Bob Hepburn, the Toronto Star‘s Ottawa bureau chief, asks, “How can Stephen Harper and other political leaders be prevented from running roughshod over our democracy? That’s the question many Canadians who see our democracy as being at risk are asking as political parties gear up for the federal election in October.”
One of the actions he suggests Canadians can do is: “Sign up with pro-democracy efforts and petitions that are being launched across Canada. For example, the Ottawa-based Council of Canadians is urging its members to take a vote pledge, with a promise to challenge two more eligible voters to join them in taking the pledge.” Our pledge asks people to do two things: 1) vote in the 2015 federal election; 2) challenge two more eligible voters to join you in taking the pledge. Our aim is to get 100,000 people to vote in the October 19 federal election who might not have done so otherwise. To read more about this – and to take the pledge – click here.
Hepburn also notes, “You can write, email and telephone Harper, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, as well as your MP. In the past, many people have written to Ottawa, but have received unsatisfying responses or no replies at all. Don’t give up, though. Politicians will change direction if enough people write to them…” The Council of Canadians regularly asks people to write these politicians through action alerts such as: Time for a real debate on CETA, Ban fracking now and Tar sands oil shipments on the St. Lawrence River? No way!. For more action alerts and petitions, see the Take Action section on the front-page of our website.
And Hepburn highlights, “Join a non-profit community group engaged in a public issue and can provide a chance to share your views with elected officials or public servants.” If you’re not already a supporter of the Council of Canadians, we ask you to join us. As we note on our website, “What makes the Council of Canadians particularly unique is that we operate without a penny of corporate or government funding – and always have. Our work is 100 per cent independent and sustained by the activism and generous donations of people like you.”
To read Hepburn’s column in the country’s largest circulation newspaper, see Democracy at risk: what you can do to help.
For more on the Council of Canadians democracy campaign, click here.
