In the spirit of our mission to strengthen the Canadian democracy, Samara is asking Canadians to participate in identifying the Best Moment in Canadian Democracy for 2011. This contest is designed to encourage Canadians to reflect annually on the positive moments in our public life that are often ignored.
The moment could be one that took place inside or outside of Parliament or other legislative chambers. It could have happened at the federal, provincial, territorial or municipal level. It could include an election with a historic turnout, a stimulating public debate, a rally or protest, a critical piece of news analysis, the creation of a new digital application or an important Parliamentary motion or decision.
“Best” is as you determine it to be. The only restriction is that it needs to have occurred in the calendar year 2011. We hope that this contest will stimulate public debate and discussion of some of our best moments in politics and public life, and raise the bar for future parliaments and governments.
Your selection can be submitted in a number of ways: by visiting our website, commenting here on our blog, through Facebook or on Twitter by using the #samaracda hashtag. We encourage you to include a rationale for your choice, although this is not required.
Suggestions will be accepted until January 17th, 2012. On January 19th, we will announce the top five moments for all Canadians to vote on. Voting will close January 31st and we will announce the winning moment on February 1st.
Last year we ran the same contest and the top five moments for 2010 were
* anti-prorogation rallies
* Peter Milliken’s ruling on Parliament’s right to access documents on Afghan detainees
* the election of Naheed Nenshi as mayor of Calgary
* the anti-HST petition in BC
* the debate over the long-form census
Looking forward to seeing what you suggest for 2011!