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PROGRAM OF
THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF
CANADA (MARXIST-LENINIST)
Preparing
for the 21st Century
CPC(M-L)
believes that all aspects of political, economic and social life in Canada
need renewal. This can be brought about only if the people are sovereign.
They can exercise their sovereignty only if the fundamental law of the
land vests sovereignty in the people and if the institutions and laws of
Canada guarantee it. Canadians have expressed their wish for modern arrangements
on many occasions, as they did clearly during the Spicer Commission hearings.
They have repeatedly said that they need to take measures and begin working
towards affirming their sovereignty and creating the required renewed institutions.
They also see the need to take the same approach towards the problems of
the economy which is in deep crisis. This crisis has become chronic, creating
a jobless recovery and general insecurity. The same is the case with the
political process which marginalizes the people and reduces them to the
role of voting cattle.
The people of Canada must deal also with the problems of culture and national
sovereignty: working for the formation of a free and equal union between
the nation of Quebec, the nations of the Aboriginal peoples and the rest
of Canada, and building a truly multicultural society in which the languages
and cultures of all Canadians are given official recognition and are encouraged
to flourish.
The principle that all people have claims on the society by virtue of being
human must be held as the overriding principle of the society, along with
gender equality and freedom of conscience and lifestyle. A new, modern,
truly democratic society in which people are sovereign is the urgent requirement
for Canadians to enter the 21st century free of the legacy of the countrys
19th century colonial foundation.
The creation of such a society is the immediate aim of the Communist Party
of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), consistent with its long-term aim of creating
a socialist society as the transition to communism, which will usher in
a classless society.
I
Stop Paying the Rich
Increase
Funding for Social Programs
Like everything
in a modern society, planning is indispensable to its overall functioning.
The first step towards a planned modern society is the economic and political
program to Stop Paying the Rich Increase Funding for Social Programs.
It is a political program because its starting point is the harmonization
of the individual interests of the members of society with those of their
collectives, and of their collective interests with the general interests
of society.
It is an economic program which would ensure that people have the financial
resources in their own hands to plan and build the economic foundation
of a new and modern society. This economic program will immediately:
Stop
Paying the Rich Increase Funding for Social Programs.
Impose
a moratorium on the debt.
Nationalize
all banks and other financial institutions.
Increase
fiscal and budgetary requisitions for health, education and other social
programs in order to immediately assist the most vulnerable sections of
the society.
II
Democratic Renewal
In order for
the people to exercise their sovereignty and govern themselves, there is
an immediate need to: PROCLAIM A NEW AND MODERN CONSTITUTION
This new and
modern constitution must enshrine:
The
rights and duties of all citizens without any discrimination on the basis
of language, race, national origin, religion, gender, lifestyle, ability,
age, wealth or on any other basis;
The
right of Quebec to self-determination, up to and including secession;
The
hereditary rights of the Aboriginal peoples; the injustices of the past
and the harm done to them must be redressed through the provision of indemnity
payments;
The
rights of the national minorities of Canada, including the recognition
of the equality of all languages and cultures and the creation of conditions
for their flourishing;
The
vesting of sovereignty in the people.
To enable
the people of Canada to exercise their sovereignty, this new and modern
constitution must lay down as a fundamental principle that there can be:
No
Election Without Selection.
Under the fundamental law that elected representatives and all institutions
must be subordinate to the electorate, the constitution must enshrine:
The
Right to an Informed Vote;
The
Right to Recall;
The
Right to Initiate Legislation.
These laws must be turned into reality through the creation of institutions
which enable the electors to exercise their right to elect and to be elected
and facilitate their maximum participation in governance. A Canada-Wide
Electoral Commission, as well as Electoral Committees in each constituency
would be bodies to replace Elections Canada. The finances and facilities
currently provided to Elections Canada and to Members of Parliament to
operate their constituency offices would be reallocated to fund the functioning
of the Canada-Wide Electoral Commission and Electoral Committees. The Members
of Parliament would conduct their affairs through the Electoral Committees
to which they would be subordinate.
The Canada-Wide Electoral Commission and the Electoral Committees would
be entrusted with two key tasks: 1) Guaranteeing that all electors can
exercise their right to elect and be elected; and 2) Ensuring that the
elected representatives are subordinate to the electors and serve their
interests. These bodies would involve a large number of people, especially
in the task of ensuring the subordination of the elected to the electors.
The
new and modern constitution must establish:
The
rights of all citizens and residents by virtue of being human.
In providing
a guarantee to these rights, the constitution must hold the society, and
the governments which represent that society, responsible to provide people
with the highest possible standard of living within the existing conditions.
It must also set out the aim of raising this standard to higher levels,
consistent with the development of society, so as to meet the ever-increasing
needs of the people for health care, education, culture and other necessities
of life. The constitution must guarantee the recognition of the claims
of all people on society by virtue of being human, as well as the claims
based on the conditions of their collectivity in the case of women, youth,
workers and all other collectives in the society.
III
Renewal of International Relations
In the sphere
of international relations, the renewal of Canada requires a foreign policy
which bases itself on:
Support
for all peoples fighting for their rights;
Relations
of equality and mutual benefit amongst sovereign nations based on peaceful
coexistence;
Non-interference
in the internal affairs of sovereign nations.
The plan for
the modernization of Canadas foreign relations would include immediate
withdrawal from all economic and military blocs. This entails:
Immediate
withdrawal of Canada from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC);
Immediate
withdrawal of Canada from NORAD and NATO;
Immediate
democratization of the United Nations based on the principle that all nations,
big or small, have an equal say;
Upholding
the right of all nations to decide upon their own system and opposing the
efforts of any country or group of countries to dictate what kind of system
a country can or cannot have; opposing the Paris Charter and the Organization
of Security and Cooperation in Europe; keeping Canada out of the Multilateral
Agreement on Investments (MAI); and opposing the blockades against the
Republic of Cuba, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and similar
pressures exerted against other countries.