To the editor:
I have been following politics closely since the days of the greatest Canadian, Tommy Douglas, and over those years I have voted mostly for the Conservatives.
Over the last four years, I have closely followed the actions of our majority Conservative government, and have come to the conclusion that their actions have eroded our democratic system to the point of precluding hundreds of thousands of Canadian taxpayers from exercising our inherent rights; whether it be rights we have under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the veteran’s bill of rights or our taxpayer bill of rights.
It’s a fact that thousands of Canadians have had to file applications in federal court in order to attain those rights offered to them according to the law. I know this for a fact because I have been personally involved in attempting to help Canadian taxpayers exercise their inherent rights and our only recourse is the courts.
In Canada, we, including the government, are supposed to be governed by the rule of law.
Obviously, all of us will be scrutinizing the various proposed legislation put forth by various parties in the upcoming federal election; and I respect any and all Canadians’ views, whether they may agree or disagree with mine.
The real question needs to be: Will we actually have a voice in our democracy by way of consultation, discussion, debates and votes through our elected representatives? I don’t feel this has happened over the last few years of our majority Conservative government. It is my view…government is to be for the people, by the people.
Historically, Canadians have been too passive regarding our democratic process. It’s time all Canadians become engaged, take part in this process, and ensure our voices be heard, listened to by our representatives.
I invite all Canadians to become engaged and exercise our inherent rights. There has been so much history and so many have done so much to ensure our rights are protected. It is now the time that we speak up and demand to be heard.
Our government has had the opportunity to actually respond to many issues and their inaction on so many files gives credence to the idea that our system is, in fact, broken.
We need to always remember that “we” are the government and “we” are to be represented by those we elect. It’s up to us now to ensure our voices are heard.
Bob Allen, Kelowna
