The program of CPC(M-L): Stop Paying the Rich; Increase Funding for Social Programs!, was first issued at the time of the 1997 federal election. It is a pro-social program to realize the Historic Initiative which the Party launched on January 1, 1995; it is a program to build the nation afresh by involving all Canadians in solving the problems facing them and society. 

The program was elaborated in the course of the nation-wide struggle of the working class and people against the anti-social offensive pursued by governments at all levels and, in particular, in the course of the fight-back campaign of the Ontario working class and people.

In March 1998, CPC(M-L) held its 7th Congress in Ottawa-Hull where this program was further discussed. CPC(M-L) calls on you to elaborate the program consistent with its objective of democratic renewal, according to the requirements of the times.

What is needed is a new and modern Canada, a Canada which is humane and democratic, where the people exercise their sovereignty and collectively stand as true champions of what is best in the world. Such a Canada can be built by the people themselves.

Join with the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) in this Historic Initiative. Such a new and modern Canada will stand as an inspiration to people everywhere and contribute to opening the door for the progress of the entire world. It Can be Done! It Must be Done! Join in! This is the Way Forward!

CPC(M-L)  believes that all aspects of political, economic and social life in Canada need renewal. This can be brought about only if the people are sovereign. They can exercise their sovereignty only if the fundamental law of the land vests sovereignty in the people and if the institutions and laws of Canada guarantee it. Canadians have expressed their wish for modern arrangements on many occasions, as they did clearly during the Spicer Commission hearings. They have repeatedly said that they need to take measures and begin working towards affirming their sovereignty and creating the required renewed institutions. They also see the need to take the same approach towards the problems of the economy which is in deep crisis. This crisis has become chronic, creating a jobless recovery and general insecurity. The same is the case with the political process which marginalizes the people and reduces them to the role of voting cattle. 

The people of Canada must deal also with the problems of culture and national sovereignty: working for the formation of a free and equal union between the nation of Quebec, the nations of the Aboriginal peoples and the rest of Canada, and building a truly multicultural society in which the languages and cultures of all Canadians are given official recognition and are encouraged to flourish.

The principle that all people have claims on the society by virtue of being human must be held as the overriding principle of the society, along with gender equality and freedom of conscience and lifestyle. A new, modern, truly democratic society in which people are sovereign is the urgent requirement for Canadians to enter the 21st century free of the legacy of the country’s 19th century colonial foundation.

The creation of such a society is the immediate aim of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), consistent with its long-term aim of creating a socialist society as the transition to communism, which will usher in a classless society.

I  •  Stop Paying the Rich —  Increase Funding for Social Programs

Like everything in a modern society, planning is indispensable to its overall functioning. The first step towards a planned modern society is the economic and political program to Stop Paying the Rich — Increase Funding for Social Programs.

It is a political program because its starting point is the harmonization of the individual interests of the members of society with those of their collectives, and of their collective interests with the general interests of society.

It is an economic program which would ensure that people have the financial resources in their own hands to plan and build the economic foundation of a new and modern society. This economic program will immediately:

•  Stop Paying the Rich —  Increase Funding for Social Programs.
•  Impose a moratorium on the debt.
•  Nationalize all banks and other financial institutions.
•  Increase fiscal and budgetary requisitions for health, education and other social programs in order to immediately assist the most vulnerable sections of the society.

II  •  Democratic Renewal

In order for the people to exercise their sovereignty and govern themselves, there is an immediate need to:  PROCLAIM A NEW AND MODERN CONSTITUTION

This new and modern constitution must enshrine:

•  The rights and duties of all citizens without any discrimination on the basis of language, race, national origin, religion, gender, lifestyle, ability, age, wealth or on any other basis;
•  The right of Quebec to self-determination, up to and including secession;
•  The hereditary rights of the Aboriginal peoples; the injustices of the past and the harm done to them must be redressed through the provision of indemnity payments;
•  The rights of the national minorities of Canada, including the recognition of the equality of all languages and cultures and the creation of conditions for their flourishing;
•  The vesting of sovereignty in the people.
To enable the people of Canada to exercise their sovereignty, this new and modern constitution must lay down as a fundamental principle that there can be: 
•  No Election Without Selection.

Under the fundamental law that elected representatives and all institutions must be subordinate to the electorate, the constitution must enshrine:

•  The Right to an Informed Vote;
•  The Right to Recall;
•  The Right to Initiate Legislation.
 
These laws must be turned into reality through the creation of institutions which enable the electors to exercise their right to elect and to be elected and facilitate their maximum participation in governance. A Canada-Wide Electoral Commission, as well as Electoral Committees in each constituency would be bodies to replace Elections Canada. The finances and facilities currently provided to Elections Canada and to Members of Parliament to operate their constituency offices would be reallocated to fund the functioning of the Canada-Wide Electoral Commission and Electoral Committees. The Members of Parliament would conduct their affairs through the Electoral Committees to which they would be subordinate. 

The Canada-Wide Electoral Commission and the Electoral Committees would be entrusted with two key tasks: 1) Guaranteeing that all electors can exercise their right to elect and be elected; and 2) Ensuring that the elected representatives are subordinate to the electors and serve their interests. These bodies would involve a large number of people, especially in the task of ensuring the subordination of the elected to the electors.
 
The new and modern constitution must establish:

•  The rights of all citizens and residents by virtue of being human.
In providing a guarantee to these rights, the constitution must hold the society, and the governments which represent that society, responsible to provide people with the highest possible standard of living within the existing conditions. It must also set out the aim of raising this standard to higher levels, consistent with the development of society, so as to meet the ever-increasing needs of the people for health care, education, culture and other necessities of life. The constitution must guarantee the recognition of the claims of all people on society by virtue of being human, as well as the claims based on the conditions of their collectivity in the case of women, youth, workers and all other collectives in the society.

III  •  Renewal of International Relations

In the sphere of international relations, the renewal of Canada requires a foreign policy which bases itself on:

•  Support for all peoples fighting for their rights;
•  Relations of equality and mutual benefit amongst sovereign nations based on peaceful coexistence;
•  Non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign nations.
The plan for the modernization of Canada’s foreign relations would include immediate withdrawal from all economic and military blocs. This entails:
•  Immediate withdrawal of Canada from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC);
•  Immediate withdrawal of Canada from NORAD and NATO;
•  Immediate democratization of the United Nations based on the principle that all nations, big or small, have an equal say;
•  Upholding the right of all nations to decide upon their own system and opposing the efforts of any country or group of countries to dictate what kind of system a country can or cannot have; opposing the Paris Charter and the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe; keeping Canada out of the Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI); and opposing the blockades against the Republic of Cuba, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and similar pressures exerted against other countries.