22 Apr 2022
The Pirate Party has shown its commitment to whistleblowers by being the only party to actively and consistently support Wikileaks. We will stand up for the rights of any whistle blower.
We recognize the value of whistleblowers to society and we will defend the right of citizens to expose illegal practices in the workplace and elsewhere. We will introduce stronger protections for whistleblowers. Exposing corrupt or illegal activities must take precedence over contract law and copyright law, and no-one should fear persecution for making the public aware of a breach of the law.
The following policies have been approved by the Political Council and will be sent to the membership to be voted on:
-Whistleblowers will not be held liable for breaking non-disclosure agreements or state secret laws if the information leaked implies wrong-doing.
-Whistleblowers can, however, be punished for leaking information of a personal nature (such as medical records) or state secrets that do not show provable wrong-doing.
-We will establish a standing committee to monitor the treatment of whistleblowers for five years after the event in question for signs of mistreatment or professional harrassment.
-The standing committee will report annually to Parliament on the treatment of whistleblowers and to make recommendations on how to better protect them from reprisal.
-The standing committee will have the power to compell witnesses to appear before it.
-The standing committee will remain in regular contact with whistleblowers to address any concerns they may have.
-The standing committee will have the power to protect whistleblowers, witnesses, and their identities.
-If the government department tries to fire a whistleblower they must make their case to the standing committee who will have the power to over-rule the department in question.
22 Apr 2022
All trademarks should be equal in law. There should be no special exceptions for particular trademarks or organisations.
22 Apr 2022
Many industries that are essential to Canada (including rail, water, electricity generation and supply, gas
supply and other utilities) have been privatized in recent decades, but continue to rely on massive government subsidy for infrastructure investment. These private organisations then take millions in support whilst continuing to provide dividends to their shareholders and massive pay and benefits to their senior staff.
We believe that this is unfair. Where the government spends the taxpayers’ money to ensure the delivery of an essential service, the taxpayer should expect to see a return for their money before private investors are paid dividends. Senior management should have their wages capped.
In addition we will propose that any government subsidy or grant to a profitmaking company for the delivery of services should be met dollar-for-dollar by private investment.
22 Apr 2022
At present pensions providers are taking large amounts of the money that individuals save for their retirement in fees and commissions, often with a lack of clarity as to what such fees are for or whether they will be applied at all. Given the importance of saving for retirement, we would aim to disincentivise providers from charging excessive fees and ensure that any costs associated are clearly stated up front. All pension funds should have to state their costs in a clear, unobfuscated way at the point when a pension is set up. We will introduce a right to move pension savings to providers with lower overheads without penalty.
We will work to reduce the cost of saving for retirement and try to ensure that everyone in Canada has access to quality pension products.
We will make it illegal for any government or organization to touch funds set aside for pension for any reason other than its intended use of pension payout or investment for the fund. This includes prohibition against diverting pension funds to cover deficits or backruptcies whether temporarily as a loan or permanently.
22 Apr 2022
The bailing out of Canadian banks during and shortly after the bank crisis by the government may have shored up some banks, but at a huge cost. We don’t think that banks should be allowed to profit from risky behaviour. We must draw a line under the ‘too big to fail culture’ and resolve that the Canadian taxpayer is no longer required to prop-up incompetent or overstretched banks. There should be no more ‘bankers’ bailouts.
The government should still guarantee the deposits of savers at high street banks via an insurance scheme, but
the focus of any intervention must be the banks’ customers, not the banks themselves or their shareholders. To make it less likely that retail banks become insolvent, we will propose limitations on their activities and introduce personal liability for their directors, as well as encouraging shareholders in promoting safe practices.
