Freedom of Association - Important Element of Canadian Life

A critical component part of the Canadian social contract is the fundamental right to associate with those you choose and conversely avoid those who you find offensive.  Freedom of Association is the keystone to the aggregation of influence in the political sphere, in civil society, and as such should be defended vigorously.  Societal subgroups, such as perhaps political parties, have as a requirement the imperative to adhere to this tenet. This tenet is supported by the Charter of Rights and Freedom, as well as the entire breadth of Canadian jurisprudence in law related to this subject.  

The application of coercive measures by any group toward an individual, absent explicit consent of the said individual, is completely unsupported by any social protocol, moral or ethical tenet or by any legislation. Should a group wish to recruit to their ranks people, and if they are interested in finding accord with Canadian Society, it is incumbent upon them to define clearly the terms of association and declare said terms to parties concerned.

If in the process of actuating themselves groups utilize the tools of governance outside the expressed intent of any given mandate provisioned by the government to discipline, coerce, in any other manner apply condign power, they are exercising an abuse of power.  Government is not a tinker toy for political parties or any other societal entity, governance needs to be exercised in concert with the boundaries set out by its own process and the resulting commonly held understanding of the social contract. To do otherwise makes government the tool of marauders rather than the substrate for harmonious co-existence.

A single citizen has the right to function as an autonomous agent – free from any coercive element in society.  As an autonomous agent, one has the right to define the boundaries of association with others in society, when those boundaries are breached, the individual should have the force of the state to support them. When collective association breaches said boundaries and this event is a common occurrence, and the collective association involves actors from government, the government is corrupted and devalued. If this occurs broadly enough, there is no peace order and good governance – there only remains might. 

Associations function under the umbrella of the social contract and as such are subject to all the explicitly stated elements of that contract. At no point should any collective take the liberty to circumvent or subvert governance against a single citizen. Groups are an aggregation of individuals and if as a group you act against an individual – when you as an individual are trespassed upon, where will you turn. If you find yourself there one day, call me, I’ll advocate for you and I, in the most expressive and direct fashion.