SOLUTIONS

Here are over 100 SOLUTIONS to the ISSUES that we are faced with. This is a preliminary list that will grow as Solution-Makers bring forward additional ideas to improve conditions in our world. Ultimately, we would like this list to feed into individual pages which will provide a summary of each item, with links to the Solution-Makers who are working in these fields making these changes happen. Content submissions from Solution Makers are welcome and appreciated.

GOVERNMENT AND DEMOCRACY

Proportional Representation - Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system.
End the monopolization of democracy through two-party political control.
Elected Senate (also elected through Proportional Representation; with an 8-year term limit).
More frequent referendums on significant issues. Allowing for more participation from the citizens - not just one vote every four years (technology makes this easier than ever before).
Greater recognition of online petitions as indicators of the will of the people; used as a tool for ongoing democratic participation.
Corporate money removed from political campaigns, disallow PACs, could consider publicly-funded elections.
Full transparency and disclosure regarding campaign contributions.
Full disclosure of and restrictions on government lobbying.
Discourage the Party Whip system and party discipline which undermines elected representatives' responsibility to vote in parliament in accordance with the will of their constituents.

MILITARY and VIOLENCE

Policy of Peace. Champion peace and international disarmament. Condemn military aggression, especially by allies.
Restrict the manufacture and export of weapons.
Tighten gun control on hand guns and automatic / semi-automatic weapons.
Re-affirm Canada's role as international Peacekeepers.
Increased support for veterans to return to civilian society; provision of treatment for PTSD; ongoing support as required.
Encourage national and global demilitarization and disarmament.
Boycott, divest and sanction bad actors who commit war crimes or crimes against humanity or the environment. Financial punishment can be an effective tool to discourage violence.

TAXATION

Balance the distribution of wealth through taxation
Reduce taxation of low- and middle-income individuals and families, as well as small businesses, in an effort to increase consumer spending and strengthen local economies.
Utilize Progressive Taxation - extreme wealth to be taxed at a much higher percentage - i.e. up to 80% on income above $10,000,000/year.
Taxation of on financial transaction for securities / stock / bond / commodity / derivatives / futures and foreign exchange markets transactions, and crypto-currency transactions.
Request global cooperation to end illegal tax havens / stop international tax evasion. The loopholes that currently allow corporations and wealthy individuals to avoid paying their fair share must be closed.
Increase corporate tax rates to balance wealth. Corporate capital assets tax paid into an investment fund used to finance enterprise creation / expansion and environmental cleanup.
Increase royalties paid for finite natural resources. Resource extraction must employ true-cost accounting, and take into account the inter-generational impacts of finite resource extraction by investing in trust funds for future generations who will be dealing with the damage being done. This should slow down consumption of resouces somewhat.
Increase "Sin Taxes" on alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, gambling, air travel, fossil fuels etc. These taxes are put into place to discourage things which are bad for people or the environment.
Continue to put a price on pollution through carbon taxation. This is a proven strategy which will reduce carbon emissions at the consumer and producer levels.
"Polluter Pays" taxation and Extended Producer Responsibility on goods in relation to the waste streams that come about as a result of production. Remit the proceeds of this to municipalities who must deal with waste managment and recycling.

ECONOMY

Green New Deal policies targeting rapid de-carbonization of the economy through a concerted transition to renewable energy and green infrastructure, with full employment pursued as a policy objective.
Use Living Wage formulas used to determine the minimum wage (could be regionally calculated) with annual review.
Transition away from debt economy. End predatory lending.
Restrict interest rates on consumer debt such as credit cards to prime + 5% or less.
Trade restrictions / embargoes (non-essential goods) on nations that refuse to guarantee basic human rights.
Renegotiation of trade agreements to end the ability of foreign interests to sue our government if we impede their exploitation of our resources.
Pursue full government funding for post-secondary education.
Enact government debt forgiveness for student loans.
Switch from GDP as measure of economy; instead use a measure such as the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) which takes into account factors such as literacy, health and fitness, housework, family time, public infrastructure, cultural institutions, community volunteerism, water and air quality, forests, farmland, wetlands, and employment to determine the net effects of economic growth.
Increased regulation and taxation of financial markets, banks.
End corporate profiteering and the unethical practices of corporations aimed at maximizing profits at the expense of consumers, employees, and the environment.
End private monopolization of financial systems. A diversified financial system with multiple players can reduce the risk of a single point of failure, which is crucial for economic stability.
Place much lower limits on the fees charged for basic banking and credit card transactions.
Enhance consumer protection laws and regulations to prevent businesses from exploiting customers through deceptive practices, ensuring fair treatment for all in areas such as product safety, advertising standards, and digital privacy.
Impose strict penalties and prosecution for insider trading / collusion / fraud (jail time not bail time).
Require true cost accounting be used to take into account the negative impacts of corporate and government operations.
Create jobs and opportunities that eliminate racial and gender inequality. Equal pay for equal work could be legislated.
Fewer working hours, drop standard workweek to 30h or 3.5 days per week. Stronger restrictions on maximum working hours (respecting the safety and well-being of workers, across all industries.
“End trade deals that interfere with attempts to... regulate corporations and stop damaging extractive projects” (The Leap Manifesto)
Encourage the democratization of the economy - putting the means of production into the hands of the workers / communities. Encourage worker-owned cooperatives and allow employees to purchase the companies they work for through leveraged buyouts, labour trusts, or share levies on corporate profits. Encourage community owned cooperatives, especially when building renewable energy capacity.
Re-nationalizing industries which belong in the hands of the people, not private interests. This is applicable to water, energy, telecommunications, mass transportation etc.
"Degrow" the Economy and encourage a reduction in the drive to continually accelerate consumer demand.
Open-Source everything. Make all plans, research, designs that help humans thrive available to the masses free of charge. Give those in developing countries the chance to improve the well-being of their people and environments without having to start from scratch.

INDUSTRY - CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) including labour justice, mitigation of environmental impacts, community and social impacts (i.e. positive contribution to society).
Environmental impacts fairly evaluated and compensation + restoration required in real-time, as well as for the duration of the impact. Cleanup mandatory.
Restricting or prohibiting some types of damaging industrial activity.
“Polluter pays” system ensuring those creating the original pollution are also paying for the environmental consequences of the entire lifecycle of the products.
Improved vehicle emissions standards; manufacturer and consumer incentives for electric vehicles / dis-incentives on gas and diesel engines.
Industrial pollution curtailed. Industry must process / neutralize wastes it produces. Especially important for work in other countries.
Labour – requirement to pay workers a living wage in every country of operation.
Reduced Workweek - 30 hour / 4 day workweek. Two (2) full shifts per week for those who want to remain open daily. Six (6) full shifts per week for 24-hour operations.
Provide retraining for workers from carbon-intensive sectors to ensure they are fully able to take part in the clean energy economy.
Restitution made for grievous injustice (such as impacts to indigenous culture, wage gap between white men and women and people of colour)
Corporations paying fair and proportionate taxation based on profits. No more tax evasion. No more insider trading.
Oil industry to build refineries close to extraction sites to bring low-grade bitumen into higher-value end products to meet domestic demand, reducing reliance on foreign oil imports. Enforcing carbon taxation on oil and gas imports.
Pharmaceutical industry more strictly regulated. Drug prices controlled.
Encouragement of Hemp and Cannabis industries. Hemp can produce food, paper, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics, paint, insulation, biofuel, and building materials. Cannabis industry has enormous potential and is an excellent source of tax revenue.
Re-evaluation of industrial farming practices, especially the ethical standards for animal production and processing. Encouragement of biodiversity; reduction in monocropping in agriculture. Tighter controls on pesticide and herbicide application. More research (long-term studies) into GMOs before approving them for use in food supply.
Support and encourage labour unions to help protect the rights of workers and hold corporations accountable.
Ensure the pharmaceutical industry is regulated to control drug prices.
Set a "moratorium on new pipelines, offshore oil wells, fracking, tar sands excavation, mountaintop removal, strip mines, and other extraction of fossil fuels, as all of these entail severe ecological damage and risk.” - Charles Eisenstein

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

Environmental protection - rivers, oceans, coasts, forests and other lands - as a governmental and societal priority.
Cleanup and reclamation of polluted ecosystems, waterways, etc.
Regeneration of healthy forest ecosystems, afforestation / reforestation.
End to dumping untreated sewage into water bodies (i.e. Montreal, Victoria etc.) Federal support to municipalities for sewage treatment upgrades to Canadian standards.
Consider a ban (or heavily tax) single-use plastics. Companies must commit to reduction of single-use plastics and set annual targets to eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic.
Encourage development of bio-plastics (which would be un-taxed).
Support for / action on ocean cleanup efforts. Massive expansion of marine reserves for ocean regeneration.
Pressure on international community to stop over-fishing and to keep oceans healthy. Ban on bottom-trawling, drift nets, and other industrial fishing practices.
Combating climate change through both reduced emissions as well as carbon capture. Hint: plants and trees deposit carbon into the soil.
Place the burden of cleaning up “orphan wells” on the industry; reclamation = employment.
Restrictions on toxic pollutants - “Stop poisoning the world with pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, plastics, PCBs, heavy metals, antibiotics, chemical fertilizers, pharmaceutical waste, radioactive waste, and other industrial pollutants” - Charles Eisenstein
Support personal changes; installation of in-home energy generation, passive-solar houses, bikeable cities, local diets and local economies.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Allow community cooperatives to produce energy in their municipalities.
Encourage individuals to produce energy on their homes i.e. solar / wind. Germany as an example. Allow and encourage individuals able to sell self-produced energy back onto the electricity grid.
Solar power (home and industrial applications).
Wind power technology is improving, advancements in onshore and offshore energy production.
Water (tidal) energy – more predictable than wind and sun.
Biofuel as a renewable fuel option. The source material matters greatly on this, as the demand for biofuels is fuelling deforestation in some areas of the world.
Geothermal energy (especially using abandoned O&G drillsites). Lower temperature pockets (not enough to create steam to create electricity) can still be used to heat homes / buildings.
Electromagnetic energy. Radiant energy / free energy (pioneered by Nikola Tesla).
In-stream hydroelectric, and conduit hydropower are smaller-scale energy technologies which have fewer negative impacts than the mega-dams of traditional hydroelectric production.
Universal program to build energy-efficient homes & retrofit existing housing. New home building standards to require such (ensure that low-income communities benefit at outset and receive job training and opportunities in this emerging industry).
“Training and resources for workers in carbon-intensive jobs, ensuring they are fully able to take part in the clean energy economy… involving the democratic participation of workers themselves”. (The Leap Manifesto)
High-speed rail powered by renewables. Maglev (magnetic levitation) train systems have great potential.
Cars powered by electricity. Could severely restrict or ban further production of gas / diesel vehicles.
Development and deployment of home battery storage for self-generated energy. Tesla Corp. is doing this. Work to improve battery storage capacity.
Biogas / methane capture. Methane creates a warming effect 34 times stronger than carbon dioxide over one hundred years. Digesters of human, agricultural, and industrial waste can produce biogas as a product of decomposition of organic material.
We can be powered by renewable energy. It is feasible for Canada to get 100% of its electricity from renewable resources within two decades. A clean economy by 2050. (The Leap Manifesto)
Reclaim energy industry within the public domain. Reversal of privatization of energy utilities.
Innovative energy-producing business ownership structures – companies that are democratically run / co-owned by workers. Keeping business revenue in communities. “Communities should collectively control these new energy systems.” (The Leap Manifesto)
The government has the power to provide subsidies toward the development and deployment of the above-mentioned technologies. They currently subsidize the oil industry (currently about $3.3 billion) in this way. We want to see these subsidies applied to renewable industries and helping individuals become energy independent.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Identify patterns of social inequity and organize resources to correct them.
Fully respect and apply the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Honour the inherent rights and title of the First Nations communities, and their right to self-determination regarding the use of their land.
Protection of indigenous art and crafts; prohibit sale of fake / imitation products (which are not produced by first-nations people themselves).
Reinforcement of basic human rights as outlined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights - including the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of self and family.
Encouragement and acceptance of diversity; cultural, religious, race, gender, orientation etc.
Zero tolerance for hate speech / crimes (especially focus on social media).
Global labour rights. We have a responsibility to ensure that those in other countries are afforded the same labour rights as we have achieved here. Trade relations should depend upon this as well as human rights assurances.
Full labour protection for all workers, including immigrant labourers.
Living Wage formulas applied as the minimum wage standards.
Expanding low-carbon sectors of the economy such as caregiving, teaching, social work, the arts, and public-interest media. This also provides secure jobs for women (The Leap Manifesto)
Racial equality. Wage-gap correction. Cultural shift away from acceptance of racism,
Gender equality. Wage-gap correction.
Increased penalties for domestic violence and violence against women. Increased consequences for sexual assault.
End human trafficking. Surveillance is now at such levels that the continuation of this is unacceptable.
Social safety net strengthening; enhanced care for homeless and mentally ill; school nutrition programs, assistance for new parents, support for seniors.
Universal healthcare to be maintained / strengthened.
Universal dental care or subsidization for those unable to afford dental care.
National pharmacare program (prescription drugs).
Support for education system / teachers. Maintaining smaller more manageable class sizes. Support from the general population and therefore government to fund schools well.
Schools to offer “life skills” classes (i.e. gardening, nutrition, personal finance, relationships, meditation etc.) in addition to core subjects.
Free college / university / post-secondary education is beneficial to society. Free or significantly subsidized tuition is offered in many advanced nations including: Germany, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Spain, Argentina, India, Taiwan and Cuba.
Investing in a national childcare program to provide affordable daycare for working families.
Public Infrastructure - invest in decaying public infrastructure (often municipally or provincially owned and maintained). Build to better withstand extreme weather events.
Encouragement of public transportation development and use (possibly free public transit to encourage use).
Employment insurance provision that is adequate to maintain reasonable quality of life - linked to a living wage formula which would vary per geographic region.
Universal basic or guaranteed income.
Housing and support for the homeless.
Design for livable communities that encourage social interaction and reduce the need for personal transportation.
Welcome refugees and migrants seeking safety and a better life. Recognizing Canada’s contributions to military conflicts and climate change – the primary drivers of the global refugee crisis, we have a responsibility to help immigrate and establish those who are seeking asylum. We have room to spare in Canada and we are welcoming of diversity, which is not the case in all harbouring nations.
Ensure Press freedom is upheld as are the standards of journalistic integrity. Encourage media programming that informs and enlightens; more strongly discouraging violence and disturbing content.
Encourage the production of domestic public media - save the CBC!

AGRICULTURE

Organic and biodynamic food production methods. As these methods are often more labour-intensive; making this an employment creator which allows for “country living”.
Encouragement of local food security in various bioregions.
Encouragement of biodiversity; polycultures instead of monocropping.
Permaculture design of agricultural systems should be encouraged.
Selective breeding instead of genetic modification.
Natural pest and ‘weed’ control methods.
Reclamation of damaged environments. Pollution control and remediation.
Composting and recycling of biological waste streams.
Water management including capture and storage; techniques effective at reducing / mitigating flooding. Proven to be able to ‘green’ deserts / reverse desertification.
Community building including social interdependence.
Templates and strategies for livable communities.
Ecological / energy efficient building design and construction.
A “Localized and ecologically-based agricultural system – reduce reliance on fossil fuels, capture carbon in the soil, absorb sudden shocks in global food supply, and produce healthier and more affordable food.” (The Leap Manifesto)

This list is only the beginning of an explanation of each Solution, which will ultimately be found on individual pages dedicated to each. Please understand this is a work in progress and will improve. Assistance with the creation of this content is urgently needed.