The Establishment Just Doesn’t Get It —Take This National Post Opinion Piece ( July 8) By a Jeffrey Reynolds , senior non resident fellow at the Atlantic Council and a Michel Maisonneuve Lieutenant General , senior fellow at Frontier Institute For Public Policy 

No doubt they mean well.

But they miss the point!

The Piece is titled :

‘Which Future Will Canada Choose?’

They talk of “Canada being the best version of itself”—whatever that means .

And they bundle ideas like freedom, good governance—quote 

 “Our values – free markets, rule of law, individual liberty, democratic governance, ad-vanced research and educa-tion, and human rights — are not abstractions: they are tar-gets. They must be defended with every element of national power wherever, whenever, and however necessary .”

Nice phrases we have heard many times before.  They even talk of defended the Charter of Rights and Freedoms  without defining how.

Then they get specific and list some things like first rebuild the military, stop outside political interference , restore our institutions by defending the Charter , define a national strategy that binds us together , and have leaders that understand that we are awesome and we need to celebrate this and advance it —-etc——- 

Gentlemen , with all due respect :

Our nation is broken . This you do not see. Integrity and God are lost ideas .

So first , there must be a recognition of our broken state, democratically.  

When that is fully recognized then we can talk about some fundamental remedies and then some of your ideas. 

First—-A full national inquiry into the COVID mess that destroyed independent science and left our Charter in ruins . The Parliament of Canada and all the Provinces and Territories must be involved . We must face the music. A national reconciliation of sorts. The callous nature in which we have handled the injured and dying insults our history and traditions of respect , and truth and denigrates the principles of medicine, science and democratic governance. 

Second, reform of the Parliaments federally and provincially —-something as simple as decent Conflict Of Interest Legislation where an MP cannot continue to serve in that institution  if they have broken the law. The former PM broke the law 5 times and continued to serve as PM and sit in our Parliament. What an embarrassment !!!!And all the Parties in the Parliament went  along with this.

Third, Political Parties must be reformed ( more accountability and transparency)and among other things present detailed independently audited financial statements to their members and the public. Where did the money come from and where did it go, specifically. 

Fourth, the Federal Parliament and its Committees must be reformed —-the Charade of a former Minister being unable to appear before a Parliamentary Committee re the SNC Lavalin Affaire must be stopped . Open, accountable processes must be established 

Fifth , the Court System must be reformed and more accountable. The courts have abdicated their role as independent arbitrators of the Constitution. They have become mouthpieces for the Governments. When courts can refuse to inform the citizens ,when asked , if a certain government measure violates the Charter and their rights and freedoms under it, and their answer is we will not tell you , you know the system has crashed. The citizens’ right to know in such a circumstance must trump a court invented rule of mootness . 

A citizen in a democracy, in a proper court process , should have a willing judiciary eager to objectively evaluate the question and provide a straight answer.

Canada must involve the people , the Parliament , in a new justice system that is accountable to the people.

Governments and their agencies have divorced themselves of true democratic Governance and the Judiciary have been willing pawns in most cases of great import, like the Emergencies Act.. 

Sixth , we must restore true Cabinet Government and stop this idea of a Prime Minister acting like a President. Hundreds work for the PM and the Privy Council Office that report to the PM. These numbers must be reduced. Ministers Must have Their Authority Back and the PM’s fake Authority Eliminated 

Seventh, sovereignty as a nation is paramount. And any  international deal that in any way erodes one iota of our sovereignty must be rejected. 

And God , our Judaeo Christian God , is a part of our Charter ( Constitution) and this must be honoured and be our guide. 

The Charter opens:

‘Whereas Canada is founded  upon the principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:’

This has not been changed and no court has the authority  to change or ignore it. It can only be changed by elected representatives of the people . Governments and our Courts have been acting unconstitutionally . And no one will admit it but we must if we are to advance democratically. 

I have produced ,three years ago , my longer Magna Carta which provides more detail and is available. But it has been ignored . Vested interests see it as a threat to their power. 

Now , National  Post and the two writers , Reynolds and Maisonneuve , if you accept the above as a  pre-requisite to a new Canada , I am all ears. And what I propose can be done without opening  the constitution —just abiding honesty by its provisions and conventions. 

Honourable A. Brian Peckford 

Only Living First Minister Who  Was Involved in The Creation Of The Constitiution Act  1982 Which Included The Charter.