Freedom Is Dying in Canada and Over Regulation is a Heavy Burden    

Freedom does not mean license to do whatever one pleases. Freedom must be seen within the context of rule by law. In Canada our freedoms are constantly being eroded. 

1. Political correctness is destroying freedom. People are being pressured politically to not speak up in an honest open manner. 

2. Canada is the most authoritarian and dictatorial of all the so-called western democracies. The Prime Minister has immense power, as do the Premiers in the provinces. 

Here are just some of the powers of the Prime Minister.

A large proportion of new legislation introduced for passage by the Parliament of Canada is the product of the policies and goals of the Prime Minister.

As Prime Minister, and leader of the party with a majority of elected representatives, most new legislation presented to Parliament comes from the PM's office. As well most of the most important legislation stems from the Prime Minister's Office. And if any elected member of the Prime Minister's governing party votes against any new legislation, the Prime Minister has  exclusive authority to expel that person from the party. Thus back bench MPs are kept in line, and kept loyal to the PM through rigidly enforced party discipline.

Over time, the role of the Prime Minister of Canada has undergone some modifications but today has, arguably, the most personal and absolute power of any elected leader of any full democracy in the world.

Powers Of Premiers:  Canada is one of the most decentralized federations in the world and provincial premiers have a great deal of power. They need to agree to any constitutional change, and must also be consulted for any new initiatives in their areas of responsibility, which include many important sectors such as health care and education.

Provincial Premiers, like the federal Prime Minister are essentially dictators.  We the ordinary voters don't directivity choose or elect the Prime Minister, or any Premier, since these leaders are chosen by the political parties, usually at some sort of leadership convention.  Then when in power these persons hold dictatorial power over us. However, we do have the freedom to elect our dictators.

Power in government is therefore very much concentrated in a very few hands. 

3. Canada is one of the most over-regulated and over-governed nations on the face of the earth.

According to the Fraser Institute Canadians spend an estimated $103 billion (12% of GDP) to comply annually with federal, provincial, and municipal regulations. 

Also according to the Fraser Institute " between 1975 and 1999, over 117,000 new federal and provincial regulations were enacted, an average of 4,700 every year. Over this twenty-four year period, federal and provincial governments have published over 505,000 pages of regulations contained in volumes that measure 10 stories when stacked !!" 

And the Fraser Institute also says that " in the fiscal year 1997-1998, the federal government, and provincial, territorial and local governments in Canada spent $5.2 billion administering their regulatory activities, and federal administrative costs increased by 50% in real terms between fiscal years 1973/74 and 1997/1998. Provincial and territorial administrative costs of regulation increased by 80% in real terms over the same period.

When people are regulated to death, they cannot be regarded as a free people.

4. The number of persons employed by all levels of government is excessive. In June 2010 there were around  3,498,800 public sector workers in Canada versus around 10,996,400 private sector workers, and about 2,694,700 self-employed. The total number of workers (counting the self-employed) in Canada in June 2010 was about 17,189,800. 

5. Canada has four or five different levels of government, which is very excessive - they are the federal, provincial, municipal, tribal, and perhaps the union levels of bureaucracy and government.

6. All the various statutes and regulations, make Canada a colossal red tape quagmire. Talk to any business person and they can tell you all about it. 

7. There has been a decrease in the number of unionized jobs in Canada in the past years. In the decade (1990-2000) union membership dropped by 100,000 and for the first time since the 1960s, the overall percentage of unionized workers in the workforce in Canada fell below 30%. In 2008 about 31.2 % of workers in Canada were unionized or covered by a collective agreement. 

Unions provide working people with more security and dignity. Workers are more free on their jobs, from being fired for no reason. Yet we see only about 30 % of the work force unionized. This is an excellent barometer of the sad state of labour in Canada. Ordinary working people are in quite weak positions on the job in general, and they are too vulnerable and exposed. 

Unions in Canada have fought for social justice, so that everyone can enjoy the wealth working people create. The key social programs that working families depend on, from public education to health care, are a product of union struggles. Unions and labour activists have been at the very centre of the struggles that achieved those vital social benefits.

More widely recognized is the role unions play to win decent wages, safety standards, and employment security. Through collective bargaining, unions have made important gains that are often passed on to other workers in non-union workplaces.

8. The free trade agreements (FTA, NAFTA) reduce Canadian's freedoms and sovereignty. 

As well in March 2005, the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States adopted a Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), establishing ministerial-level working groups to address key security and economic issues facing North America and setting a short deadline for reporting progress back to their governments. The Task Force proposes the creation by 2010 of a North American community to enhance security, prosperity, and opportunity. The North American Union plan calls for the only border to be around the North American Union -- not between any of these countries. The basic scheme is for the three governments to commit themselves to the long-term goal of dramatically diminishing the need for the current intensity of the governments physical control of cross-border traffic, travel, and trade within North America. A long-term goal for a North American border action plan should be joint screening of travelers from third countries at their first point of entry into North America and the elimination of most controls over the temporary movement of these travelers within North America.

9. Media concentration also reduces our freedom.

10. Church goers have virtually no protection from being booted out of their church for no legitimate reason. 

11. The Prime Minister and the Premiers of the Provinces are virtual dictators - although it is true we do elect the governing party, but we do not elect the person who is Premier or Prime Minister. The leaders of parties are chosen by the party members themselves, and not by the general population.

Backbench MPs and MLAs have little power. Canadians can vote governments in, but ordinary voters can do little about these governments while they are in office. Thus we have elected dictatorships.

12. The recent gun laws restrict our freedoms.

13.  People are not as free to leave abusive work situations as they should be.

14. Excessive levels of taxation reduces the average Canadian's freedom. There is less of their own money in their pockets. 

16. During the past 10-15 years in Canada wages for average working people have only increased very marginally, and downward relative to the cost of living. This greatly restricts the options and choices of working people.

17. The unborn are not free from the threat of being killed (human life begins at conception - it is a scientific fact). The unborn do not have the right to life here in Canada.

18. The average working person has very little freedom on the job.    

19. Families are not as free as they should be from meddlesome, intrusive governments, who constantly try to interfere in people's families. 

20. Children have very little freedom at school.

21. High auto insurance rates reduce our freedoms.

22. Illegal aliens are treated just as good as the citizens. The estimate of the number of illegal immigrants in Canada range from 35,000 to 120,000. 

23. Hate laws attack our basic freedoms, like freedom of expression, and freedom of the press. One can easily be hauled before the Human Rights Kangaroo Courts, if someone or some group merely feels you have hurt their feelings, while you were expressing your legitimate opinions in public. Ezra Levant was persecuted senselessly by some Muslim clerics here in Canada, because his then magazine The Western Standard published the Danish Cartoons. 

24. Citizens freedoms are being diminished when governments hire foreigners. 

112,000 non-permanent foreign Canadian residents were working in Canada in 2006, with 84 per cent of these working full time. 

25. Concentration of power and decision making in fewer and fewer hands. 

It is no longer so much about who has the wealth, but who controls that wealth and who makes the decisions. 

26. The gap between rich and poor is growing, as is the gap between your average working person and the rich. To illustrate Statistics Canada in their 2006 census showed that earning among the wealthiest fifth of Canadians increased 16.4 % from 1980 to 2005, but among the poorest fifth of the nations people earnings actually fell 20.6 % over that same 25 year time frame.  

For the middle class during this same 25 year period their incomes basically remained flat or stagnant. The medium salary of full time workers in 1980 was $ 41,348  - in 2005 it was $ 41,401.

Gross and obscene income inequities are rearing their ugly heads in Canada. Nothing good can come of this unjust trend, where the rich and powerful (with the full support of governments) are using their power to exploit and keep down a very large percentage of the population. 

Recent immigrants are also losing ground, and this indicates that most immigrants are just a source of cheap labour and are being exploited, and being used as political pawns by the ruling class and the governments to keep the ordinary Canadian workers down. 

In 1980 recent male immigrants income was 85 cents for each dollar received by Canadian-born male workers. In 2005 that ratio had dropped to a mere 56 cents from 85 cents. This shows us very clearly that most immigrants in Canada are being taken advantage of and being used by the rich ruling class as a source of cheap labour, and as being used as political pawns by this same ruling class. 

27. Excessive foreign control over our economy reduces our freedoms. 

Statistics Canada figures regarding foreign control in the Canadian economy show the following:

1. In 2007 foreign-controlled firms in the Canadian economy overall accounted for 21.3 % of all corporate assets, and 26.2 % of operating profits, and 29.4 % of revenues.
2. In Manufacturing in 2007 foreign-controlled companies held 52.8 % of assets, and accounted for 53.8 % of revenues and 51.4 % of manufacturing profits.
3. In Oil and Gas in 2007 foreign-controlled firms in Canada held 38.5 % of the assets, and generated 48.8 % of revenues and 44.6 % of profits. 
4. In the Finance, Insurance, Depository Credit Intermediation Industry - which includes Banks foreign-control was at 8.3 % of assets, 7.8 % of revenues and 6.7 % of profits. These industries are still very much Canadian controlled. 
5. United States controlled firms were dominant among foreign-controlled enterprises in Canada in 2007 - accounting for 54.7 % of assets under foreign control, 59.3 % of operating revenues and 54.4 % of profits of foreign-controlled firms. Next largest foreign investor was the United Kingdom at 13.4 % followed by Germany at 3.6 % and all other foreign countries at 28.3 %. 

28. Feminist ideology reduces our freedoms.

29. The free trade agreements reduce our control over our own economy. 

30. Anti-terrorist laws. Canadian rulers have chosen security over freedom. 

31. Plan for a national identity card.

32. Increased use of surveillance cameras. In cities like Calgary, Alberta transit buses now have security cameras installed, and naturally bus fares keep going up to pay for all the needless added costs, like security cameras on all regular transit buses. Therefore today in May 2010 a regular bus fare is a whooping $ 2.75, which is unaffordable for those on a low wage or on minimal wage. 

33. Genuine Christians are not very free to practice their religion. If anyone simply wants to keep the same weekly Sabbath Jesus Christ kept (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) - they face economic hardship and discrimination. This is in a country that hypocritically claims to embrace religious freedom. 

34. Children are being forced into kindergarten.

35. Propaganda by the media. The established media in Canada is basically a mouthpiece for the entrenched establishment. A propaganda instrument of the ruling class. 

36. People's access to health care is being eroded. Long waiting lists seem to be the norm. 

37. Low savings rate of average people. Nearly 60 per cent of Canadians would have trouble paying the bills if their pay cheque was delayed by one week, polls suggests. 50% of Canadian workers are unable to save more than 5% of their net pay for retirement.

38. Hells Angels - strength and power of organizes crime. In 2007 there were an estimated 850 criminal gangs operating in Canada. 

39. Growing part time employment - workers without benefits, health care benefits, dental coverage, paid holidays or sick leave (37% of Canadian workers don't have such things in 2003).

Almost 2,000,000 Canadians aged 20 and up, or 1 in 6 work for less than  $ 10.00 per hour - 2/3 of these are women.

Only 58 %  of full time workers and 57 % of permanent workers were covered by extended medical , dental, life and disability insurance as of 2003.

40. Lax laws regarding crime and criminals.

The freedom we are talking about here doesn't mean doing anything you want. It doesn't mean lawlessness. It doesn't mean disrespect towards legitimate authority. Freedom to control your own life and freedom to make your own decisions. That's the kind of freedom meant. 

In Canada in 2010 the average person has very little control over their own life in the following areas:

1. At work, if they are an employee;

2. In the Church;

3. If you are a small business person;

4. If you manage or own a franchise;

5. In lower management;

6. If you work for the government;

7. Government policy forced on people against their collective will;

The poor are much more restricted than the average person, particularly if they are on social assistance. Their choices and ability to control their own lives is greatly restricted.

Even the rich are not as free as they should be, but of course they do enjoy more freedom than the average person.

Here is a list of the main things that have conspired to greatly reduce our freedoms in the country called Canada. 

1. Political correctness.

2. Concentration of capital, power and decision making in fewer and fewer hands.

3. Over regulation. 

4. The national debt.

5. Social engineering policies put forth by various levels of government.

6. The free trade agreements Canada has signed.

7. Excessive foreign ownership of our resources.

8. Too many levels of government and bureaucracy. In Canada as of 2010 there are four or five levels of government: the federal, provincial, municipal, tribal and perhaps the union bureaucracies.

9. Lack of a genuine free press and free media due to the concentration of ownership in this area.

10. The dictatorial control most of the clergy have over their congregations.

11. High cost of living particularly that of housing. The shortage of low cost housing. The average worker in Canada in the past 20 years has seen their income decrease, in relationship to the cost of living.

12. An excessive tax burden, which is the result of the enormous costs of servicing the nations national debt, and excessive government spending.

13. Few people comparatively own agricultural land. So few people can ever contemplate being anywhere near self-sufficient.

14. The social safety net has become tattered with gaping holes in it.

This list could be added to, but it is fairly long already.

Over Regulated - Over Governed

At Diefenbaker High School in Calgary, Alberta in the gym, there are these huge words written up there on the wall - the very words of Dief the Chief:

" I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear,
free to worship in my own way,
free to stand for what I think right,
free to oppose what I believe wrong,
free to choose those  who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom
I pledge to uphold
for myself and all mankind."

These words of the Rt. Hon. John Diefenbaker, are from the Canadian Bill of Rights, July 1, 1960. Well maybe in 1960 those words meant something, but what might the great orator say about the state of freedom in Canada in 2010 ?  Let us analyze these words of " The Chief " a little, and see how they apply to us today.

" I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, "      Really ! Maybe in 1960, but things have changed Chief. What about speaking ones mind without fear at work John, especially when there isn't any union ?  Ha ! You likely won't be employed too long. What about speaking your mind without fear if you live in a company town, or are a native on a reserve, or if you are Member of Parliament and the Party Whip cracks the whip ?  You never had to worry about political correctness, the thought police, the human rights kangaroo courts, hate laws that protect homosexuals from being called what they really are, and a sue crazed society driven by greedy Lawyers. And Chief - these people still haven't figured out what a Canadian is for Pete's sake. 

" free to worship in my own way,"    Yes we are certainly free to worship the almighty god of money, but we are not free from persecution if we want to worship the God described in the Bible. Those who worship God are not free from being persecuted for being honest, hardworking, observing the same weekly and annual Sabbaths that Christ kept. They are ridiculed and mocked for their beliefs. They are persecuted for their stand regarding homosexuality, feminism, political correctness and abortion. 

"  free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, "   John this is 2010, not 1960.  The homosexuals are protected from discrimination - and it can easily be considered hateful to publicly condemn homosexuality as a disgusting perversion - even if one believes very strongly that homosexuality is wrong. And those of us opposed to abortion-on-demand are not free to demonstrate in front of the abortuaries. We are free to stand for what we think right and oppose what we believe wrong, as long as we don't take that old book the Bible too literally, and as long as we aren't foolish enough to try and live by it. 

" free to choose those who shall govern my country."   John today in 2010 we are governed by unelected Judges, and by senior unelected officials and bureaucrats, and yes also by a few elected parliamentarians who are part of the Cabinet. Supreme Court Justices and Senior bureaucrats  are usually chosen by the Prime Minister. And just like in your time we don't elect the Prime Minister. Party leaders are chosen by party members, and all we can do is choose which party will govern us. Fewer and fewer of us are even bothering to vote in elections anymore Chief. This is because we haven't much of a choice - those jokers mostly all seem to be cut from the same cloth and look alike. They all seem to be some sort of Liberal brand, or Liberal blend. There is very little real choice today Chief. 

Rule by law is very important. It is also important to respect the authorities and the laws. However, if there are too many laws. And they are oppressive, so that a person can hardly function properly. And the laws and system conspire to stifle, repress, and just to be so overbearing.  Where is the breaking point ? When do we say enough is enough ?  ?  

There were a people years back who had problems along these lines - and their actions led to the birth of the United Sates of America. This does no mean I am advocating we here in Canada follow their footsteps - I do not advocate a violent revolution. But nevertheless let me quote from the United States Declaration of Independence. 

" We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that  among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness  -  That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter it or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying it's Foundations on such Principles , and organizing it's Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence , indeed will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shown, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security."

What Can We Do ? 

I am not a politician.  But I do feel there are things we can do to protect our freedoms - even if we do not want to participate directly within government.  I do not promote violence, but I do promote responsibilities of Canadian citizens within rule by law. So if more Canadians really got more fully involved then this would certainly go a very, very long way in protecting our freedoms, which are guaranteed for us within the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

List of Responsibilities of Canadian Citizens                                  

Most of these responsibilities are subject to people's free will, and free moral agency, and could not be forced on citizens. They could only be asked or encouraged to do most of these things. Naturally age and other factors come into play, so we cannot expect these things from all citizens, since some are not capable of performing these responsibilities.

B)  Responsibilities 

1. To actively participate in their society.
2. To fight for freedom and democracy.
3. To protect the sovereignty of their country. 
4. To take care of their own people first.
5. Fight against racism and prejudice, and to be tolerant of other races and other beliefs. 
6. To vote - after they inform themselves.
7. To help insure the constitution is upheld and implemented, and if it is flawed to help put together a new one that serves their interests, and the interests of fellow citizens properly.
8. Help promote a common unifying culture.
9. Help protect and nurture our children.
10. To hold elected officials accountable. 
11. To help the government and police in the battle against crime, so we will have a safe country to live in. 
12. To help create a reasonably just and fair society.

A Quote from  Martin Niemöller 1892-1984.

" In Germany they came first for the Communists and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't
speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for
the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they
came for me--and by that time no one was left to speak up. "

Martin Niemoeller, a German Lutheran pastor, was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Dachau in 1938. He was freed by allied forces in 1945.

"  I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest. What force has a multitude ? They can only force me to obey a higher law than I. They force me to become like themselves. I do not hear of men being forced to live this way or that by masses of men. "         Henry David Thoreau  1817-1862

" A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its own weight. "   Henry David Thoreau  1817-1862

"Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, ' What should be the reward of such sacrifices? ' ... If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom...crouch down and lick the hands, which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!"   

Samuel Adams 1722-1803

" Those who would give up essential freedoms for security, deserve neither freedom nor security. "     Benjamin Franklin  1706-1790

" Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right. "     Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948

April 24, 1793 - Declaration des droits de l'homme

"Any law which violates the inalienable rights of man is essentially unjust and tyrannical; it is not a law at all."

"Any institution which does not suppose the people good, and the magistrate corruptible, is evil."

Maximilien Robespierre 1758 - 1794

"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws."

"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws."

Tacitus  - Roman Historian   (56 - 117  AD)

Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms and Fundamental Freedoms (from the Canadian Constitution) " The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association. "

This web site built, designed, and owned by Ray Wegner

         07/29/2010