Measure public consent
Track major decisions, public evidence, consultations, lobbying activity and parliamentary votes in one accessible place.
Canadian Democratic Defense Association
Your country. Your voice. Your vote.
An independent civil society organization building permanent ways for Canadians to research, organize and participate in the decisions made in their name.
✓ One member. One vote.✓ Bilingual by design.✓ Transparent governance commitments.
Why we exist
Democracy should continue between elections.
Canadians deserve clear information, meaningful participation, and public institutions that can be held to account. The Canadian Democratic Defense Association (CDDA) brings this work together. My Canadian Freedom is its civic participation initiative; the Canadian Citizens Congress is one of the initiatives being developed within the wider organization.
Organize locally
Connect members by federal riding so constituents can act together and receive clear answers from their representatives.
Advance democratic reform
Campaign for citizen-initiated referendums, stronger transparency, electoral reform and enforceable accountability.
Our initiatives
One organization. Many ways to take part.
CDDA connects civic participation, independent research and democratic reform. Explore the work and find where you can contribute.
01
Civic participation
My Canadian Freedom
Connect locally, learn about democratic processes and help organize community participation.
Explore initiative →02In development
Canadian Citizens Congress
Help shape a national civilian forum for deliberation, member proposals and shared priorities.
Explore initiative →03Volunteer applications open
Research & evidence
Build sourced records, examine competing evidence and support independent review.
Explore initiative →04Proposed initiative
Referendum & democratic reform
Explore citizen-led consultations and the proposed independent referendum commission.
Explore initiative →05In development
Public Consent Register
Bring public consultations, lobbying records and parliamentary decisions into view.
Explore initiative →06Applications open
Membership & transparency
Support the work with equal member voting rights and clear governance commitments.
Explore initiative →A CDDA initiative · In development
Canadian Citizens Congress
A national civilian forum where Canadians can bring forward concerns, examine evidence and develop shared proposals for change.
We are building the participation framework. The Congress is a civil society initiative; it does not hold parliamentary powers or make binding public law.
- 01
Organize locally
Bring together people from your community and riding around concerns they share.
- 02
Examine the evidence
Document the issue, seek competing perspectives and separate findings from opinion.
- 03
Deliberate together
Develop proposals through respectful discussion and published participation rules.
- 04
Record and follow through
Publish recommendations and track responses. Voting procedures remain subject to adopted governance rules.
Our first priorities
From frustration to organized democratic power.
- 01Public Consent Register
- 02Citizen-initiated referendums
- 03Riding-level member network
- 04Transparent lobbying records
Campaign workspace
Turn each public record into coordinated action.
01
Document
Build a sourced public record.
02
Organize
Activate riding coordinators.
03
Intervene
Submit briefs and question MPs.
04
Report
Publish every response and result.
Member resolutions
Members set the direction.
Organize where you live
A national network, built riding by riding.
Local coordinators will connect members, share verified campaign material, organize public meetings and maintain a clear line of communication with elected representatives.
Riding networkCoordinator recruitment plannedDemonstration visualization—not current chapter data.
Ways to contribute
Put your skills to democratic work.
Riding coordinator
Bring local members together and coordinate peaceful civic action.
Research contributor
Review legislation, consultations, lobbying records and primary documents.
Community communicator
Translate complex issues into accurate, accessible public material.
Constitutional research volunteer
Build sourced evidence packages from legislation, regulations, Hansard, court decisions and official records for independent legal review.
Operations volunteer
Support membership, events, technology and administrative systems.
National referendum commission initiative
Build the public institution before seeking the public mandate.
CDDA’s proposed commission begins as an independent, non-governmental civic initiative: a transparent system for developing questions, documenting public support, conducting credible member consultations and advocating for lawful referendum reform.
Important legal boundaryCDDA cannot administer an official federal referendum or present itself as Elections Canada. Under the current federal framework, official referendums are governed by the Referendum Act and administered by the Chief Electoral Officer. Our immediate role is research, public consultation, civic organizing and legislative advocacy.
Adopt purposes, bylaws, member rights, board duties and conflict rules; determine the appropriate not-for-profit legal structure.
Publish standards for question clarity, neutrality, evidence, accessibility, privacy, security and bilingual participation.
Run clearly labelled non-binding member consultations with auditable rules, equal information and independent observation.
Establish provincial, territorial and riding networks that can document support and deliver public education.
Prepare a model citizen-initiative referendum statute and advocate for its adoption through lawful parliamentary and provincial processes.
Seek recognition or statutory authority only after governance, funding, technology and public-accountability tests are satisfied.
Institutional safeguards
Credibility must be designed in.
- ✓ Independent question review
- ✓ Equal treatment of supporting and opposing arguments
- ✓ Published funding and conflict disclosures
- ✓ Verifiable voter eligibility with secret ballots
- ✓ Accessible English and French materials
- ✓ Audit logs, recount rules and correction records
Current Canadian framework
These primary sources define the present federal baseline. CDDA’s proposed citizen-initiative model would require further legal analysis and, where necessary, new legislation.
Constitutional evidence program
Research that can withstand legal scrutiny.
CDDA volunteers will research public-law questions and prepare structured constitutional-objection evidence packages for review by qualified independent legal counsel. The legal partner—not CDDA—will decide whether any legal theory, filing, prosecution or court proceeding is professionally supportable.
Intake & scope
Define the measure being examined, affected rights, jurisdiction, deadline and precise research questions.
Primary-source record
Collect enacted text, bills, regulations, Hansard, committee evidence, government records and controlling judgments.
Evidence matrix
Separate verified fact, attributed allegation, expert opinion, legal proposition, inference and unresolved question.
Quality review
Check citations, quotations, dates, completeness, contrary authority, privilege risks and personal-information handling.
Counsel handoff
Deliver an indexed package and research memorandum to the independent legal partner through an authorized channel.
Public accountability
Publish only material approved for release, recording corrections and protecting confidential or privileged information.
CDDA responsibilities
- ✓ Public-source research and chronology
- ✓ Evidence indexing and citation verification
- ✓ Community impact documentation with informed consent
- ✓ Secure package preparation and correction logs
Independent legal partner
- ✓ Legal opinions, strategy and professional judgment
- ✓ Privilege, retainer and client-confidentiality decisions
- ✓ Authorization and conduct of any legal proceeding
- ✓ Compliance with professional and procedural duties
The partner’s name, mandate and authority will be published only after both organizations approve a written agreement. Nothing on this site creates a lawyer-client relationship or promises that a matter will proceed.
Volunteer research unit
Open research for volunteers. Careful review before publication.
Anyone who registers as a research volunteer can submit questions and public sources. Contributions enter a review queue before any publication. Confidential internal projects require separate screening, training, conflict and confidentiality checks. Volunteer work is never presented as independent legal advice.
Want to participate in research? Fill out the free volunteer researcher form and sign in with the same email to use the open research workspace. No membership fee or screening is needed for that space. Confidential internal projects have separate access controls.
Research operations hub
One standard for every evidence package.
The unit will use repeatable templates so counsel can trace every claim to its source, understand what remains uncertain and see exactly who reviewed each version.
Explore bill researchIssue intake
Measure, jurisdiction, affected people, urgency, requested outcome and known proceedings.
Controlled templateAuthority table
Constitutional text, statutes, regulations, binding cases, persuasive cases and official guidance.
Controlled templateEvidence matrix
Proposition, evidence, source location, reliability, contradiction, gap and reviewer status.
Controlled templateChronology
Verified events, enactment dates, consultations, decisions, impacts and source links.
Controlled templateResearch memorandum
Question presented, short answer, facts, law, analysis, contrary position and open questions.
Controlled templateCounsel handoff index
Package inventory, access classification, version, approvals, cautions and correction history.
Controlled templateSource hierarchy
Authority before commentary.
Lower-ranked material may identify a lead, but it cannot replace the primary record when that record is available.
- AControlling authorityConstitutional text, enacted law and binding judgments.
- BOfficial recordGazettes, Hansard, committees, court files and government datasets.
- CQualified analysisPeer-reviewed scholarship and clearly identified expert work.
- DCorroborated reportingReputable reporting supported by named documents or direct evidence.
- EUnverified leadAnonymous claims, social posts and unsourced assertions—never treated as established fact.
Demonstrated research or subject experience, successful source-verification exercise, signed code and confidentiality undertaking, conflict disclosure and role-based training.
Public, internal, confidential or counsel-restricted. Access follows need-to-know and is logged; volunteers do not place case files on personal cloud drives.
No package moves to counsel until scope, citations, contrary material, privacy, conflicts, versioning and second-review fields are complete.
Proposed national organization
Authority flows from members—and returns as public accountability.
This formation model separates democratic authority, fiduciary oversight, daily operations, neutral referendum design and independent legal work. Positions shown below are proposed offices, not current appointments.
PROPOSED — SUBJECT TO MEMBER ADOPTIONBoard design
Small enough to decide. Broad enough to represent.
Proposed formation target: 7–11 directors, with staggered terms, regional and linguistic diversity, written competencies, annual conflict declarations and no paid executive forming a voting majority.
ChairFacilitates governance; does not direct every department.
Vice-chairContinuity, board development and assigned oversight.
SecretaryNotices, minutes, resolutions and corporate records.
TreasurerFinancial oversight, reporting and control compliance.
Directors at largeRegional, subject and community perspectives.
Membership & democracy
Member records, assemblies, resolutions, ballots and riding participation.
Research & evidence
Legislative monitoring, constitutional packages, verification and counsel handoffs.
Referendum development
Question standards, pilots, public consultations and model legislation.
Public education
Bilingual explainers, campaigns, media, events and correction notices.
Finance & operations
Budgets, procurement, people, technology, records and risk controls.
Privacy & security
Data minimization, access reviews, incident response and retention compliance.
Provincial, territorial and local voice
National coordination without erasing regional realities.
Each recognized provincial or territorial council would coordinate local chapters, nominate issues for national review and publish regional reports. Riding groups organize constituents but cannot bind all members or speak for CDDA without delegated authority.
Reserved member decisions
- ✓ Adoption or material amendment of bylaws
- ✓ Election and removal of directors
- ✓ Merger, dissolution or fundamental mission change
- ✓ Changes to equal voting rights
- ✓ Approval of any permanent commission constitution
Institutional separation
The independent legal partner advises or acts under its own professional authority. It does not appoint CDDA directors, control member votes or direct the referendum initiative. CDDA does not supervise counsel’s professional judgment.
Formation package
From civic initiative to member-governed institution.
CDDA currently operates through 1001215704 ONTARIO CORPORATION. These earlier formation drafts explore a possible future nonprofit structure; no conversion, new corporation or member-governed corporate structure is represented as completed.
WORKING DRAFTS — NOT FILED OR ADOPTEDPurposes & articles
The proposed legal purposes and the core statements intended for eventual articles of incorporation.
General bylaws
The operating constitution for members, directors, officers, meetings, voting, records and amendments.
Founding resolutions
A controlled agenda for the organizational meeting after incorporation or formal reorganization.
Eligibility & nominations
Minimum qualifications and a transparent process for directors and accountable officers.
Committee mandates
Standard terms of reference for audit, governance, research, referendum and nominations committees.
First national assembly
A fair bilingual procedure for member confirmation of the organization’s permanent rules and leadership.
First national assembly
A documented path to member legitimacy.
- 1Issue bilingual notice and complete draft package
- 2Confirm members and the voting record date
- 3Open nominations and member proposals
- 4Publish candidate and proposal materials
- 5Hold accessible debate and verified voting
- 6Certify results and publish implementation record
Legal review checkpoint
Before filing or adoption, counsel should reconcile the articles, bylaws, resolutions and policies with the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, its regulations, tax treatment, applicable provincial requirements and the organization’s actual activities.
Administration
Manage the organization without rebuilding the site.
Authorized administrators can manage members, leadership placements, research, organization declarations, committees, assemblies, agendas and member ballots. Access is granted by role and jurisdiction.
Administrator sign-inBefore you take part
Your questions, answered.
What is CDDA?
An independent civil society organization operating through 1001215704 ONTARIO CORPORATION under the registered business name CANADIAN DEMOCRATIC DEFENCE ASSOCIATION. Its initiatives bring together civic participation, research and democratic reform.
Is the Citizens Congress already a government body?
No. It is a civilian initiative in development. Its proposed recommendations and consultations do not enact laws or replace elected institutions.
What happens when I apply?
Your application is stored for administrator review. It does not activate payment, voting rights or research access. Membership and volunteer applications are separate processes.
Does membership make me a shareholder?
No. Civic membership does not confer corporate shares. Equal civic voting rights are part of the proposed participation framework; corporate authority remains governed by the operator’s legal structure.
Can I pay or vote now?
Online payment collection and binding member ballots are not active. Prices describe proposed support tiers. Final eligibility, voting and payment rules must be published before those services open.
Will my name or application be public?
Application records are restricted to national administrators. The application does not authorize publication of your identity or subscribe you to marketing. The privacy notice explains the information collected, service providers and retention limits.
Can CDDA represent me in court?
A website visit or research submission does not retain counsel or create a lawyer-client relationship. Any legal representation requires a separate agreement with an authorized legal professional. Do not submit confidential case evidence through a public form.
How do I raise a concern?
Use Contact & requests for privacy, corrections, membership, accessibility or conduct concerns. Keep the reference displayed after submission. The inbox does not send automatic email, provide emergency assistance or stop legal deadlines.
Legal & accountability
Know the rules. Know your choices.
Read how this site handles your information, who operates it and the proposed rules for participation. Current notices are distinguished from policies awaiting adoption.
Open legal centreP–01
Current noticePrivacy notice
What this site collects, why it is needed, and how to make a privacy request.
Read full document →P–02
Proposed policyTerms of use
Proposed rules for website use, submissions, accounts and disputes.
Read full document →P–03
Current noticeLegal identity & civic mandate
The operator, the initiatives and the limits of their authority.
Read full document →P–04
Proposed policyMembership & participation
Application conditions and the proposed membership framework.
Read full document →P–05
Proposed policyContributions, refunds & cancellation
Current payment status and proposed protections before payments open.
Read full document →P–06
Proposed policyVolunteer & community conduct
Respectful participation, confidentiality and defined authority.
Read full document →P–07
Current noticeComplaints, corrections & appeals
A practical route for concerns, requests and review.
Read full document →P–08
Current noticeCookies & communications
Sign-in, technical processing and email choices.
Read full document →P–09
Proposed policyResearch, evidence & publication
Source standards, corrections, privacy and release authority.
Read full document →P–10
Proposed policyGovernance, conflicts & financial controls
Proposed accountability rules, with current corporate authority distinguished.
Read full document →P–11
Current noticeAccessibility & language
Access options, feedback and current limitations.
Read full document →P–12
Proposed policySecurity, retention & incident response
Proposed operating procedures requiring assigned responsibility.
Read full document →Membership
Equal voice. Different ways to sustain the work.
Our proposed civic framework gives each eligible member one vote. Applications are open; payments and binding ballots are not active. Civic membership does not confer corporate shares.
Member
$25 per year
Accessible membership with full voting rights.
Choose this membershipSustaining Member
$10 per month
Reliable support for ongoing organizing.
Choose this membershipDemocracy Builder
$25 per month
Helps fund research and national campaigns.
Choose this membershipFounding Member
$250 one time
Builds the foundation for our first year.
Choose this membershipNot ready to join? Support the work.
Make a one-time or monthly contribution to research, public education and democratic organizing.
Contributions are not eligible for charitable tax receipts.Our commitment
Accountability begins with us.
- ✓ Quarterly financial summaries
- ✓ Published governance and voting rules
- ✓ No donor receives extra voting power
- ✓ Clear privacy and refund policies
Member portal
Your democratic work, all in one place.
Sign in to see your membership status, save your language preference, track requests and explore ways to participate. Active members can submit proposals for review.
Open member portalBuilt for trust