tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595450259817940411.post3457903019691343827..comments2023-09-11T02:47:11.617-06:00Comments on Medicare's 50th Anniversary: Is the Charter changing Canada for the worse?Next Year Countryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08057931166900219143noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3595450259817940411.post-58574903088293268832012-04-19T11:23:17.330-06:002012-04-19T11:23:17.330-06:00A couple of decades ago I had the opportunity to a...A couple of decades ago I had the opportunity to attend a symposium at the University of Regina wherein myself and Mr. Romanow exhanged differing views on whether the Charter style of a country's constitution enhanced or diminished 'democracy'. Since then, my commitment has grown stronger to the concept that the Charter is an opportunity for the development of a communal value based society.Contrary to both the social democratic and market models of governance, wherein two power structures (the state or the free market) dictate the parameters of a civil society through either benevolence or profit making,INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS have access to a fundamental means to fetter the exercise of those powers - the courts. In my respectful view, any attempt to create a dichotomy between individual and collective rights exposes one to the tyranny of the majority, a tyranny that history shows is strewn with the bodies, literally, of millions of souls who are not part of the white, male, able bodied,heterosexual...majority. I would submit two views: that the Charter serves the communal obligation to promote, protect and enhance the social, political and economic well being of every individual which necessarily enhances our collective wellbeing and that it forces us as indivudals and as a collective people to embrace the responsibility to define our moral principles as a democracy thus holding our governments accountable to such. <br /><br />When speaking about the Charter and its values, whether it be about the human rights of women Like pay equity), the GLBT community (like same sex marriage), unions (like collective bargaining, organizing and the right to strike) or aboriginal rights (like the Duty to consult), we speak in the words of human rights discourse. What does freedom feel and look like and what do the state and the corporations (like Pepsi) have to do to promote and promote our right to be and act human. And under section one of the Charter, do any limitations accomplish the stated purpose - to promote " a free and democratic society".<br /><br />The courts are not replacing the elected structure. One has the right to expect that governments will govern themselves according to the laws of its citizens - like our supreme law, the Charter. If and only if they do not, the rule of law is there to hold them accountable through the peaceful non-violent means provided. Section 15, equality rights, amongst many other aspects of the Charter accomplish the collective communal ideal of freedom and the the right to be and act human with without fear. <br /><br />From my perspective, democracy is about values that place us on a higher ground than majoratarianism - a qualitativeLarry Kowalchuknoreply@blogger.com