“We start to accept that ridiculous language in which citizens are referred to by politicians and administrators as clients.

We’re not clients of government.

We own the government, it’s our government.

There isn’t a single thing of government which we don’t own, how could we be clients ?

And we aren’t buying shoes, we’re talking about the rights of citizens within their own society.

We’re not stakeholders, we’re citizens.”

– John Ralston Saul, speaking at the PLAN 20th Anniversary evening at Christ’s Church Cathedral in Vancouver, November 20, 2009.

John Ralston Saul is an award winning novelist and essayist, and one of Canada’s most outspoken champions of freedom of expression.

His most recent book is called The Collapse of Globalism and the Reinvention of the World. It’s just the latest in a series of best selling works that have been translated into 22 languages and sold in over 30 countries. Earlier this year he become the first Canadian to elected president of International PEN, the association of writers devoted to defending freedom of expression.

John is also the patron of PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network), and he was the featured guest speaker at PLAN’s recent 20th Anniversary celebration in Vancouver.

I was asked to record the evening, and you now can hear the John’s keynote on the Tyze.com website, or listen to it here.