The Third Option for National Unity
Rebuilding Our Country
Reclaiming Our Heritage
Introduction
The following Proposal or Manifesto has been drafted by a group of concerned Canadians known as The "Third Option" For National Unity Committee, and is intended as a useful guide in solving Canada"s most serious constitutional, political, financial and economic problems, and laying the foundation for prosperity and genuine national unity.
This Committee is in no way associated with any political party. Its executive operates out of Alberta, supported by concerned Canadians in every region of our country.
But, first the question: Why the "Third" Option? And the answer is: Because the first two, offered by the political establishment of today, are:
1) Separatism, of which we find a virulent strain in Quebec and another strain in some other regions, neither of which seems to offer a constructive solution to our national problems.
2) Status-quo Federalism, as practised these many past years, which has proved less than satisfactory to many Canadians in recent years, and indeed seems to be a major part of our present widespread disillusionment, discontent and separatist sentiment in some regions.
Therefore, this Committee is putting forward a "Third" option as a guide to solving our present constitutional impasse and meeting the aspirations of all Canadians, and building a more united and prosperous Canada.
Following, is our "Third Option" Proposal:
PREAMBLE
Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God, let us give due recognition to both divine and natural law with respect to both our public and private institutions and general society.
And further, in view of present --
- threatened separation and fragmentation of our country;
- the overwhelming public-debt problem which now threatens the future of our economic well-being and financial and political sovereignty;
- and the widespread frustration and feeling of alienation throughout much of our country, and the obvious need for more accountability in our political process;
WE THEREFORE PROPOSE THAT AREAS OF REFORM include:
Constitutional:
Little research is needed to discover that Canadians have a very hazy understanding of our history, and an abysmal ignorance of our Constitution.
This incredible lack of understanding of our history and constitutional rights and responsibilities, has undoubtedly been a contributing factor in the provinces" allowing the federal government to progressively invade and usurp provincial areas of jurisdiction (health, education, welfare, natural resources, etc.), and provincial fields of taxation (income tax, resource taxes, etc.) essential in the discharge of provincial responsibilities. And this invasion by the federal power has contributed greatly to friction between Ottawa and the provinces, and now the threat of the breakup of our country.
This problem has festered for many years and has now reached crisis proportions. A massive public educational campaign is essential to bring to all Canadians an understanding of both our history and our Constitution -- the rule-book by which we live and associate. Not only ordinary grassroots Canadians are in the dark in this matter, many -- probably most -- of our politicians, government officials and professionals, have never even seen, let alone read, a copy of our Constitution, which is comprised of The Constitution Acts 1867 to 1982 (Consolidated as of October 1, 1989), which includes the so-called Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It should be part of the curriculum in every Canadian school, and governments should ensure that every Canadian family is provided with a copy.*
*Neither the original British North America Act (BNA Act) of 1867, nor the Constitution Act of 1982 which contains the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, nor any amendments to these Acts, has ever been accepted or legitimized by the Canadian people by way of a referendum. And yet, the Supreme Court in its historic 1950 decision in the Nova Scotia vs. The Lord Nelson Hotel case, stated: "The constitution does not belong either to parliament, or to the Legislatures; it belongs to the country and it is there that the citizens of the country will find the protection of the rights to which they are entitled."
This restoration of provincial jurisdiction and sovereignty would meet the aspirations of not only Quebeckers but of the people of all of Canada, and thereby constitute a major step towards resolving the present critical "constitutional" problems facing our country.
In other words, our Constitution belongs to the People of Canada. Then, if it belongs to the Canadian People, it cannot be changed or amended without the consent and acceptance of the People of Canada by way of referendum. A referendum our politicians and governments to this day have never held!
In addition to this educational campaign, simultaneously must be a major political initiative, involving both grassroots Canadians and their provincial governments, to drive the federal government out of the areas of provincial jurisdiction it has invaded over the years and presently usurps. Henceforth, all levels of government must confine their activities to their constitutional areas of jurisdiction. In other words, all our governments and institutions must act within the law as prescribed by our Constitution.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms itself is inconsistent with Canadian common law, and is self-contradictory. But a more detailed analysis of this question will be included in forthcoming "Third Option" literature.
Political:
The weakness of our present political system becomes evident when we realize that the electorate at large has practically no say or input into the policies of their governments; and nor do they have the constitutional tools necessary to remove from office any representatives whose performance is demonstrably unsatisfactory.
This weakness must be addressed and corrected by a constitutional revision empowering electors, through an orderly procedure of petitioning, to amend, reject, or even rescind, legislation proposed or enacted by governments which is not satisfactory to the electorate. Or, in the event that a government refuses to enact desired legislation, empowering the electorate, through an orderly petition process, to initiate a piece of legislation which, if endorsed by a majority of the electorate, automatically becomes law. And, by due process, the power to recall an elected official and hold a bye-election.
Such a political system, practised successfully for more than a century in Switzerland, enables the electorate to insist upon accountability from its representatives. In practise, this not only makes a member of parliament, for instance, more accountable; it also makes him less dependent on party bosses or whips, and more dependent upon and responsive to his own electorate -- thus developing a closer relationship and co-operation between grassroots electorates and their representatives, which in turn builds stability and develops trust and faith in our democratic process and institutions. The success of this process of initiative referendum and recall is confirmed by the fact that in practise it"s seldom necessary to recall a representative.
Also, major Senate reform is essential, including provision for an elected Senate with far more equal representation of the provinces.
Long experience confirms the reality that our constitutional-monarchy form of government adds a measure of dignity, stability and continuity to our parliamentary democracy. Confidence in this institution could be strengthened by constructive reform in the manner in which the Crown"s representatives are selected and appointed.
Financial/Economic:
Half a century ago our country, then with a population of only eleven million, put almost a million young working-age Canadians into military service, and nearly another million into war industries producing only the sinews of war, yet was able to produce all the goods and services essential for the whole nation, including prosecution of the war. What powerful confirmation that, thanks to our vast natural resources and our technological industrial machine of half a century ago, only a fraction of our population could sustain a massive war effort and at the same time adequately feed, clothe and house our entire population, thus demonstrating that our problem of production, even more than 50 years ago, had been solved!The question arises: Then why were the "Dirty Thirties" years of economic depression and poverty in a land of plenty? The only shortage was one of "money." We had the goods aplenty, but lacked sufficient "medium of exchange"! The problem or bottleneck was in the distributive end of our economy -- the financial system.
And the cutbacks, rollbacks and reduced expectations of today, in every service from welfare, education, to medicare and senior benefits -- despite no shortage whatsoever of food, clothing or shelter in our country; no shortage of teachers, schools, paper or pencils; no shortage of doctors, nurses, medical staff or hospitals -- should tell us that the bottleneck standing between Canadians and rising potential for life more abundant, is the same one that pauperized our parents or grandparents in the 1930s: the debt-ridden, inadequate financial system, which fails to reflect the physical reality of our resources and productive potential.
Systems are meant to serve, not obstruct our people"s legitimate objectives or deny access to our potential abundance. And whatever reform of our financial system that is necessary to make financially possible what is already physically possible, must be made -- whether it be increased use of the Bank of Canada to service public needs, which worked so successfully in World War II; or stricter restraints upon private banking practises and interest rates, etc., which served the country well in times of war and post-war reconstruction -- and made without piling up ever-escalating debt, interest and taxes. It is the constitutional responsibility of our federal government to immediately initiate action to accomplish this reform.
Justice & Law Enforcement:
The so-called Charter of Rights and Freedoms imposed by the Trudeau regime must be amended or scrapped because it denies to Canadians equality before the law, through its so-called "affirmative action" provision making some (minority- and special-interest groups) "more equal than others."
Canadians, for generations under Common Law, enjoyed all the rights that the 1982 "Charter" pretends to "give" us -- freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to read, freedom of association, etc. Yet, we now find that since the "Charter" was imposed upon us, "political correctness" and "special-interest" and "minority-group" affirmative action promotion by both governments and courts, are eroding the ancient right of the majority of Canadians to equal treatment before the law. Canada must return to our Common-Law heritage as the sole basis for the protection of our rights and freedoms, keeping in mind that the Law must protect the law-abiding citizenry as well as the rights of accused and convicted. After all, the first duty of law enforcement is to protect the rights of the innocent and the community, and an important but secondary responsibility is to rehabilitate those who break our laws.
Immigration:
The "open-door" immigration policy which was pushed into high gear by federal governments since the early 1970s, has brought in a larger stream of non-traditional immigrants than can be assimilated without serious problems. This "open-door" policy must be severely cut back by the federal government; and the provinces encouraged to assume a larger role in determining their immigration needs for the future.
Culture/Language:
Our federal "multiculturalism" policy is not only a burden on the public treasury, but is itself a divisive factor militating against national unity, especially by its funding of so-called "anti-racism" and "political correctness." This policy should be scrapped and jurisdiction over Culture and Language left to Provincial governments, but with original language rights in the BNA Act left intact.
No Canadian should be prevented from retaining and practising his/her mother tongue or culture, so long as it does not impose financial costs upon, or discrimination against, any other individual or group, including the majority; and providing that such practise does not violate Canadian law.
RESPECTING GOVERNMENT:
We believe that --
It is not the legitimate role of government to do for people what they can and should do for themselves. The prime role of government should be to maintain law and order and the general conditions which encourage the exercise of personal initiative and responsibility by the people in looking after their own welfare.
Essential Literature, Videos, etc.
Extra copies of this brochure 12 for $5, 100 for $25.00
Our Constitution (The Constitution Acts 1867 to 1982, Consolidated as of October 1, 1989), with a kit of relevant documents.) $10.00
Initiative Referendum & Recall (booklet) $3.00
"Third Option" for National Unity Video #1, dealing with our Constitution, Taxation (legal and illegal!), and the political reform essential if we are to regain control of our parliament and country. (Includes document kit comprised of complete text of the 70-minute video.) $30.00
Audio format $10.00
"Third Option" Video #2, dealing with essential reform of our banking and financial system to resolve our public debt problem and stabilize prosperity. (Includes document kit comprised of complete text of this 3-part two-hour tape.) $30.00
Audio format $10.00
Note: Both Videos, #1 & #2, to same address $50.00
(Our prices include GST and shipping.)
Time is short, Opportunity great
This "Third Option" for National Unity idea was born only two years ago. The first printing of our Proposals came off the press only 20 months ago. We have already distributed 21,000 copies of this brochure and this run will make over 30,000, together with tens of thousands of other reports and documents.
The future of our great country is, indeed, in danger. The hour is late. But not too late for those of us with the heart and soul and passion to regenerate our country and reclaim our heritage.
The "Third Option" proposals (Back to Our Constitution) offer the only constructive alternative to the "Quebec Problem" and the disastrous "status-quo" policy of the Federal Government. This little brochure contains the answer. Let"s get it into every household in our country -- and quickly, while we still have time.
January 1997
Information
Constitutions of Canada Click here
CIS (Canadian Intelligence Service) Library (to come)
Canadian Links (to come)
Contact Us:
The Third Option for National Unity
Box 338, Flesherton, ON, N0C 1E0
519-924-2379 Fax
e-mail: thirdopt@bmts.com