
3. Support construction of cooperative housing and (subsidized housing
in mixed income neighbourhoods to assist the working poor.
4. Ensure that the minimum wage across Canada is sufficient to sustain
a reasonable standard of living.
The CACL believes in universal access to a public educational system.
And, whereas education is a provincial responsibility: all Canadians
have a direct interest in a well-educated future generation.
To ensure education is not just a choice dependent on family or personal
wealth CACL would:
� Transfer between $1 billion to $1.5 billion a year to the provinces
for the express purpose of reducing tuition fees and bringing them down
to 1990-91 levels.
� Make direct, low interest loans to students.
� Allow the interest paid on existing loans to be deducted from taxable
income for tax purposes.
� Support the teaching of the liberal arts and resist the effort to restrict
education to readily marketable skills.
� Prevent corporations from having too much power and influence in the
educational process.
� Reinstitute the teaching of skills that encourage how to think, calculate,
assess, and adapt to real life; as opposed to being indoctrinated or taught
what to think.
� Keep universities free of public/private partnerships, which benefit
private corporate interests like military contractors and scientific experimental
labs involved in the genetic modification of life etc. background information
� Bring back the basics of teaching government function, how it works,
the purpose of government and encourage all citizens to participate fully
in the democratic process.
� Make monetary systems, (economics, how money is created, etc.) part
of the education curriculum from K to grade 12 mandatory, in conjunction
with civic responsibilities.
Today, our health care system is a national emergency. CACL knows how to fix it without turning the system over to private for profit interests. The Bank of Canada could be used to finance its health and survival. This could be achieved by creating and spending money into circulation specifically targeted for health care needs: hospitals (see also CANADA INFRASTRUCTURE BONDS), doctors, nurses, technicians, equipment, and so on.
After federal funding cuts of $25 billion over the past ten years, CACL supports the minority government decision to put federal funding back up to 25%. We need more we need to immediately:
� Make natural holistic remedies available under Medicare.
� Emphasis on nutrition and prevention for a healthy Canada
� Scientific studies on Genetically Modified Organisms, irradiation and
vaccines
� Foster a genuine Canadian drug industry vs. giant for profit U.S. drug
industry
� Promote preventative medicine with emphasis on how poverty, stress and
pollution affect health.
CACL supports the implementation of The Romanow Report, which made it abundantly clear that Canadians want adequately funded universal health care that includes home care and a drug plan.
Two years of intergovernmental bickering have brought federal funding back up to 25% however, there are no conditions attached and, Prime Minister Paul Martin has already created a new cabinet post to oversee public-private partnerships.
To prevent the privatization of health care the cacl would:
� Place a moratorium on all public/private partnerships
� Enforce labeling of genetically modified and irradiated foods
� Ensure that Canada Health Act is enforced
Finally, Canadians must understand that any decent health-care system in this country requires three major changes:
1. We must cancel the Canada/U.S. Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA because
these "trade" deals give U.S. corporations the right to challenge
the very existence of Medicare by claiming it is a trade irritant which
distorts the "free" market. We can do so with six months notice.
2. We must stop the sell-out of Canada to large foreign corporations,
and maintain control over our resources and industries. A country is no
longer independent - and can't afford social programs - if its assets
and decision-making are controlled beyond its borders. The end of Canada
means the end of Medicare.
3. We must reform our monetary system.
Right now, our money creation is a virtual monopoly of the private banks. The The Canadian Anti-Corruption League will return to the economic and monetary system we had from 1939 to 1974 when the money-creation function was shared between the government of Canada, through the Bank of Canada, and private banks. This would provide the fiscal flexibility necessary to fund health care and other essential services without increasing taxes.
The pension system in Canada is really a mess and the adjustments Paul Martin made to the Canadian Pension Plan when he was finance minister were merely tinkering. They result in a huge tax increase without producing either stability or equity. Generation X has no confidence that the CPP will survive until they retire. In addition, some people now retire with four or five pensions, while others have only one.
There is a need to call a round table on pension reform that includes seniors, economists, pension consultants and industry with federal and provincial governments. The objective will be to devise a universal system that will be fully vested from day one, fully portable, completely fair and adequate to meet retirement needs. Meanwhile the existing pension rights for seniors will be fully guaranteed.
One of the great injustices in the present system is that of pensions for Members of Parliament. CACL would change the law so that MP's would not get their pensions until age 65. One of the objects of pension reform would be to treat Members of Parliament in exactly the same way as other citizens.
Introduce a Guaranteed Minimum Annual Income � As good Canadians we need to do everything we can to ensure a level of education and life style that is just and humane for all Canadians. To accomplish this we shall create a GMAI (Guaranteed Minimum Annual Income) fund which will provide a guaranteed minimum income policy that would be phased to replace current federal income support programs.
Such a policy would be linked to tax reform and simplification. This GMAI can be part of the ACCP program that provides about $2500.00 per month less administration fees for every Legal Canadian over the age of 18.
We will endeavor to cut the size of Canada�s Social Departments and integrate them into one. We will establish a monthly minimum income to cover all aspects of the social welfare state. In this way we cut the size of government and we cut the cost to tax payers. As well with the efficiencies we intend on to bringing to this system we hope to have this pay for itself and raise people�s standard of living.
The movement towards a minimum income policy will provide an incentive to work by the financial security that individuals will be provided. This will allow people to take risks in new and/or challenging endeavors and at the end of the day will be a huge boon to small to medium sized businesses.
Additionally, a large portion of social services and medical care revolves around the stress and environmental issues surrounding people living in poverty and/or in losing everything they hold dear. We have the opportunity to effectively deal with homelessness and poverty while simplifying and reducing the tax burden that every citizen is now under.
The individuals who would be eligible to participate in the minimum income program are currently exempt from paying personal income taxes. The payroll deductions that would be directed towards Employment Insurance (EI) would instead be directed to the GMAI (Guaranteed Minimum Annual Income) Fund.
Now you may ask yourself, can we afford this?
For our analysis we shall examine our eligible workforce 19 years of age and older at an 7.1% unemployment rate taken from the 2015 statistics . In that document the rate was 7.1%, so we�ve trended that up to meet today�s reality. This leaves us with 1,253,240 people without jobs and 8,519,900 people who are not in the workforce.
The average minimum wage across Canada is $10.25 per hour. At an average of 160 hours per month, this leaves a monthly income of $1790.00 per individual. We shall include a basic benefits package covering dental and proscription drugs. This can be as high as $150 per month per individual. This leaves us at a total expenditure by the government of $1,790.40 per month.Accordingly, we are looking at an annual overall cost of approximately 19.3 billion dollars.
According to the Actuary to the Employment Insurance Commission EI spending is projected to be 25.7 billion dollars in 2015. Our government is currently reporting for 2010-2015 time period 21.795 billion dollars collected by EI. Since EI is paid directly by the employer, we would move this over to our GMAI fund.
This would result in a surplus of 9.4 billion
dollars or if we take what the current government reports a surplus of
1.495 billion dollars. We are making sure that no Canadian need go hungry
or wanting in this country. Not only that, but we are injecting a huge
stimulus into our small to medium sized businesses while simplifying our
tax system.
What are some other financial benefits?
There are many financial benefits, but for sake of this document let us
review but a few of them.
By providing a minimum income to individuals who are not a part of the
work force we have a lot more taxable spending taking place. After an
individual pays for their food and lodging, let us make an estimation of
about $900 of taxable spending per month (where the government collects
13% on the transaction).
For this calculation we shall use the people who were not taking part in the labour force, this totaling, 8,519,900 people spending $900 taxable dollars per month. This results in additional tax revenue of 4.6 billion dollars from GST. In terms of new revenue generated from the business sector let us look at the additional corporate tax revenue generated by this. Let us estimate that each individual will spend what the government provides them in a given month. That would mean an additional $1,914.40 per month. This results in approximately $33.475 billion dollars of corporate tax revenue.
So in review, by restructuring our employment insurance strategy by implementing our minimum income strategy we will save anywhere from $35.57 to $40.475 billion dollars.
Canada has fallen behind world leaders because foreigners own so much of our industry.
The CACL would:
� Reinstate grants that were cut back to the National Research Council,
Social Sciences Research Council and Universities to help create high
tech jobs in microbiology, robotics, energy and communications replacing
lost jobs in manufacturing.
� Invest in research and development into greener environmentally friendly
products, alternative energy choices are no longer an option they are
mandatory for our planet and our country.
� Invest in research into cause and cure of illness such as Autism, Juvenile
Diabetes, and Learning Disabilities
� Ensure that proper independent testing and approval of all pharmaceuticals,
agriculture products, pesticides etc. were conducted before they enter
the market.
� Provide financial incentives to individuals corporations and universities
that are active and successful in developing new and innovative technologies
and processes.
Arts, Culture and CBC Policy
The CACL believes that culture is the soul of a nation and for that reason
it would increase funding to the National Arts Council and the CBC.
Although not all Canadians see the significance of our CBC it provides much of the sinew of continuity that makes us Canadian. The The Canadian Anti-Corruption League believes that a vibrant and CBC is a symbol of a vibrant Canada. We would like it to be a vehicle for our national voice reflecting all regions and views of Canada.
Canada needs quality immigrants. We will adjust the entry qualifications
to attract these persons into Canada. CACL will also take a very serious
look at the policy of refugees and the actual circumstances that entitles
a person to use this classification.
Every new immigrant and some existing immigrants will be given a course
in Canadian Culture and advised of the consequences of bringing with them
cultural or religious procedures that are against the law in Canada. Deportation
will be automatic to those directly or indirectly involved and any victims
will not be punished.
Quality and highly skilled immigrants will be fully assisted in entering
the workforce with their credentials accepted. The old boys club will
have to be demolished to some degree. Canada will set up an independent
panel to test certain qualifications such as Doctors to have them accepted
and placed in position to treat Canadians. This may include a Federal
Canadian Hospital & Medical Department should the Provincial Medical
Associations fail in acting in a truly Moral and Canadian first manner.
CACL will consult with these Canadians and work with them in correcting
the present situation. Since a tremendous amount of financial resources
are spent in this area each year with very poor results it may be advantageous
to come up with a program that ends this cycle of spending and poverty.
Integrating these persons into the Canadian mainstream society may be
to their benefit with financial compensation.
The situation of (Reservations) and the isolation created with these parcels
of land should be studied by both sides to come up with a much better
system.
There are sufficient laws on the books to take care of most situations
and possibly far too many laws and regulations. A very serious look into
the system is indicated.
The corrupt practice of forcing persons to plead guilty to an alleged
offence under threat and intimidation will end and any person engaged
in this practice or aiding this criminal form of intimidation and extortion
will be punished by law.
Eliminating the criminalization of marijuana and some other drugs will
be of prime importance with a committee organized to come up with a control
system similar to alcohol and tobacco. Condoning drug use is not the intent
but eliminating the useless waste of valuable financial resources will
be a prime Endeavour. Once we remove the monetary value to the criminal
element in the drug business then the crime and resulting costs that result
in this activity will diminish or vanish.