When David Emerson won the Federal Election in Vancouver-Kingsway in 2006, the voters elected him as a Liberal. Do you remember how people reacted when they found out the Riding had a Conservative Cabinet Minister instead?

They felt betrayed, but nothing could be done by the voters who elected him.

Public censure is not an effective political force in Canadian democracy.

We have no meaningful voice in the major decisions that impact our lives.

Psam Frank decided to push back. His solution is simple, revolutionary, and effective. He developed an "ongoing" rather than a "term" electoral system, which means you and I can change our votes at any time, not just when “they” call an election. This gives us the power to keep the politicians honest.

Candidates are "ongoing" too. All candidates are encouraged to remain active in their community, ready to serve their public. They are motivated, whether elected or not, to listen and respond to the concerns and interests of the electorate at all times. A dynamic, ongoing relationship between voters and candidates is created.

The electorate can rest assured that everyone involved in this system knows that the candidates can't say one thing just to get votes, and do something else once they're elected. If they do, we can vote them out of office just as quickly as we voted them in. When necessary, it's our responsibility to do this.

Representatives serve until the movement of votes causes a campaign period to begin, which could lead to a change in representation. The voters decide. Our "term" form of democracy was only the first step toward true self-governance. The next step is to ensure that elected representatives are always accountable to the electorate, not just making promises during the campaign.

Psam Frank calls this the Ongoing Demographic Democracy System, or ODDS. The Canadian Action Party is the first party in Canada to experiment with this electoral system within their party structure. Members of CAP are experiencing it first hand, and will decide themselves whether they want to implement it officially, after using it for a while. The following link tells a bit about the initial stages last winter:

http://canadian-parties.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_canadian_action_party_at_odds

Thank you for listening to this new idea!

If anyone would like to talk about ongoing democracy or explore this system provincially, please phone Doris Foster, (250) 379-2815, or Psam Frank, (604) 765-1496. They can also tell you more about the Canadian Action Party. The Canadian Action Party can be reached by email: info@canadianactionparty.ca