Every person has the right to their life and liberty and to the property that they justly acquire.
As members of a country of free persons*, we have entrusted governments with the duty of protecting those rights for every person.
With that in mind, we re-assert those principles.
Rights of Persons
1. Every person has a body, mind and will of their own. This guarantees them:
a. the right to live free from intimidation, coercion, threat or attack from any person regardless of their position;
b. the right to hold their own personal beliefs and to express them in ways that do not harm the rights of others;
c. the freedom to choose and to pursue their own goals, while respecting their duty not to violate the rights of any other person;
d. the right to join with others to pursue their goals and to provide for themselves and their family;
e. the right to the property that they justly create, build or acquire and to what they earn while producing goods or services for others;
f. the right to defend themselves, their family and their property;
g. the right to equal treatment as separate persons under laws that protect the rights of all persons equally.
2. Every person has the right to be protected from attacks on their person or their property by any person, institution, group, company or government:
a. by threat, intimidation, exploitation, coercion, theft or any other means, or
b. by virtue of laws, regulations, policies or practices that violate the rights of any person.
3. The family is a core institution that provides for the needs of persons and that protects and educates children in all thriving societies. It must be protected against unwarranted intrusions, including by government.
Duties of Government
4. Governments must protect and serve, not impose. They have been established to protect the rights of every person in a transparent and accountable manner. As a result, governments:
a. must protect every person from direct and indirect harms, aggressions or threats against their rights by any other person, group, institution, company or cause, by any foreign power or actor, by any agent of government or by the courts;
b. must maintain and manage public property and common assets in a way that respects and protects every citizen’s rights in those assets;
c. must create, maintain or support essential infrastructure and services that serve the needs of all citizens and that can not be adequately provided without government involvement or funding;
d. must assist with the essential needs of those who can not help themselves, with the aim of encouraging self-reliance;
e. must ensure that:
i. no statute, regulation, policy, program or action of government harms the rights and freedoms or the property of any citizen;
ii. no citizen is deprived of their right to provide for themselves and their family through just means;
iii. no privileges are granted to any person, group, corporation or institution;;
iv. no domestic or foreign organization, company, group or government undermines the rights of any citizen or lays claim to our personal or common lands or resources.
f. must hold full and open debates that engage the public in discussions of the reasons and risks associated with policies that will impact on the rights or freedoms of any citizen, on our security and national sovereignty, or on the future of our economy.
g. must ensure that citizens have an effective means:
i. of preventing the abuse of government powers;
ii. of holding those in government and private offices to account for actions that undermine these principles and for damage done to the rights of persons as a result of their actions or omissions while they held those offices.
5. As representatives and agents of the people, those who hold public offices:
a. must place their duty to protect the rights of members of the public ahead of their own interests and the interests of any person, partisan, corporation, institution, group or cause.
Responsibilities of Citizens
and Their Right to Act to Uphold These Principles
6. Citizens, as members of a society of free persons with natural rights:
a. must recognize and respect the rights of all other persons;
b. must be aware of the need to exercise constant vigilance over the actions of those who hold public offices so as to ensure that the powers that are assigned to public offices are not used in a way that harms the rights, freedoms and just interests of any citizen; and
c. may act alone or in association with others to identify and bring an end to any misuse or abuse of those immense powers by those who wish to use them for their own purposes or to pursue goals which are incompatible with these principles.
Restoring These Principles
If our society is to continue as a society of free persons of real and equal value, the principles listed above must be understood and defended.
Honourable, virtuous and ethical behavior is characterized by an unwavering determination to act according to those principles.
All members of our society must accept and act upon these principles so as to ensure that the rights of every person are upheld.
Those who hold public office must place the duty of upholding those principles ahead of the wishes, plans or actions of any person, institution, group, company or party, whether public or private.
A constant threat is posed to these essential underpinnings of all sound and enduring societies by the temptation to put one’s personal interests ahead of the rights of others and by the great temptation among those who hold public offices to use the powers of those offices to impose an agenda that violates those principles.
To protect against that threat, all members of our society must understand, assert and defend these principles. It is only by doing so that we can retain the promise of living in a country that is peaceful, prosperous, culturally-rich, morally-sound and free.
Please print and share "Our Principles" with the people you know or meet.
For bulk printing consider using black and white to save on cost, and perhaps consider using colored paper.
Comments We Have Received
These are the principles that all Canadians can support, and they state what we believe our Country stands for.
They are non-partisan, they are not controversial and they should be upheld by every political party.
It sets out the fundamental rights of every person that no person can violate. Clearly the core job of our government is to protect those rights.
The document is so simply put it helps people understand what Canadians strive for and who we are.
This helps me understand my Human Rights & Freedoms and what we need to do as Canadians. Thanks.
Finally, someone has put together what Government should be doing! Bingo.
Our Principles reads like a modern version of the Magna Carta. It says that every person matters.
It makes sense, and provides a foundation that can bring unity to our country instead of reinforcing the divisions that are pulling us apart.
These principles put government into its proper place - serving and protecting the rights of everyone - instead of telling us what to think and do.