Liberal democracies are entering this new decade under heavy strain. Virulent populism. Weakened parties. Pervasive misinformation. (A thread.) 1/14
#democracy #delibdem #demopart #participation #Canada
#democracy #delibdem #demopart #participation #Canada
Let’s make 2020 the year that good governments recognize the magnitude of these threats and respond with imagination and resolve. I’d like to share one idea how. 2/14
More than a decade spent working in the borderlands between formal and informal politics has taught me that to ensure a future for democracy, we need to redouble our commitment to the idea of representation — which remains the basis of our democratic system. 3/14
To speak and act for others is the highest democratic privilege but it’s a privilege we’ve largely consolidated with the members of our councils, legislatures and parliaments. 4/14
We need our elected representatives to continue their important work, but many more need to share in the privilege, discipline and responsibility of speaking for and representing others. 5/14
For some time, Canada has quietly been on the vanguard of using deliberative processes like reference panels and citizens’ assemblies to create new roles for citizen representatives to address complex policy issues. 6/14
These processes show us that under the right conditions citizens are willing to play a more active and informed role in the work of government. 7/14
So now it’s time to scale up from the 35 deliberative panels completed in Canada over the past decade and take a more ambitious and systematic approach to involving citizens. 8/14
Go knock doors, sure, but let’s also create a much richer experience that can more fully involve citizens in the work of government. This is why we’re calling on the federal government to create a Democratic Action Fund to scale up citizen participation across Canada. 9/14
Cumulatively, this is a $10m/yr investment that will see every Canadian invited at least three times during their lives to advise government and its agencies on substantive questions of public policy. 10/14
Over its first 5 years, Canada’s Democratic Action Fund will generate more than 600,000 volunteer hours of citizen participation in policy making, and conduct more than 400 public processes. 11/14
Spread across our 13 provinces and territories, our major cities, and the departments of the federal government and other public institutions this goal is achievable and will significantly strengthen Canada's democratic culture. 12/14
Canada's Democratic Action Fund is one major intervention alongside many others that will be required to change course. 13/14
This is what democratic representation and inclusive governance are about: creating more seats at more tables to share the work of governing and exercising public judgement. You can read our proposal for a Democratic Action Fund for Canada here: bit.ly/36AoOWF 14/14
