SHIFTING GROUND, SOLID FOUNDATIONS: IMAGINING A NEW PARADIGM FOR CANADIAN CIVIL SOCIETY ENGAGEMENT

• Main Authors: Nandini Ramanujam, Miatta Gorvie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Windsor 2015-02-01
• Series: Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice
• Online Access: https://wyaj.uwindsor.ca/index.php/wyaj/article/view/4519

Members of civil society are increasingly decrying what they identify as an insidious trend whereby the government is targeting organizations whose mandates run contrary to the federal government’s political and economic agendas and creating a chill around public policy and advocacy work. The media as well as civil society organizations [CSOs] themselves have documented government attempts to undermine and stifle the voices of dissenting organizations, ranging from rhetorical attacks to the withdrawal of funding for ambiguous reasons. The climate of resentment and suspicion between civil society actors and the government is detrimental for safeguarding the tradition of accountability and transparency in Canada’s democratic institutions. Amidst this turbulent environment, this paper examines the often-made claim by CSO leaders in Canada that public funding is a necessary requirement for a strong civil society, with the aim of challenging and mobilizing the civil society community to not only survive but to reinvigorate its engagement to further social justice in this changing social and economic landscape. We argue that discussions of the state of civil society in Canada focus disproportionately on the question of funding and relationship-building with the government and expose the unforeseen consequences of this trade-off for CSOs, their members, and constituent communities.  We close by introducing the potential of a new paradigm of “principled engagement” that would allow Canadian CSOs to thrive as sustainable, adaptable social justice advocates in coming years.