Letter to the Editor – Corneliu Kirjan – We, the People – Cornwall Ontario – January 26, 2010

We, the People

For the last 40 years, We the People have been asleep and the awakening was brutal. Wrapped in the pleasant warmth of our materialistic well-being, We have forgotten.

We have forgotten that in a democracy, We have the power.

As We have forgotten that democracy is the result of numerous years off struggle and sacrifices. For the last 40 years We have forgotten that democracy was gained by previous generations, as We have forgotten that many off them have lost their life in the struggle for democracy, many times under attack.

We have forgotten that in democracy, the MPs and the ministers, including the PM, are our representatives, as We have forgotten that they are supposed to work for us and that they are paid with our money and not with their party’s money.

In our deep sleep populated with materialistic dreams, We didn’t realise that our vigilance was down and power was slipping from our hands. From time to time about half off us woke up a bit       and like sleepwalkers, We went to vote.

The awakening was brutal but thankfully it is not too late to take back our role as the source of power in democracy.

We have to begin by recognising that the power wasn’t snatched from our hands but We have let it slip away.

We have to understand that as power holders We must hold accountable the ones to whom We have temporarily delegated power.

At the beginning off our awakening, when there were only a few hundreds signatures on Facebook, Stephen Harper showed a profound disdain for We the People declaring that it was irrelevant. Being used to seeing us sleeping for the last 40 years, he didn’t realise that by proroguing the Parliament for partisan interests, he had rung the alarm and woken us up.

Make no mistake; it is not a partisan issue. Stephen Harper has pushed only a little further than previous PMs.  Before him, other Conservative and Liberal PMs took advantage off our sleep to appropriate a little bit more of the power slipping from our hands. The struggle for democracy must be non-partisan because without democracy there are no parties.

The 216,000 member off the group Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament must stay awake after January 23, 2010 and they must become the guardians of democracy. And this without partisanship. Conservatives, Liberals, NDPs, Bloquistes and Greens, all together, We have to ask our leaders to put into their platforms for the next election the restoration of parliamentary democracy as part of our democratic system.

It will be very harmful if after January 23rd We the People go back to our sleep from before the prorogation. The next time that We are awake it could be too late and we could discover that democracy is an issue of which it is forbidden to talk.

Corneliu Kirjan  – Cornwall

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5 Comments

  1. Couldn’t agree more Corneliu. We’ve been hoodwinked and bought off with ‘stuff’ that is of little importance.

  2. Well said.

  3. We, the willing
    Led by the unknowing
    Have been doing the impossible for the ungrateful
    For so long, with so little
    We are now qualified to do anything with nothing

  4. I agree with the majority of what Corneliu said, with some exeptions. While he correctly states that this is not a partisan issue, his proposed manner of resolution is flawed. No matter which party is in control, they will take advantage of us, proroguation is merely the latest wrinkle in the scheme to keep us in our dream state. The real problem lies in the fact that Our MP’s are not accountable to their constituents, but to their Party. Local issues are frequently ignored in the name of the Party.

    How many times do you think Guy Lauzon has been asked to do something about the border crossing situation? Countless, I’m sure. From both private citizens and businesse alike. And what has he done? Taken the opportunity to tow the Party line, repeating familiar mantras that were sent to him from above. With zero accountability to those who voted fir him.

    Hoping we can affect change by “asking our leaders to change this at election time” will doubtlessly prove fruitless. Perhaps we can prevent further proroguations, buit we will never stop them from taking advantage of us. They will find other ways, and we will march ignorantly on.

    Inorance is a Virtue.

  5. It takes a long time for change, and it is good that people are starting to awake. I do not see the issue with proroguing and as it turns out for the people of Hati, it was a good thing. Our government was not distracted with fighting off 3 party leaders with their own interests toward power. Matters of running the country, budget preperation and Olympics for example, could be addressed better, and really folks, it is only 22 days difference.

    Lets spend some time looking at the Ontario government. Statements from the Premier about if you do not like the HST you can write letters to the editor, is not acceptable. The HST will add hundreds of dollars to our annual heat, hydro and other many items we need daily. Where is the out cry over that?
    Or where is the out cry over time of use electricity billing which is just another tax grab? What about the hundreds each of us put into McGuinty’s health care tax, have you seen a change at the hospital with wait times or more efficency?

    MPAC was supposed to be fixed before it drives more people from their homes, but we just get saddled with more tax or user fees or whatever other name can be found to soften the sound.

    We the people do hold power and we better figure out how to use it soon! But lets concentrate on fixing, not complaining.

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