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Duff Conacher is looking to the future in politics by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver 9 | Friday, December 20, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com If eight per cent or more of the population got involved in politics, it would be enough to shake up governments and opposition parties. Duff Conacher, director and co-founder of Democracy Watch, made the statement as keynote speaker at the Canadian Club of Halton Peel (CCHP) dinner held recently at the Oakville Conference Centre. Democracy Watch is a national non-profit, non-partisan organization advocating democratic reform, government accountability and corporate responsibility. "The past 20 years have proven we very much need a group like Democracy Watch in Canada. We're far from the world's leading democracy with the scandals currently happening in Québec and Ontario," said Conacher. Democracy Watch will soon launch a new website -- Canadian Democratic Good Government Audit Project (CDGGAP) -- to encourage people to audit every level of government on "democratic good government." "I've been developing criteria for the audit. There's now about 1,000 questions that will have to be asked of every government system," said Conacher. He said the group strives for an accountability of everyone in politics, not just the government. Officials need to be "honest, open, ethical, representative and waste-preventative." With honesty, "we're all caught in a system where we're essentially playing poker during elections," he said. "There is no requirement to tell the truth during elections," said Conacher. The Democracy Watch co-founder said the No. 1 reason for a low voter turnout in recent years is because of Canada's electoral system, which "thwarts a lot of people." "We have a voting system that allows a minority of voters to elect a majority government. There are better systems, but everyone has a different model in mind," said Conacher. "Even if they vote for the party that wins, they don't get what they were promised." Conacher suggested creating an "honesty in politics" law to increase accountability for politicians, particularly during elections, he said. "Politicians have put in place honesty require- of interest law, he said, adding those who even "appear" to be involved should step aside and not take part in the decision-making process. "We need a code of conduct that sets out public standards for what people expect of public officials. Not just when they're on the job, but all the time. We've seen a great example in Toronto of why such a code is needed," said Conacher. But Conacher disagrees with how a conflict of interest case is handled if the integrity commissioner finds fault with a politician's decisions, he explained. As for representation, Conacher said if Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong's recent private member bill passes, it would "free and empower MPs." The Reform Act 2013 would make party leaders more accountable to the legislature and ensure party heads maintain the confidence of their caucuses. "He's proposed that party leaders should no longer be able to choose or reject candidates chosen by riding associations for arbitrary reasons. This kind of power should not be in the hands of leaders," said Conacher. The No. 1 way for people to create change in politics is to write letters to MPs and MPPs, Conacher said. He encourages everyone to learn an issue and "sit down and write a letter" at least once a month. "Always include at the bottom, `I'm determining my vote in the next election based on your response.' Please don't give up on contacting the people who actually have the power to make the rules," said Conacher. "If they don't hear from enough people, they will ignore it until a crisis happens." Always include at the bottom, `I'm determining my vote in the next election based on your response.' Please don't give up on contacting the people who actually have the power to make the rules. If they don't hear from enough people, they will ignore it until a crisis happens. Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. `Tis the season to be jolly. Wishing you a safe and joyous holiday. Get to a better StateTM. Democracy Watch director and co-founder Duff Conacher ments for every profession. They put it in place for taxpayers, welfare applicants, immigrants and for corporate executives. They are all required to be honest," said Conacher. "It doesn't work 100 per cent of the time, but it would at least stop the most blatant lying." Ethics is the "third big area needing change," the former Ralph Nader's Raider said, noting it's legal for cabinet ministers to engage in insider trading. 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