SECTIONS

Vision Statement

VISION STATEMENT
Adopted by the Board of Directors of the Council of Canadians
24 October, 2003, Renaissance Hotel, Vancouver, BC

Our work at this political moment has three goals:

1. To help Canadians define ourselves and our understanding of sovereignty and democracy in relation to the rest of the world in an era of increased U.S-Canada tensions and increased pressure for deeper continental integration.
   
   The Council of Canadians has long had a vision for Canada in an interdependent world as a non-aligned 21st century nation embracing cultural diversity, fair trade, social justice, the protection of the commons and collective security based upon international cooperation and sharing. We believe that the majority of Canadians share this vision but that our political elites do not. We need to return to this vision in light of recent developments and seek a renewal of Canadian democracy in order to rejuvenate Canadian policies in the public interest. This vision includes promoting alternatives to corporate-driven globalization as Canada’s main foreign policy, and gives clearer articulation to our commitment to fair trade, public health, safe food and clean water as fundamental rights of all Canadians.
   
   
   
2. To work with Canadians and people around the world to reclaim the global and local commons which are the shared heritage of humanity and of the earth.
   
   There exist common heritage resources that constitute a collective birthright of the whole species to be shared equitably among all. These include the ecological commons – land, air, forests, water and fisheries; the cultural commons - the shared knowledge and art that are the collective creations of our species; and the modern social commons – including health care, education, and social security. All of these commons are under threat as corporations seek to privatize and commodify them. Our vision and commitment must be to reclaim these commons from private interests. We recognize that this entails a moral obligation on the part of all peoples to ecological stewardship. We also recognize that it is impossible – and wrong – to fight for our commons birthright in Canada without securing such rights for all the peoples of the world.
   
   
   
3. To create a compelling civil society movement in search of social justice both here in Canada and internationally whose core mandate is the creation of participatory , living democracy for all the peoples of the world.
   
   For the past two decades, our governments have transferred much of their responsibilities over to global corporations and adopted policies that have obliged their citizens to serve the interests of the global economy. It is time for our governments to create policies to reverse this trend. The economy should exist to serve communities and people, not the other way around. Democracy flourishes when people organize to protect their communities and rights and hold their elected officials accountable. It is through the dynamic processes initiated by civil society that the social climate for real political change will occur. The principle of this living democracy requires creating systems that give those who will bear the costs the vote when key decisions are made and limiting the right of absentee corporate landlords to govern the lives of the world’s citizens in their own interests.

The foregoing statement was read to the general membership at the Council’s 18th Annual General Meeting in Vancouver, October 26, 2003.

Board statements