Meet the candidates
in NDG-Westmount

Rachel Hoffman, candidate for the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount

Candidates in the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount were invited to submit a text describing their platform for publication in WestmountMag.ca. The texts are published in their original format, as received, without correction. Here is the article submitted by Rachel Hoffman of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada.

Canada’s most precious asset is us, its people, and it is high time that we have a meaningful say in determining our own affairs. I am participating in this election for people’s empowerment, as part of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada’s program for democratic renewal. We sorely need sovereignty vested in the people and not in the Crown, the major parties or the rich they represent.

What if Canada had a real and modern democracy, so that working people would not be saddled with a corrupt party-dominated system and political process geared to ‘picking a side’ on the basis of choosing ‘the devil you know’ against ‘the devil you don’t know’?  Reducing Canadians to a vote every few years for candidates they did not select and who do not represent their interests does not equal democracy.

No election without selection means that we ourselves, not political parties, should select our own candidates, our peers, those we are familiar with and feel we can trust. Selection could take place in our workplaces, educational institutions, seniors’ homes and neighbourhoods. We must also be enabled to participate in setting the programs of those candidates. Information on candidates and their programs should be widely circulated amongst electors. Recall mechanisms should also be put in place so that candidates who do not work towards realizing the programs they were selected and elected for can be removed. It is this entire political process, during and in between elections, that should be set up and funded, and there should be no public funding of the political parties. Harmonizing individual and collective interests, the right to elect and to be elected and to an informed vote would finally be given some meaning.

What if Canada had a real and modern democracy where a free and equal union of the peoples of Canada, Quebec, the First Nations, Métis Nation and Inuit would become a reality? There would be recognition of the right to self-determination for Quebec and of indigenous peoples’ treaty and other rights and reparations for crimes against the children of the First Nations.

What if Canada had a real and modern democracy, so that we  could direct our economy, resources and social investments towards the well-being of the Canadian people. No longer would every problem in the natural and social environment be turned into a cataclysmic crisis and a pay the rich scheme.

Canadians value health care, access to quality education and childcare, and a stable economy that’s not dependent on the whims of monopolies out for maximum profit. The government pushes the lie that monopolies create the country’s wealth. We have a highly trained workforce and an abundance of natural resources if used in a sustainable manner. It’s workers who create the wealth through their labour. So why don’t we have a say in the direction of the economy and the country? A Canadian standard livelihood is required for all workers, whether employed or not. We need a real democracy to open up the possibilities of a path to harmonize social relations with our relations with nature for a sustainable future.

If Canada had a real and modern democracy, we would be able to block the increase in war budgets, stop sending our youth off to wars of occupation and aggression under NATO, while the U.S. cooks up new wars and “interventions” to expand its domination worldwide. We would be able to make a contribution to harmonizing relations among the peoples and nations of the world.

The Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada (MLPC) is calling for the empowerment of Canadians so that the problems we’re facing can be sorted out in their own interests. It is fielding 36 candidates in this election, 22 of which are women. We need a human-centred government that defends the rights of all. We need a government whose primary aim is the well-being of its people, so the serious problems facing the polity can be sorted out in their favour.

Together we can make this modern democracy a reality. I invite you to join with me in working for democratic renewal. Depriving the cartel parties of a majority is a first step. Together, let’s continue to work to turn the situation around in our favour.

To find out more about the MLPC’s program, visit its Website at cpcml.ca