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LONDON & OTTAWA (June 20 & 27, 1997) - About 80 Fp members, supporters, and guests came out to hear the words of Ron Leitch, president of the Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada (APEC), at two separate $50-a-plate Fp dinner events.
"Canada is not a democracy," opened Leitch in his address to both audiences. "It is a dictatorship clothed in Parliamentary garb. As in all dictatorships, freedom, at best, is severely curtailed, and at worst, ceases to exist."
In his presentation, currently entitled "Freedom Or Political Slavery" for publication, Leitch drew a parallel between the erosion of the monarchy in Canada with the erosion of individual rights and freedoms. His theme: that Canadians have lost their freedoms by abandoning the institutions in which they were enshrined.
Calling Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms inclusion in the Constitution Act in 1982 "the crowning insult of all", Leitch lamented the "partial codification" of Canada's constitution, and outlined the benefits of Canada's previous "unwritten constitution" under the concept of "King-in-Parliament".
"The Charter is not so much a guarantee of rights and freedoms as it is a document which gives the government power to limit, restrict, and remove rights and freedoms from the people," said Leitch. "Under the concept of "King-in-Parliament, there is a personal freedom, an individual freedom, but under the Charter government has the power to legislate rights and freedoms for groups."
Leitch outlined the historical development of the British monarchy, Common Law, and Parliament, stressing that the cornerstone of their evolutionary processes remained personal freedom. He identified the year 1926 as the beginning of the decline of monarchial democracy in Canada, with the election of Liberal leader Mackenzie King as prime minister. It was an election "won by the Liberals on the basis of a falsehood".
That "falsehood" is continuing to be perpetuated by the Liberals to this very day, said Leitch:
"Prime Minister Chretien in the last Parliament ignored the customs and conventions of parliament by creating new ministries and changing the names of others without the required reference to Parliament. Millions of dollars were spent illegally. When challenged in the House of Commons, Chretien stated that he had made the changes by Order-in-Council. No such Order-in-Council was found to exist."
"How did we reach this point?" asks Leitch. "It comes down to one of two things or both; that politics and the actions of politicians were ignored by the people, or in the alternative that the people were so trusting of their politicians that they allowed them to act without public scrutiny."
Referring to a "deliberate and concerted effort by politicians... ...not only to ignore, but to ridicule Canadian history and traditions," Leitch called for pressure to be brought to bear on the Education Ministers of every province to begin instruction about the unique political heritage of Canadians.
"Only when the educational process is underway is there a hope for a successful second step, the repeal of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms," concluded Leitch in a tone that was clearly cynical about Canada's current crop of politicians. "Since we cannot expect any government to enter willingly into this educational process, those of us who cherish freedom and responsible government must lead the way."
GET THE DETAILS! Copies of Ron Leitch's address to Freedom Party are available to Fp members and supporters on request. Follow this link for details of how to get in touch with us!
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last updated on April 28, 2002
