THE CANADIAN ECONOMIC CHARTER SHOULD BE PART OF THE CONSTITUTION
It Will Impose Discipline on Politicians Based On Sound Economic Principles
By Frank Stronach
I have said on numerous occasions that the rich (elite) don’t want to share profits with the workers. It goes deeper. The real issue is that the very rich think the common people—the working class—are unreliable, uncontrollable and easily manipulated. Society has come a long way, from the cavemen to the hunter and the hunted to the kings and the servants. Now, in the Western world, we have an environment of bosses and disgruntled workers.
Over my lifetime, I have experienced just about everything, from the highest of the highs to the lowest of the lows. I grew up in Austria, and even though I was barely a teenager, I was exposed to the Nazi regime. In hindsight, you wonder, how can a system like that exist? Then, I grew up in the eastern part of Austria, which was also occupied by the Russians, and I was exposed to communism. Communism is based on wealth distribution. First, you have to create wealth; otherwise, there is nothing to distribute. And the socialistic and communistic regimes are not great at producing wealth; they are great at distributing wealth.
As a young man, I wanted to see the world, so I applied for visas to South Africa, Australia, the United States, and Canada. Canada came through first.
Sometimes, I am a little rough on the Canadian bureaucracy, but I still think they are the best because they came through first with a visa. But hopefully, in Canada, via an Economic Charter of Rights, the bureaucracy can be reduced enormously in a civilized way.
I have created over 180,000 jobs worldwide. At one time, I had over 400 factories in 34 different countries. I could have lived in dignity in any one of those 34 countries; I chose Canada as my home. Canada is a great country, but we have major problems that we must correct.
In 1954, when I arrived in Canada, I experienced capitalism in its raw form. There were times when I was hungry—not hungry because I wanted to lose weight— but because I had no money to buy food. Capitalism can be very cruel.
A civilized country like Canada should have minimum standards. For example, no Canadian should go hungry. There must be a social service centre for every 100,000 people, run by the army, which would supply simple, healthy foods. They would do medical check-ups if necessary and coordinate admission to hospitals if necessary. Also, every Canadian should be able to have shelter so that no Canadian would be exposed to weather. The social service centres should provide simple, clean shelter for people with toilets, showers, and a place to sleep and eat.
During my time in business, I have given many lectures at universities like Harvard as well as universities across the United States, Canada, and Europe. I have also been on the boards of directors of quite a number of universities in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
It has only dawned on me over the last 10 years, and I am 92 years young now. I have been reflecting on my life, and I ask myself, “What is the mandate of a university?” I think the main mandate should be to teach young people how we can create a more civilized society. To be more direct, universities would be the ideal institutions to develop structures that would lead to an ideal society. Universities have great faculties in regard to technology, medicine, arts, etc., but at this time, they do not have a faculty whose focus would be on developing a blueprint for an ideal society.
The Human Charter of Rights alone is insufficient. It must be fortified with an Economic Charter of Rights. An Economic Charter of Rights would lead to economic democracy, which is the basis for democracy itself. An Economic Charter of Rights would lead us to an ideal society.
The Human Charter of Rights guarantees personal freedom, which is important. But you are not a free person unless you are economically free. To a kid in inner-city Detroit, you are only free to be hungry. I am using Detroit as an example because all the big cities in the United States have incredible amounts of poverty. And that could lead to destructive revolutions. We also have enormous poverty in Canadian inner cities. We must avoid destructive revolutions. We need a revolution of the mind. The Economic Charter of Rights is a revolution of the mind and would eliminate poverty in Canada.
It is a shame that in Canada, only a small percentage of people are economically free. What is the minimum standard of economic freedom? The minimum standard is if a Canadian woman or a Canadian man works for 30 years, they should be able to own a small house or condo mortgage-free. They also should have at least $300,000 in the bank to subsidize their pension, so in their later years, they will be able to choose their own road to happiness.
Winston Churchill, in his later years, stated on numerous occasions that parliament does not work because there are only politicians in parliament. The foremost wish for a politician is to be elected or re-elected. But the mandate of a politician should be to improve the living standards of people, and the environment.
For Parliament to work, there must also be rules which politicians would have to maintain:
- They must have balanced budgets and eliminate debt.
- They must reduce bureaucracy to a maximum of 30 bureaucrats per 1000 people total, including federally, provincially and municipally.
- Taxes must be black and white with no loopholes (higher profits pay higher taxes).
- Small businesses below 300 employees must have the right to operate totally under the free enterprise system. Without Free Enterprise, you cannot have a free society.
- When small businesses grow beyond 300 people, by law, they must share profits with the employees. (This rule would not apply to existing companies with over 300 people. They could profit share, but it wouldn’t be mandatory).
- Grade 11 and grade 12 students should be exposed to trades.
- No Canadian kid should go to school hungry, which means breakfast has to be served. No Canadian kid should leave the school hungry, which means lunch has to be served, and by law, the food would have to be organic. We spray too much pesticide, which poisons the water, the air and the soil.
With these seven principles, we can improve the living standards and protect the environment for all Canadians.
More details about the seven principles can be found at economiccharter.ca.
Parliament is the management team of Canada, and that management team, which consists of Liberal and Conservative leadership, has created a huge amount of losses over the last 50 years. In essence, we’re leaving a giant mortgage for our future generations.
Politicians must be subject to a discipline like the Economic Charter. The Economic Charter states that budgets must be balanced. Politicians must be held accountable so as not to accumulate debt.
Right now, Canada has major problems: debt is climbing like crazy, bureaucracy is out of control, and imports are rising like crazy. It is like a freight train going down the hill with no brakes.
Only with an Economic Charter can we solve those economic problems.
ONLY VIA THE CANADIAN ECONOMIC CHARTER OF RIGHTS WILL THERE BE A FUTURE FOR THE FUTURE GENERATIONS OF CANADA.
Canada’s political system does not work without the Economic Charter of Rights.
It is crucial that the Canadian Economic Charter of Rights be part of the Constitution. But you can only change the system if the timing is right. Today, the fridges are half empty, and many parents go to bed at night worried about making ends meet and feeding their families.
To change the system, you also need a constituency. Small businesses are suffering the most, being immobilized with bureaucratic red tape. The Charter proposes that small businesses will not pay a business tax, and by eliminating the red tape and reducing the regulations, we are setting small businesses free. Small businesses will excel and provide a lot of jobs. If small businesses do well, the whole country will do well. I encourage small businesses to get involved in this program. Small businesses should play a major role in promoting the Economic Charter.
For more information, please visit www.economiccharter.ca
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