• POLITICAL PARTIES ARE NOT ENOUGH
  

The essence of freedom lies in keeping responsibility as close to the individual as possible.

Responsible government succeeds only when citizens involve themselves in scrutiny and policy development outside the sphere of party politics. Party politics have their place, but nonpartisan political action is just as important. Through education and activation on key issues, the Citizens Centre helps make this action possible.

• CONVERTING ATTITUDE INTO ACTION
  

Canadians are beginning to realize (or rediscover) that in a democracy, governing responsibility resides ultimately with the governed, not political parties, cabinets and courts.

For the governed to take responsibility, however, they need to move beyond vague, resentful attitudes to rational and specific actions. If this shift from attitude to action does not take place, nothing can change.

Since it formed in 2003, the Citizens Centre has discovered that it's possible to pressure politicians and decision-makers through a combination of public advertising and mass e-mails.

This formula combines the advantages of traditional public demonstrations, petitions, policy newsletters and town hall debates.

The Citizens Centre has conducted effective campaigns opposing the national gun registry, promoting free speech, urging criminal prosecution of Svend Robinson, promoting greater provincial autonomy in Alberta, and demanding that disgraced Canada Post president Andre Ouellet pay income tax on $2 million in unexplained expense payments.

These campaigns have generated over 600,000 e-mail letters and have raised the profile of these issues.

• The CITIZENS CENTRE IS NEITHER "RIGHT-WING" NOR "LEFT-WING"
  

Our mission is to promote responsible government in Canada by advocating honest government, a clear division of power between the federal and provincial governments, and a democratic counterbalance to the increasing power of the courts.