I would like to offer a vision for a more ideal system of
citizen representation and policy making. My vision is
based on the following assumptions:
• We want a
society that limits the suffering of individual citizens,
• We want a
society that supports as much individual freedom as possible,
• We want to be
governed by compassionate people,
• We are
generally prepared to support government, and government processes,
to the extent that problems are successfully addressed,
• That, for a
problem to be successfully addressed, the needs of everyone
affected by that problem need to be taken into account,
and,
• That the only
approach that assures the needs of everyone affected are taken into
account, is a consensus approach.
My perspective is that our current system is blocking us from
moving forward towards those ideals. The current system
has reached a point where it is having serious, unintended,
negative effects. These effects are:
• The fostering
of self-interest amongst career
politicians. Although their
work is supposedly on behalf of society, they cannot wholeheartedly
throw themselves into controversial issues as they risk losing
their livelihood. They are dependant on getting elected
and therefore they ultimately become weak voices.
• The fostering
of competition. The present thinking is
that MLA’s are elected to ‘represent their
geography’(or their party), and the interests of the
people living in that specific area. This results in
competitive behavior: “my loss is your
gain”. This does not foster
understanding. This does not foster a focus on the well
being of all (such as is currently being achieved by this citizen
assembly process). The assumption that a
politician represents ‘his/her’
constituents is absurd. An individual can only ever
represent him or herself. And each elected official
needs to see him or herself as representing all citizens, not just
those in a particular geographical location.
• The fostering
of ignorance amongst politicians. The current process
is not educative. If a politician were to
‘learn’, he or she would run the risk
of ‘changing
sides’. Changing sides is usually the kiss
of death for politicians.
• The fostering
of a very short decision-making horizon. Most
politicians are career politicians. They operate with
an eye to the next election. The effect of this is that
their decision-making horizon is only four to five
years. All of us; every single one of us, knows that
our politicians are unable to develop and implement the types of
strategies that are needed to address the incredibly complicated
issues we are facing, in this impossibly short time-frame.
• The throwing
away of an utterly immeasurable amount of human energy.
Although money may be wasted as a result of government actions, it
is insignificant when compared with the cavalier attitude that
results in wasting human effort. The far, far greater
problem is the completely destructive transitions that governments
have been forced to undertake, in order to “appear to
be doing something about an issue”; in order to
“distance themselves from some previous
action”. Focused and purposeful
change is necessary, however for those of us who work in any level
of government, the experience of ‘change
for the sake of change’ is an all too common
reality. The disruption this causes citizens should be
considered immoral it is so
unnecessary.
So. What do I propose? Here are my
thoughts:
• The goal of
our political processes should be clearly stated as
“Improved Quality of Life for all
Citizens”.
• The
Legislature (and Parliament, federally) needs to operate by
consensus, not by majority rules. (Rules of Conduct could be
developed).
• Being a
politician cannot and must not be a career.
It needs to be re-framed as a type of ‘service to our
country”. I suggest this could be achieved
by, for example:
o Setting
remuneration at the exact average wage of Canadians set
annually.
o Holding
elections at a fixed time (give or take a month) every three
years.
o Once
elected, an individual may hold their position for nine years.
o One
third of the elected officials turnover at each election (for
continuity), two thirds carry on
o One oyear of
“transition support” would be provided to
individuals upon completion of their service.
In conclusion, each politician needs to be tasked with making
the best possible decisions; based on factual input and based on
the common value and understanding of consensus. People
who are unfamiliar with the power of consensus may read this and
think, “She’s dreaming! Some
problems just can’t be solved by anything but majority
(whoever has the most power, in other words)
wins!” However, it is my
experience that even the most complicated problems can be solved by
bringing affected stakeholders into the discussion and by involving
them in choosing the solutions, and I believe this can work at a
provincial and even national level. Although this can
be a painstaking and time-consuming process, the solutions arising
from this type of process will be comprehensive and long
lasting.
Our politicians need to be good communicators and excellent
listeners but, most importantly, they need to be
learners. They need to be able to hear and
absorb diverse perspectives and we need to select representatives
who evidence these
qualities.
Many individuals presenting submissions have good ideas about
how to achieve some type of fair
representation My only comment on this
specific aspect of the discussion is it is absolutely ridiculous
that getting elected depends on personal wealth. This
is not democratic and I don’t believe it gets the best
people involved. Advertising campaigns that currently
take place should be completed stopped. Instead, the
potential candidates need to demonstrate their capacity in public
discussions about any relevant issues. Within my model,
the negative and manipulative campaigning that currently takes
place would be unnecessary.
My purpose in presenting these ideas is to hopefully add an
alternative element to the discussions of the Assembly
Members. I believe you are each in a position to
support a fundamental transformation. We are all
ready. Thank you.