Direct Democracy Mattawa French school

#7. I still become upset at the lack of any effective manner of constraining the seeming excess of the local French school system in establishing a new French High school in tiny Mattawa. I am told that it is the idealistic and perhaps scheming deputy director within the provincial board of education that encourages the local French board to proceed in this divisive fashion. The provincial government is providing a whopping $8,000,000 for this purpose. There are no new students - just a new location. What it will do, however, is to cause the current high school to become much depleted in number of students - so much so, that it will probably have to discontinue. The current situation where both language groups co-exist in one building will halt. The divide will be compounded, and English-speaking students would then have to travel to North Bay to get their schooling.
Would a vote by the local citizens, if such were available, have permitted this result? It seems from here, likely not. Regardless, we shall never truly know. Something is being foisted upon the citizens by a small group from outside the area about which the local citizens have no counter. Too bad! If a system of Direct Democracy were in place in Ontario, as in other jurisdictions, such consequential result would be more satisfactorily concluded. A local referendum would clearly determine what the majority of citizens do want, at any rate, and maybe that could help the town to stay to-gether.
Read my book - YOU Can Control Your Government, now at local bookstores, to understand better just how this modern improvement of determining contentious government issues actually works. Such system called Direct Democracy is being used more and more throughout the educated world these days. We should be using it here also.

Death tax referendum

# 6 of my comments: - Can you imagine a referendum being requested by the people to obtain a new tax? In Zurich in Switzerland in November the citizens there are being asked whether to impose a tax upon anyone involved in organizing medically assisted suicides. This is called colloquially - "death tourism". At the moment some groups do help effect such suicides - and charge as much as $8500 to do it. If successful, the referendum will result in a "tax" of more than $50,000.
The municipality of Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland. The "tax" would only affect those who had not lived in Zurich for at least one year. The report about this was mentioned in the National Post on Jan. 13.

Direct Democracy in the "new" Europe

Just heard of a "barely debated" addition to the new European constitution via the so-called "Lisbon Accord" of -citizen's "initiatives". It seems it is only the details to be concluded. One million EU citizens of a "significant" number of countries will be able soon to ask the European Commission to put forth new proposed laws. This news is according to the Economist Magazine of Jan. 16.
The "rules" still have to be formulated. One million is about 0.2% of the Eu population, compared to Switzerland's need to obtain the signatures of about 2% of its people. In Austria and Spain they need about 1.2% . The decision as to the time limit period must also be concluded soon. These now range from 3 months in Latvia to 18 months in Switzerland.
This clearly is a method to inject more "democracy" into the functioning of modern Europe.
The proposed laws must, of course, come within the ambit of laws capable of being enacted by the umbrella organization. But, it does clearly indicate the desire of the people to improve their democratic network.
Now if only Canadians or even Ontarians would recognize such needs.

Proroguing parliament facebook

This 4th comment by me concentrates upon the modern ease of communication. Apparently thousands of people have noticed within a few days the effort by one person to mobilize others about an issue he feels important re; our government's allegedly unnecessary reduction of activity. Whether you agree with the idea, or not, one cannot discount the relative ease of finding like-minded people about a point that one is interested in. That can now happen also about actual issues or laws that are ultimately propounded by government. These latter decisions are what actually affect you - in your daily life.
What my book - YOU Can Control Your Government emphasizes is how in many up-to-date, free and well-run societies, when enough citizens want to have a real say upon an issue (normally ten % who sign a petition within a few months) the group potentially affected can actually force a vote via referendums upon such decisions. We, in our municipality, our province, our country should be able to do it also. It is now very easy to communicate to large numbers, very quickly. Progress is not going to be deleteriously affected by letting our literate people democratically vote upon those affairs they are anxious about. Indeed democracy, and the proper running of our society will be improved.

Iceland voters to decide re-payment of some bank debts

This third column of my blog is about the ability apparently of Iceland voters to decide by a referendum whether to permit their government to assume responsibility for the huge unpaid debts incurred within recent years to foreign creditors, by their profligate banks. Both England and the Netherlands apparently have subsidized some very large bank-type creditors through their "stimulus" packages. In turn they expected Iceland to assume responsibility to eventually repay them. Iceland's parliament , by a close vote had agreed that that should happen - that Iceland should ultimately come good for such debts.
But their president, who apparently has such power, felt that it should be up to the citizens themselves to decide this big issue. At the moment it is not clear, through local polls just which way the citizen vote will go. Many so-called foreign commentators just assumed that for the good of Iceland's future credibility that Iceland would repay these large loans. But, many citizens apparently feel that - the foreign creditors assumed a risk when granting their banks such loans, and whether reimbursed by their own government banks or not, it should not be up to Icelandic citizens to become responsible, through higher taxes, or whatever other means the government might have to pursue to obtain such reimbursement. The vote is to be within the next few weeks. - a very interesting usage of local referendums. The end result will be watched closely by the international community.

Direct Democracy

This blog is about aspects of Direct democracy - that is manners by which the common citizens can properly affect issues that involve his government. The method is by persuading the government, municipal, provincial or federal that there should be a referendum about the issue; and if the referendum is approved by a majority of the citizens, that it must be followed by the government.
I plan to indicate such issues when they come up within the news. And I will indicate how the citizens might have properly influenced the conclusion of such issue by such democratic means.
I hope it will stimulate others to mention similar matters, and/or comment upon such ideas as are mentioned.
It is a worthy project I would submit - to improve our democracy. It works well elsewhere - in 24 US states, in Germany and more fulsomely in Switzerland.
The ideas should be able to be implemented in our municipalities, in our province and in our country.

Direct Democracy

In this "blog" I will be commenting upon areas that indicate potential or real aspects of Direct Democracy; that is - I will be showing areas in which citizens of North Bay, Ontario, Canada and elsewhere could, or do use referendums to control issues within their various governments. In doing this I greatly rely on the experiences of the many jurisdictions who do employ referendums by citizens to make changes in the way their jurisdictions work. More particularly is this the case in Switzerland, in 24 states of USA, many states in Germany, and elsewhere.

Improving democracy is the aim. In essence I am trying to emphasize the importance of citizen-led democracy in improving our governments. Asserting better the wills of the majority of people is what I submit will improve the functioning of our society. As well, when the citizens realize that its they who can have real influence in the way their government works, it will also add aspects of greater accountability and responsibility upon themselves in their daily lives.

It is much to do with the common-sense of the masses, which more often than not can improve upon the performances of their elected elites.

It follows the publishing of my book - YOU Can Control Your Government, or - How to restore real democracy to the citizen. That is a study about proven methods of Direct Democracy via citizen referendums, which should be instituted in Canada.

I hope it will trigger responses from others about their observations about this movement.