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To the editor:
I write to you with concern over the brevity of our current form of democracy. Over the years it has become apparent that our form of a political government might not be the best avenue for a modern society.
Our current form of democracy means we vote someone in to best represent our decisions for the entire population. We vote for people who are supposed to look after everyone in our society not just their friends, family, and business partners. We have been duped, as many politicians or public sector employees don't have our society's best interest in their goals, actions, and motivations.
Everyone who pays taxes should be able to vote in laws, bills, and public sector positions, and their pay increases. As Canadians, we all must pay taxes, yet we don't decide as a society where those tax dollars go. Instead, we assign/employ someone to look after our country/region for a given period of time. This is not really a true democracy, as the power and decision making is given to the very few, and not back to the people.
If every Canadian who pays taxes were able to vote on bills, by-laws, and public sector spending, then we might be closer to a model of democracy than we are now.
How many times have we voted in a representative of a party, only to have them not do what they say? I understand that many of our politicians are natural liars and deceivers, but this model of government is not ideal for our growing modern society. This form of "democracy" is an illusion, as the power of choice is only given to the people every few years--when we vote for someone who makes our decisions for us for the next few years.
Many of us already log in to the CRA web portal to file taxes and check on payments or re-assessments. Why not use that same platform to vote on current spending, bills, and laws? Why are only a handful of cabinet ministers and politicians able to vote on policies that affect all of us Canadians? It wouldn't be terribly difficult to implement.
Over the years I have heard "If you don't vote at election time, then you shouldn't have a say in our political system." Yet my vote only surrenders my power and the decision-making to another individual. That individual might not have my best interest, or they may just choose to ignore their constituents entirely. I have read many complaints about our own voted-in politicians here in North Bay, and how they give little to no accountability or transparency to their constituents. We have politicians who don't even reside in the place they are making decisions for.
While our system might have been beneficial in the past, moving forward into a modern era, it's time that the power is brought back into the hands of the people. Allowing everyone to cast their vote on every decision that is being made, is more in line with a democracy, than our current system, where we vote someone in to vote on behalf of all of us.
We as Canadians are left out of important decision-making, as we assign that responsibility to the very few while being side-lined and treated as second-rate citizens.
If we are to give countries foreign aid, shouldn't all tax-paying Canadians be involved in that decision? If our money is pooled to ensure that people without have, then why is that money being sent away or being decided on by people who do not have our best interest?
With the incoming talks of tariffs, why are our politicians "kissing the boots" of other country's leaders? Why does it seem that the business interest of the politician comes before the needs of the people who elected them into that position of power?
In an age of modern conveniences and an era of technological advancement, our democracy would make sense if we as a tax-paying society, voted on all policies and actions of our government. Every tax-paying citizen should be able to cast a vote for all of our laws, acts, and spending, that affect us as a people. Allowing us to vote on all actions of our governments and the public sector through the CRA portal, or in person at our local government buildings, is a better form of democracy than what we currently practice. This ensures government accountability instead of riding out 4 years of poor decision-making, while at the same time making our votes more meaningful.
Our media and news companies can help us by bringing transparency to each issue that taxpayers are charged to vote for. This would make our media more productive, rather than reactive, to decisions being made outside of the taxpayer's control.
In closing, I ask: How many times have our politicians let us down? How many times have public sector employees told the public "Sorry that isn't my department's responsibility'', only for us to go around in circles, as each department passes on the blame? When every Canadian has the right to vote on every Government action and every dime spent, then maybe we will be living in a truer form of democracy.
Our largest export is our legislature--we teach other countries' governments how to treat their citizens. Canada is a leader to the rest of the world on many fronts. Why not set an example for other countries regarding what a true democracy looks like? Instead of voting in someone for a set term, let's bring the power back to the people and let the taxpayers vote on everything that our Government does.
Giving someone else the power to rule over us for years is not a true democracy.
Respectfully, a fellow tax-paying citizen,
Logan Solitar
North Bay
