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Democracy needs 'heroic citizenship' to defy autocracy
There are just three ingredients in the recipe that could end constitutional democracy as we know it, says scholar Peter L. Biro — fear, habituation and what he calls 'stupidification.' He argues that we, as law-abiding average citizens, have the power to save our democracy and defend against backsliding forces. Biro recently delivered a keynote address at the ominously titled conference, Liberal Democracy in the Rearview Mirror? at Massey College in Toronto.
Download Democracy needs 'heroic citizenship' to defy autocracy
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About Section 1
Education for Heroic Citizenship!
Towards a curriculum for the liberal democratic citizen.
“Whether I shall turn out to
be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by
anybody else, these pages must show.” Charles Dickens, David Copperfield
“Let me exhort and conjure you, never to suffer an invasion of your political constitution, however minute the instance may appear, to pass by, without a determined, persevering resistance.” Junius
Safeguarding our democracy is the responsibility of each one of us; it’s not someone else’s job!
“Citizenship is then a grateful responsibility. It is not the sort of share in the ownership of the country; it is a gift that we receive in the sharing of it.” Mary Jo Leddy, Why Are We Here? A meditation on Canada
Section 1 was founded by Peter L. Biro in 2018 at a moment when it was becoming clear to democratic scholars, activists, civil libertarians, civil society organizations and political observers everywhere, that democratic backsliding was occurring at a fast and furious pace throughout the West and that liberal democracy itself was in danger of withering away.
As the democracy deficit increased and the urgency of the need to combat the erosion of liberal democratic civic values and practices became increasingly acute, it was evident that Section 1 needed to expand its reach and intensify its efforts. In order to enhance its effectiveness, in 2023 Section 1 was incorporated under the Canada Not-For-Profit Corporations Act, and was also accorded status as a Registered Charity under the Income Tax Act (Canada).
Section 1 is dedicated to helping us recognize, combat and reverse democratic backsliding wherever and however it is occuring in our society, and to elucidate and promote the essential principles – the “fundamentals” – of a liberal constitutional democracy or, as Section 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms calls it, a truly “free and democratic society”.
We operate as think-tank, convening conferences and commissioning research and writing, as educators, focusing on the essential content of an education for liberal democratic citizenship, and as public interest advocates for the cause of a liberal democratic civic culture.
We are a nonpartisan organization promoting the values of a society in which each citizen is armed with both an intellectual understanding of the core values of liberal constitutionalism and a civic immune system conditioned to viscerally recognize and react to the ubiquitous and unrelenting threats to the values and practices that define a “free and democratic society”.
As liberal democrats, we assume our responsibility to become the heroes of our shared civic life.
Section 1 is a Registered Charity under the Income Tax Act (Canada) and a corporation under the Canada Not-For-Profit Corporations Act – CBN: 736845017RR0001.
Education for Heroic Citizenship!
Section 1 is a Registered Charity under the Income Tax Act (Canada) and a corporation under the Canada Not-For-Profit Corporations Act – CBN: 736845017RR0001.
Daniel Iny
102 - 366 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 1R9
Telephone: (416) 971-8000
FAX: (416) 971-8001
Email: sdewart@dgllp.ca
DEWART GLEASON LLP
FIERCE ADVOCATES
A boutique law firm focusing on civil litigation, labour law, defence of solicitors negligence claims, and professional regulation.
Sean Dewart
A Lawyer’s Lawyer
Sean has defended hundreds of lawyers facing claims. He has successfully represented civil, criminal and family counsel, corporate/commercial and real estate practitioners and arbitrators. He has defended lawyers being sued for defamation, and those who are facing claims for personal costs orders. Where lawyers’ integrity has been attacked, Sean has won punitive costs orders against plaintiffs, including on an appeal, where such orders are exceedingly rare.
Administrative and Professional Regulation
Sean acts for the Law Society of Upper Canada in professional regulation proceedings. He also acts in regulatory and administrative matters concerning health professions, municipal and police accountability and labour relations.
Police Accountability
Sean was lead counsel in two groundbreaking cases against police services. In Jane Doe v. Toronto Police, a woman successfully sued the police when they failed to protect her from a serial rapist at large in her community. In Hill v. Hamilton Police, the Supreme Court of Canada held that people who are wrongly charged with a crime can sue the police for negligent investigations. Sean also acted for interveners in Supreme Court of Canada cases concerning remedies for misfeasance by government officials, the liability of Crown prosecutors for malicious prosecution, and the availability monetary awards where government officials breach the rights guaranteed under the Charter.
Counsel for Tough Cases
Sean represented the plaintiffs in a case where the court blocked the government’s attempt to unlawfully privatize a major Crown corporation, he successfully challenged a cruel welfare ‘reform’ law, and acted for a former head of state who was sued by a Prime Minister for supposed defamation.
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