To actively participate in democratic processes, citizens need to
feel reasonably secure in doing so. Public protest, critique, and active
engagement in public consultation needs to be seen not only as a right, but a
responsibility. Employers and employees need to see civic engagement as a
public service. True open dialogue is a potential with the internet, but
achieving this will require the development of a society-wide support for
strong (but respectful, in my opinion) intellectual freedom. This will not
happen overnight or in the next couple of years. What is realistic in the
short term is to begin the process of public dialogue / consultation on this
topic. For example, this would need to be part of the education process,
which requires consultation with provinces since education is a provincial
responsibility. Putting this on the agenda for a meeting with premiers and
internationally with the open government partnership strikes me as a
reasonable short-term goal.
Submitted By
Heather Morrison
Votes: 8