The Canadian Action Party at ODDS
CAP Introduces Canada's First Ongoing Demographic Democracy System
Feb 3, 2009
The Canadian Action Party (CAP) has been a registered federal political party since 1997. You may or may not have heard of them: in the 2008 election CAP earned 3,508 votes nationwide, putting them neck and neck with the Communist Party, but well behind the Marxist-Leninists and the Libertarians.
According to Paul Kemp, president of CAP’s National Executive, the party has run up to 87 candidates in prior elections. Last year they ran just 19, but Kemp blames the waning numbers on lack of funding, not interest. “We have a database of almost 400 Canadians who have shown an interest in running,” he says.
The CAP platform calls for more equal distribution of wealth and political power among Canadians, policies not always popular among the industry lobbyists, corporations and foreign interests that so often oil Canada’s political machine.
The “A” Stands for “Action”
“Electoral reform” is a popular political catchphrase these days, and the Conservatives, Liberals, New Democrats, Bloc Quebecois and Greens have all expressed some degree of support for the idea. Despite this support, little has been done to reform Canada’s electoral process.
The Canadian Action Party also supports the idea of electoral reform but their brand of support includes action, not just lip service. With the introduction of the Ongoing Demographic Democracy System (ODDS), CAP became the first governing body in Canada to provide members with a taste of uninterrupted voting power.
The Ins and Outs of ODDS
According to its constitution, the Ongoing Demographic Democracy System “gives voters the right to change their votes at whatever time they choose, instead of waiting for the end of a term of office and a new election date decided by means out of their control.” It also strives to guarantee universal two-way communication between voters and candidates and continual access to the margin of votes between prime representatives and principle challengers during a campaign period.
With these mechanisms in place, the ODDS Committee of CAP seeks to evolve an electoral system that promotes “fairness, cooperation, brainstorming, compromise, minority recognition, transparency of government, proactiveness, responsiveness, and empowerment of the individual.”
ODDS in Action
ODDS is still in its infancy, and is being used in a limited capacity on a trial basis. The executive of the Canadian Action Party consists of thirteen members, and all but one earned their positions through conventional electoral processes. The one that didn’t is Melissa Brade. She was assigned to her vice-presidential position by the ODDS Committee, based on standing in the Ongoing Demographic Democracy System.
Brade discovered CAP in 2006 while researching Canada’s trade in depleted uranium. The party reflected her beliefs on that and a number of issues, and she decided to get involved. The autodidact and mother of two also dedicates her energy to the Tipping Point Project, an action group opposed to the introduction of a nuclear power plant in northern Alberta.
As CAP’s representative in Alberta’s conservative Yellowhead riding, Brade easily outmatched MP incumbent Rob Merrifield in passion, eloquence and understanding of the issues during the 2008 election debates. Her performance paid off, earning her 1.1% of votes, more than was gained by CAP representatives in any other riding.
If the appointment of Melissa Brade to the Canadian Action Party’s national executive is any indication, the party can expect great things from the Ongoing Demographic Democracy System.
* not counting 2008’s new voter registration rules, a Conservative strategy to keep the young and insolvent from voting. It worked: Canada’s 40th parliament is the result of the lowest voter turnout in our history.
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