As organizers prepare to bring the Occupy Wall Street protests to the streets of Canadian cities this weekend, an Ottawa-based non-profit that has been fighting corporate malfeasance for nearly two decades is offering the nascent movement some guidance.
In a press release published this morning, Democracy Watch put forward 15 policy proposals that the group hopes the "Occupy Canada" protesters will support and adopt.
The measures focus include the creation of civilian watchdog agencies to oversee corporate activity in each economic sector, increased financial and legal penalties for corporate illegality, expanded protection for whistleblower employees, and a requirement that corporations must legally represent not only the interests of shareholders, but also those of their employees, customers, and society and the environment at large.
The entire list of proposals can be found here.
According to Duff Conacher, the founding director of Democracy Watch, the 15 measures have been endorsed by 140 groups affiliated with the organization. Together, the groups represent a combined membership of 3.5 million Canadians.
As media coverage of the Occupy Wall Street and associated protests has grown over the past two weeks, many have criticized the movement for lacking clear policy goals or demands.
Rather than "reinventing the wheel," Conacher urges the Occupy Canada protesters to adopt Democracy Watch's 15 "broadly endorsed" measures.
"If you want to be an effectivist as opposed to just an activist, you learn from history and you learn what effects change," he says. "What has been proven throughout history is that to be effective, you set out specific demands and then you corner the decision makers until they meet those demands or they lose their jobs."
Protests are scheduled to take place this Saturday in cities across Canada, including Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Victoria.
The organizing committee for Occupy Vancouver could not be reached for comment on this story.
Ben Christopher reports for The Tyee
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Frank
32 weeks ago
Not far enough
I like Duff Conacher but these proposals would be the equivalent of window-dressing.
How about not allowing the personnel from organizations tasked with keeping an eye on the financial system to take jobs within that financial system for a long period of time?
How about making sure the overseers deciding whether to prosecute on Tuesday weren't playing golf with the suspects on Monday?
How about some checks and balances on the overseers to make sure they are serving the interests of the country and not the interests of their own bank accounts and future work prospects?
When fines are levied, how about making those fines bigger than the profits taken from the same transaction?
How about treating white-collar crime seriously and sending people to prison when they commit fraud?
How about not allowing government to help their friends in the business community by handing over control of public resources and assets for the equivalent of a few magic beans? Especially when the businessman you're enriching just happened to be your campaign manager last time around.
People shouldn't assume the system is fine. The system isn't. Its corrupt to the core and we have to make some very hard decisions as to whether we're going to allow it to continue or root it out.
Remember the businessman who used to protest daily in front of parliament back when Mulroney was in power? Its been going on a long time.
Politicians and corporations and the people who are supposed to be overseeing are the problem. Nothing will get fixed if they're the only ones responsible for cleaning it up.
max von smartt
32 weeks ago
zombie kontrol
according to alex jones, amerika's most critical and independent media watchdog, this movement is facilitated by obama apparatchiks and will serve to sink what is left of the middle class while leaving the 1% untouched. end the fed! vote ron paul!
the real ODB
32 weeks ago
max von smartt
You're not very, are you?
A Drop in the Bucket
32 weeks ago
Occupy Wall Street
"Occupy Wall Street is not a movement, Occupy Wall Street is an Awakening"
http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2011/10/beauty-and-beast-wall-street-edition.html
Cool Hand
32 weeks ago
This Is Gonna Be Fun!!!
OccupyVancouver.... That is!
Remember the Olympic protests that everyone here were so initially fond of?
Well, they were hi-jacked by the looney left and the Black Bloc and public opinion quickly turned against Olympic protesters.
Same thing happened with Operation Solidarity back in 1983, when legitimate concerns were being expressed by some individuals.
When the looney left infiltrated same, a 1983 public opinion poll, which made front page headlines on the Vancouver Sun, showed public support at a paltrey 19%!!
And today, the BC Fed has come out in support of OccupyVancouver. Many rationale union members won't be happy about that. Jim Sinclair has always been one of the dullest knives in the drawer and this time he won't have his own "Jack Munroe" to politically save him.
Yeah, but they always hire the best lawyers... I'm now thinkin' about Glen Clark and Adrian Dix... public fraud, RCMP raiding offices to grab his computer... I realize that you believe the NDP is a church and Adrian Dix is the leader to the promised land... but Prime Time Crime tells a completely different story:
http://primetimecrime.com/columns/Columns%201999/19990825.htm
As for the BC federal political scene, today Nanos shows the following:
Con: 46.1%
Lib: 26.1%
NDP: 22.3%
The federal NDP vote in BC is already collapsing. When the new federal seat redistribution bill is introduced in Parliament next week for fairness to BC, AB, and ON (resulting in QC still have a higher proportion of seats), watch the NDP say that Quebec is being treated unfairly. The public in BC, AB, and ON will begin to turn on the NDP as a result.
Throw in OccupyVancouver, the media attention attracted to same, the looney left attracted to same, NDP MLA's speaking at same, and very likely some destruction of public property.... and public opinion will turn sharply against these folk as well.
And the NDP will likely "wear" some of it resulting in further diminishing public support.
Again, those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat. Time to get out your popcorn folks - I have got an inkling that this is gonna turn out to be alot of political fun!
Frank
32 weeks ago
Luke
You're fixated on 1983, yet by your own admission you were still in grade school. Everything you know about it came from your parents and the stuff you chose to read later. What you hope to gain by refighting 1983 over and over again is beyond me. Its like bringing up the 1982 Stanley Cup run as evidence the Canucks lack scoring punch.
As for the Olympic protests, I haven't met a single person that thinks they were worth it. Back when people hoped it might help the economy there were a few but as the economy got worse so did people's view of the cost of the Olympics versus the benefits.
Bringing up Glen Clark? Clark went to court and was found not guilty. Which I realize came as quite a shock to those of you whom had already decided he should be in jail for having the gall to be an NDP premier. Your white collar criminals never even get into a court.
But if you want to bring up criminal activity in BC look at your Liberals. Their rap sheet is longer than my arm. They had to shut down a public inquiry and buy off the people they themselves hired. Your current premier refuses to answer the moutnains of questions surrounding her role in the illegal activities at the heart of the case. Which is more evidence of the corruption in evidence among the political and business elites in this province, country and continent.
Luke : "And the NDP will likely "wear" some of it resulting in further diminishing public support."
Which you've been claiming was going to happen every week for the last 5 years. Your prognostications never happen but you remain undaunted and make the same prediction again. The NDP will wear this and wear that and their support is always falling according to you. Even when their supprt surpasses the BC Liberals its always falling, just like it was the month before.
I realize its your fervent desire that the rest of the country see the NDP as you do and Canada returns to the days of Mackenzie King when Liberals ruled in near perpetuity, but its never going to happen. One election after another demonstrates that.
Luke : "Again, those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat."
Which you demonstrate every week. I can understand your reluctance to re-read what you predicted here last month or last year but that's what makes reading your posts so entertaining. I know what I'm going to read before I read it.
Frank
32 weeks ago
Max von Smartt
So the Obama apparatchiks are in Canada too? Are they unaware that Cdn provinces have no electoral votes? Is Obama doing it because he hates Harper?
That's the sort of twisted logic I expect from Ron Paul who I'm sure could have played the role of Conrad Siegfried.
max von smartt
32 weeks ago
OWS a "Colored Revolution"?
For a more detailed rational explanation, please refer to Global Research.ca and see Canadian academic Michael Chossudovsky's penetrating recent article entitled
Occupy Wall Street and "The American Autumn": Is it a "Colored Revolution"?
H13
32 weeks ago
OWS focus
While the 15 measures indicated would seem to bring an improvement to our present system, I have two problems with the premis: 1. The 15 measures seem to be based primarily on the US system and if they worked so well, why did the US have their financial meltdown in the first place? 2. I can't agree about the need to immediately focus on specific goals. This may be the case in circumstances where there is one specific problem. What Occupy Wall Street is all about is a broad, deep, and lasting change in the way our society works. I don't think this movement can be distilled yet into one or two or even fifteen simple actions. This movement was inevitable because there are too many people suffering while the priveleged few keep getting richer.