Direct Access Democracy Canada
Direct Access Democracy Canada is a new way to participate in governing in Canada, led by John Oprea. Oprea sought election to the Canadian House of Commons as an independent candidate in the June 28, 2004 Canadian election in the Ontario riding of Cambridge and North Dumfries, and is the DAD's only candidate. He won 133 votes, 0.26% of the total, and placed 6th out of 7 candidates.
Direct Access Democracy Canada is not registered with Elections Canada, the Canadian government?s election agency, and therefore is not recognized as an official party.
DAD aims to extend and expand Canada?s system of representative democracy with a participatory democracy where all citizens have equal opportunity to participate in making important political decisions.
Principles
- Democratic authority: Direct Access Democracy Canada believes that the People, as a whole, are the government. They have the only authority in a democracy to decide on important issues.
- Direct access in government at all levels, every day: the primary purpose of Direct Access Democracy Canada and all its activity is based on the fundamental principle that each eligible member has the right to participate directly in the government of Canada every day using direct access democratic practices.
- Equal opportunity to govern: each eligible citizen has equal opportunity to make decisions on important government issues regardless of race, creed, wealth, political orientation or gender.
- Equal individual rights: each member has the following individual rights:
- right to participate in the governing of the country at all levels everyday, based on the principles of direct access democracy,
- freedom of speech and opinion,
- freedom of choice,
- to elect and be elected as a Direct Access Democracy Canada Representative in all the levels of government,
- equal opportunity in voting, education, training, employment and participation in Government regardless of race, creed, wealth or gender.
- Integration in the existing political structure: DAD Canada is bound by the existing Laws and Constitution of Canada and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and will participate in government using the existing multiparty democratic system.
- Equal access: to realize its objective, DAD Canada will provide direct access communication means (Internet, public television, telephone, town meetings), and a direct access democratic structure whereby all members every day have equal access to obtain information about government policies, participate in the assessment of the policies, modify, improve and adopt or reject such policies as they deem necessary using free access and direct voting.
- Direct access representation: elected DAD Canada Representatives will provide every day services of political representation, political brokerage and political mediation. The members of DAD Canada in an electoral riding will select a DAD Representative who, if elected, will represent the Community and provide its members direct access to important decision making. When a new Law or regulation or a proposals to alter the existing Law is discussed, the DAD Representative will provide political brokerage. Members of the party would be informed on issues using the Internet, public television, radio and newspapers. The DAD National Forum will use the Internet and a special communication and collaboration software to make policy proposals for every important issue. The DADNF will decide/vote on the best options, and the top two new policy proposals on that specific issue are forwarded to DAD MPs. The DAD MPs will use an official public opinion telephone survey to test the real choice of the people from their riding on the two proposals. The outcome of the official public survey (OPS) will be accepted as the will of the people from that riding. Similar structures and methodology would apply to provincial and local levels.
- Bonding: the DAD Representative will be bound by the decision of the community on any issue if an Official Public Survey produced an option with a simple majority (50% +1). When the OPS on an issue has less than a majority of votes, the outcome of the survey will be only advisory for the DAD Representative. On routine procedural issues the DAD Representative will vote free according to her (his) own will.
- Decentralization: Direct Access Democracy Canada is a decentralized, community-based power sharing structure. The DAD Canada Representatives will reflect the will of people from their riding and not the will of the party or leader of the party.
- Accountability: The DAD Canada Representatives will be responsible for their decisions only in front of their community that they represent, and not in front of the party leader. Only the local DAD Canada organization can dismiss its Representative.
- Mediation: The DAD Representative has the right and the duty to mediate and moderate the decisions, by this meaning to present to the members and community all the aspects and sides involved in the decision and defend without being penalized the side or views of affected minorities.
- Choice flexibility: Direct Access Democracy gives the member option flexibility to vote "liberal" on a specific issue, "conservative" on other issue, "green" on another issue depending on your choice. The members are not bounded to a rigid party orientation.
- Vertical integration: Members of a local DAD Canada organization are in the same time members in local, provincial (territorial) and national levels, integrating local, provincial and national solutions.
- Easy implementation: Direct Access Democracy is an achievable goal, a system with principles that can be used in any country with democratic institutions and a basic information infrastructure, a wider new way to perform democracy that can be implemented at the next elections without the need to make changes in the legislation.
DAD Canada founder John Oprea is an entrepreneur and small business owner in Cambridge, Ontario. He says that he has developed his ideas ?After years of studies and consultations with democracy experts from all over the world, and talking with ordinary people?.
See also
