Political Parties and Their Politicians Really are Above the Law

 

There IS a Contract

Common law, when applied to contracts is well established. When you pay money to someone there is an implied contract, whether written or verbal

You pay for government. Because money has been exchanged and promises given, there is a legally binding contract that is implied by the exchange. But unlike other contracts, the Government of Canada has managed to enshrine in law that there is no legal or binding responsibility to do what you want them to do with your tax dollars. The only recourse you have is to vote them out. I would hazard to suggest that this is not an acceptable arrangement to any free-thinking individual on the planet.

And this is where the contract falls apart. Canadians have tried to sue politicians for broken campaign promises but courts have routinely stated that campaign promises do not rise to the level of a contractual promise. So in other words, politicians can legally lie to you while campaigning. There is no recourse in a court of law for promises made. And yet, money has been exchanged and promises made.

So when you pay money to the government of Canada who is responsible for carrying out your wishes? After all YOU pay the money. They accept it. Where is the contract? You would no more hand over money to people who have been demonstrably untrustworthy than you would give your money to a common thief.

Thus, a Canadian tenet of Common Law is unenforceable when it comes to politicians and the political parties that sponsor them. Which means that politicians and the political parties that sponsor them really are above the law. There is no other place in Canada, outside of the political spectrum, where this exists. Even a  verbal contract, which may be difficult to prove, is still enforceable in the Canadian system of justice.

You, as an individual under Canadian common law cannot make promises to someone, verbal or written, break that promise and then not be held accountable in a court of law. This is well established.

Obviously, a political system that purports to represent you while having no actionable legal basis for that representation is not representing you, their claims to the contrary notwithstanding. Any reasonable person would consider this a massive fraud. By extension if you pay money to someone who cannot be held accountable in the justice system then the entire political system is, in fact, based on fraud.

So how can a political class be held accountable? It would be foolhardy in the extreme to expect that politicians will enact laws that will hold them accountable in a legal system to the people of Canada. The only recourse that is then available would be for Canadians to challenge this system in the political realm.

Which is where a Democracy Operating System comes into play. By becoming the voting system of record for Canadians in a riding, the entire riding can engage the political system and by acting in concert may be able to bring an action into a court of law. For example, withholding of taxes for failure of duty on the part of politicians. This is where the power of a DOS can become a juggernaut for unified, direct action by participants.

What is the likelihood of such a scenario? No one could reasonably predict this because a DOS cannot be manipulated or controlled by any one individual or group of individuals. The DOS could consider a vote on the matter, but only if it gained the appropriate momentum to reach the level of a vote. But given the general attitude of Canadians toward the political class and given that the majority of Canadians think that their tax dollars are being wasted, then a vote of this nature is certainly conceivable and perhaps even likely.

The only way to find out would be to deploy a DOS system in a riding and let the nature of the debate take its course.