MUNICIPAL COUNCILS ARE KILLING OUR DEMOCRACTIC RIGHTS?

MUNICIPAL COUNCILS ARE KILLING OUR DEMOCRACTIC RIGHTS? Democracy is often said to mean 'rule by the people'. An example of this is any system of government in which people vote their elected representatives into parliament, Federal, Provincial & Municipal. Today, we the people are being robbed of our democratic rights not by some foreign power but by our very own elected representatives and they’re doing it right in front of us, and we’re letting them, how? While we are busy in our day to day lives 208 of the 444 Municipal Councils across Ontario were busy writing letters to the AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario), to Premier Doug Ford and to the Hon. Paul Calandra asking that the Municipal Act 2001 be changed to allow Municipal Councils to fire an elected colleague. In addition these elected municipal councils also want to ban a so called fired elected colleague from running in the next election. So they want to make sure that we the people can’t vote the colleague back in. What are these municipal councils afraid of? Municipal Councils, our local elected representatives have been creating and passing by-laws against the people, that they are supposed to be working for. These By-laws have been taking away the rights of we the people to have a say in what’s happening in our communities. Some examples - lowering the amount of time a citizen can speak to 5 minutes from 10 minutes - not allowing resident, a visitor, to show their feelings by clapping, cheering, booing, or having a sign while in council chambers. In Durham, Pickering Municipal Council these past two years have passed numerous by-laws to quiet, to suppress you the residents and neighbours, to voice any concerns about your city. Some are; 1 - ban the media from attending and filming unless they get voted permission from 2/3 ‘s of council 2 - ban private citizens from recording or filming meetings 3 - removed the open question opportunity 4 - only Pickering residents can speak to a topic on the agenda if they register by noon on meeting day 5 - ban members of the public from speaking who are not Pickering residents or Pickering tax payers 6 - no longer allow Pickering residents to speak to a topic of concern when submitted 10 days prior to a meeting. Pickering Residents must now have their request (topic) approved, seconded and then have 2/3 ‘s vote to allow the resident to speak about their concern.. NOTE - This it’s just in Pickering where this is happening, it’s quietly happening in many of the Ontario municipalities. It has been more widely publicized about Pickering’s Municipal Council’s indifference and attack removing the democratic rights of citizens, the people who elected them. The Federal Government is taking away our rights to freedom of speech with Bill C-63 The Online Harms Act. - It’s not just about internet child pornography, it also goes onto penalizing your free speech. Check it out. All Bills can be found online at the appropriate government web site. So the Question is ………….. Do You Still Want Democracy ? “Do we want our democratic rights stripped away and silenced by a dictatorship as Pickering Council is doing or, are we finally going to wake up, stand up and speak up, to protect our democratic rights and the democratic rights of our children and our future generations, as our ancestors stood for us?” Please, if you want to keep your democratic rights alive the take an interest in what’s been happening in your community. If you don’t have the time to attend council meetings, you can go online and find the agendas, the minutes and view the meetings live or at your convenience anytime. Enter to, ….... Pickering.ca/en/cityhall.aspx ….... once there select council meetings, then select calendar. Here you can select any date and category, all meetings go back for years. Have your voice heard, get the, City Clerk’s email, then let the clerk know your opinion about anything you agree or disagree with what the council does. Make sure to include that you want your email given to every member of council and the clerk by law has to distribute as you requested. Remember Silence Solves Nothing, Stand Up & Speak Up For Your Democratic Rights. Before Municipal Councils continue voting by-laws to remove them. GET INVOLVED.