100 Days in Office

Raiden DeDominicis — Independent for University-Rosedale

A concrete plan for what your Independent MP will do from Day 1.

"I'm not asking you to trust a party. I'm asking you to hold me accountable to this plan."

— Raiden DeDominicis

Table of Contents

1. Affordability: Food, Housing & Travel

2. Ban Gambling Advertising

3. Protect Canadians from Big Tech

4. Trade Deals That Work for Canadians

5. Get Young People Into Politics

6. The 100-Day Timeline

1. Affordability: Food, Housing & Travel

The Problem

Canadians are being squeezed from every direction. Grocery prices have risen over 20% since 2021 while Loblaws, Metro, and Empire (Sobeys) — three companies controlling roughly 60% of the Canadian grocery market — have posted record profits. A one-bedroom apartment in University-Rosedale averages over $2,200/month. Flying from Toronto to Vancouver costs more than flying to London, England.

The Competition Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-34) has not been meaningfully modernized in decades. Canada's competition enforcement lacks the tools, funding, and political will to take on oligopolies.

The Plan

Days 1–30: Food Prices

• Table a Private Member's Bill to amend the Competition Act to add a grocery sector code of conduct with binding enforcement powers for the Competition Bureau
• Move a motion to establish a Parliamentary Committee on Grocery Affordability with subpoena power to compel testimony from Loblaws, Metro, and Empire executives
• Push for interim measures: require grocery chains to publicly disclose supplier pricing margins on staple goods (bread, dairy, produce, meat)

Days 31–60: Housing

• Table a Private Member's Bill: the Modular Housing Acceleration Act, creating a federal incentive program for factory-built modular housing — targeting 25% cost reductions and 50% faster construction timelines
• Move a motion to amend the National Housing Strategy Act (2019) to include modular construction targets of 30% of new federally-funded housing by 2028
• Advocate for a federal land trust program that removes federal surplus land from speculative markets and dedicates it to affordable housing

Days 61–100: Domestic Travel

• Move a motion to review the Canada Transportation Act and amend cabotage rules to allow greater domestic airline competition
• Push for a study on why domestic flights cost 2–3× comparable international routes
• Advocate for a passenger bill of rights expansion with real penalties for cancellations and price gouging on domestic routes

The Bills

International Examples

🇬🇧 United Kingdom — Grocery Market Investigation

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) conducted a major grocery market investigation and established a legally binding Groceries Supply Code of Practice with an independent adjudicator (the GCA). This gives suppliers a fair complaints process and prevents retailers from transferring excessive risk down the supply chain. Canada has no equivalent.

→ UK Groceries Code Adjudicator

🇸🇪 Sweden — Modular Housing Construction

Sweden builds 80–90% of its homes using factory-based modular construction. Companies like BoKlok (a joint venture between IKEA and Skanska) produce high-quality, affordable housing at scale. A typical modular home in Sweden is 25% cheaper and constructed in half the time of conventional builds. Canada currently builds less than 5% of homes this way.

→ BoKlok Model

🇦🇺 Australia — Domestic Airline Competition

Australia's introduction of budget carriers (Jetstar, Virgin Australia) drove down domestic airfares significantly. Their competition regulator (ACCC) actively monitors airline pricing and has powers to intervene. Canada's market remains dominated by Air Canada and WestJet with minimal regulatory pressure on pricing.

→ ACCC Airline Monitoring

Further Reading

• Competition Bureau Canada — Grocery Sector Study
• CMHC — Housing Supply Report
• Transport Canada — Air Passenger Protection
• House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture — Food Price Inflation Report

2. Ban Gambling Advertising

The Problem

In 2021, Bill C-218 (the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act) legalized single-event sports betting in Canada. It passed with all-party support and minimal debate about the advertising consequences. Since then, gambling advertising has exploded — on TV during hockey games, on podcasts, on social media, on transit shelters across University-Rosedale.

73% of Canadians say there are too many gambling ads. 78% of parents are worried about the impact on their children. Problem gambling costs Canadians an estimated $14 billion per year in social and health costs.

No major party will touch this. The gambling lobby is too powerful, and every party voted for C-218. An independent MP can.

The Plan

Days 1–15:

• Table a Private Member's Bill: the Gambling Advertising Restriction Act, prohibiting gambling advertising on broadcast television, radio, social media platforms, and public transit between 6 AM and 1 AM, with a full ban on advertising targeting anyone under 25
• Move a motion calling on the CRTC to issue interim advertising guidelines for gambling operators

Days 16–50:

• Move a motion to establish a Parliamentary Study on the Social Costs of Gambling Advertising — calling witnesses from public health organizations, addiction services, and affected families
• Push for amendments to the Broadcasting Act to classify gambling ads alongside tobacco advertising restrictions

Days 51–100:

• Advocate for a mandatory "opt-in" model for gambling marketing — no unsolicited texts, emails, or push notifications from gambling companies
• Push for provincial coordination on gambling ad restrictions through a federal-provincial working group
• Table a motion to review the impacts of Bill C-218 three years on

The Bills

International Examples

🇮🇹 Italy — Full Gambling Ad Ban (2019)

Italy's "Dignity Decree" (Decreto Dignità, 2018) imposed a complete ban on all gambling advertising across all media, effective January 2019. This includes TV, radio, print, online, and sponsorships. Early evidence shows reduced gambling participation among young people.

→ Italian Government — Decreto Dignità

🇧🇪 Belgium — Complete Gambling Ad Ban (2023)

Belgium became the second EU country to impose a total ban on gambling advertising, effective July 2023. The ban covers all media including social media influencer marketing. Belgium's Gaming Commission enforces the ban with significant penalties.

→ Belgium Gambling Commission

🇦🇺 Australia — Phased Gambling Ad Restrictions (2023–)

Following a parliamentary inquiry, Australia announced a phased approach to restricting gambling advertising, including bans during live sport before 8:30 PM and restrictions on inducement advertising. The Murphy Report recommended a full ban.

→ Australian Parliament — Murphy Report on Gambling Advertising

🇪🇸 Spain — Time-Restricted Gambling Ads (2021)

Spain's Royal Decree 958/2020 restricts gambling advertising to the 1 AM–5 AM window, bans celebrity endorsements, and prohibits welcome bonuses. Problem gambling rates among young men dropped in the first year.

→ Spain Gambling Regulation — DGOJ

Further Reading

• Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction — Gambling
• Responsible Gambling Council — Canada
• Bill C-218 — Parliament of Canada
• Greo Evidence Insights — Gambling Research

3. Protect Canadians from Big Tech

The Problem

Bill C-27, the Digital Charter Implementation Act — Canada's attempt at modern privacy law, AI regulation, and a data tribunal — died on the order paper when Parliament was prorogued in January 2025. Canada's privacy framework is still governed by PIPEDA (the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act), which dates to the year 2000. It was written before smartphones, before social media, before AI.

Meanwhile, Meta blocked news for 40 million Canadians in response to the Online News Act and faced no meaningful consequences. TikTok's algorithm pushes content to millions of Canadian children with no transparency. AI systems are being deployed in hiring, lending, and policing with no Canadian regulatory framework.

Europe has GDPR, the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the AI Act. Canada has nothing.

The Plan

Days 1–30:

• Table a Private Member's Bill: the Canadian Digital Rights Act, reviving and strengthening the privacy provisions from the deceased Bill C-27, including:
• Right to data portability
• Right to deletion ("right to be forgotten")
• Meaningful consent requirements (no more 40-page terms of service)
• Penalties of up to 5% of global revenue for violations
• Move a motion urging the government to prioritize digital privacy legislation

Days 31–60:

• Table a Private Member's Bill: the Algorithmic Transparency Act, requiring platforms with over 1 million Canadian users to:
• Publish transparency reports on content recommendation algorithms
• Allow users to opt out of algorithmic content curation
• Provide researchers access to platform data for public interest studies
• Advocate for a Digital Platform Accountability Office within the CRTC

Days 61–100:

• Move a motion for a Parliamentary study on AI deployment in federal government services
• Push for age verification requirements for social media platforms (following the EU Digital Services Act model)
• Advocate for interoperability requirements for dominant messaging and social media platforms

The Bills

International Examples

🇪🇺 European Union — GDPR (2018)

The General Data Protection Regulation remains the global gold standard for data privacy. It gives EU citizens the right to access, correct, and delete their personal data, requires explicit consent for data processing, and imposes fines of up to 4% of global revenue. Since GDPR, the EU has collected over €4 billion in fines. Canada's PIPEDA has no comparable enforcement power.

→ GDPR Official Text

→ EU GDPR Enforcement Tracker

🇪🇺 European Union — Digital Services Act & Digital Markets Act (2022–2024)

The DSA requires platforms to be transparent about algorithms, take down illegal content faster, and submit to independent audits. The DMA designates "gatekeepers" (Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, ByteDance) and forces them to allow interoperability, stop self-preferencing, and give users control over defaults. Canada has no equivalent legislation.

→ EU Digital Services Act

🇪🇺 European Union — AI Act (2024)

The world's first comprehensive AI law classifies AI systems by risk level, bans certain uses (social scoring, real-time biometric surveillance in public), and requires transparency for high-risk applications in hiring, credit, and law enforcement. Canada was developing similar provisions in Bill C-27's AIDA (Artificial Intelligence and Data Act), but it died with the bill.

→ EU AI Act

Further Reading

• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
• Bill C-27 — Parliament of Canada
• Citizen Lab — University of Toronto (digital rights research, right here in our riding)
• Canadian Civil Liberties Association — Privacy
• OpenMedia — Digital Rights in Canada

4. Trade Deals That Work for Canadians

The Problem

Trade policy in Canada has become a partisan performance. The Liberals frame everything as "us vs. Trump." The Conservatives spent years courting Washington. Neither side applies a simple test: does this deal help Canadians?

Meanwhile, workers in University-Rosedale — in tech, hospitality, education, small business — feel the impacts of trade decisions made without transparency. Supply chain disruptions hit grocery prices. Retaliatory tariffs affect small exporters. And nobody explains the trade-offs honestly.

The Plan

Days 1–30:

• Move a motion to establish a Trade Transparency Standard — requiring the government to publish plain-language impact assessments for all trade negotiations, accessible to the public before ratification
• Push for a riding-level Trade Impact Review for University-Rosedale, identifying which local industries and workers are most exposed to current trade disputes

Days 31–60:

• Table a Private Member's Bill: the Trade Accountability Act, requiring:
• Public consultations before entering trade negotiations
• Regular progress reports to Parliament during negotiations
• A mandatory 90-day public review period before ratification of any new trade agreement
• Advocate for stronger trade adjustment assistance for workers displaced by trade deals — retraining programs, income support, and transition services

Days 61–100:

• Move a motion for a Parliamentary study on trade diversification — reducing Canada's over-reliance on the US (75%+ of exports) by strengthening ties with the EU (CETA), Indo-Pacific (CPTPP), and UK
• Push for a dedicated small business trade navigator service to help Canadian SMEs access existing trade agreements
• Advocate for supply chain resilience measures for essential goods (food, medicine, energy)

The Bills

International Examples

🇳🇿 New Zealand — Trade for All Agenda

New Zealand's "Trade for All" advisory board (2018) conducted nationwide public consultations on trade policy, resulting in a new framework that puts inclusive outcomes — workers, indigenous communities, environment — at the centre of trade negotiations. Canada's trade negotiations remain largely opaque.

→ NZ Trade for All Report

🇪🇺 European Union — Trade Transparency

The European Commission publishes negotiating mandates, position papers, and round-by-round updates for all trade negotiations. EU citizens can track the progress of deals like CETA (the Canada-EU trade agreement) in real time. Canada does not provide comparable transparency on its side.

→ EU Trade Transparency

🇦🇺 Australia — Trade Diversification

After China imposed trade sanctions on Australian goods in 2020, Australia accelerated diversification through new agreements with the UK, India, and Southeast Asian nations. Their experience offers lessons for Canada's over-reliance on the US market.

Further Reading

• Global Affairs Canada — Trade Agreements
• Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives — Trade
• C.D. Howe Institute — Trade Policy
• Canada West Foundation — Trade Diversification

5. Get Young People Into Politics

The Problem

The median age in University-Rosedale is 37. There are 95,000 students at the University of Toronto — entirely within this riding. Yet the average age of a Canadian MP is 52. Young Canadians are the most underrepresented demographic in Parliament.

Barriers to entry are real: the $1,000 candidate deposit (recently reduced, but still a barrier), the cost of campaigning, the complexity of Elections Canada paperwork, the party gatekeeping that freezes out independent voices, and a culture that tells young people to "wait their turn."

If a 29-year-old with a podcast and a blog can run, so can you.

The Plan

Days 1–30:

• Move a motion to establish a Youth Political Participation Commission — a non-partisan body that studies barriers to youth candidacy and recommends legislative changes
• Begin a "Run for Something" outreach campaign in University-Rosedale — hosting free workshops at U of T, OCAD, George Brown on how to run for office at any level (municipal, provincial, federal)

Days 31–60:

• Table a Private Member's Bill: the Youth Democracy Act, proposing:
• Reduction of the candidate deposit to $0 for first-time candidates under 30
• A federal Democracy Internship Program placing young Canadians (18–30) in MP offices across all parties for paid 6-month terms
• Requirement for Elections Canada to produce accessible, plain-language guides for independent candidates
• Advocate for civics education funding tied to federal transfers for education

Days 61–100:

• Move a motion for a Parliamentary study on lowering the voting age to 16 — as has been done or proposed in Scotland, Austria, Germany, Brazil, and New Zealand
• Push for digital-first voter registration — automatic registration at 16, seamless online process
• Host a University-Rosedale Youth Town Hall every quarter — open to all residents under 35, with real Q&A, no scripts

The Bills

International Examples

🇯🇵 Japan — Youth Political Engagement Programs

Japan lowered its voting age from 20 to 18 in 2016 and launched a national "Voters' Education" campaign including mandatory civics simulations in high schools. Youth voter turnout increased by 5 percentage points in the first election cycle after the reform.

🇰🇷 South Korea — Youth Quota and Support

South Korea lowered its voting age to 18 in 2020 and several political parties adopted youth quotas for candidate nominations. The country also provides public funding for youth civic organizations. Youth representation in the National Assembly has increased.

→ ACE Electoral Knowledge Network — South Korea

🇦🇹 Austria — Voting at 16

Austria lowered its voting age to 16 in 2007 for all elections — the first EU country to do so. Studies show that 16- and 17-year-old voters in Austria participate at rates comparable to older age groups and show similar levels of political knowledge. The policy is now widely considered a success.

→ Austrian Parliament — Voting at 16

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland — Voting at 16

Scotland extended voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds for the 2014 independence referendum. 75% of 16–17-year-olds voted. Scotland has since maintained votes at 16 for all devolved elections.

→ Scottish Parliament — Votes at 16

🇫🇮 Finland — Youth Councils

Every municipality in Finland is legally required to have a Youth Council — an elected body of young people (13–20) that has the right to be consulted on all decisions affecting youth. This creates a pipeline of engaged young citizens who go on to participate in formal politics.

→ Finnish Youth Act

Further Reading

• Elections Canada — Running as a Candidate
• Samara Centre for Democracy — Youth and Democracy
• Samara Centre — Youth Civic Engagement

The 100-Day Timeline

A Note on Being Independent

As an independent MP, I can't whip votes or force legislation through. What I can do:

• Table Private Member's Bills that force Parliament to debate issues they'd rather ignore
• Move motions that create committees, studies, and public pressure
• Build cross-party coalitions on issues where Canadians agree but parties won't act
• Be completely transparent about what I'm doing and why — no party messaging, no spin

Every item in this plan will be tracked publicly. I will publish quarterly updates on what I've introduced, what's progressing, and what I've been unable to move forward — and why.

This is what accountability looks like when you don't answer to a party.

This document is a working plan subject to refinement. It requires approval from the campaign before publication on vote4raiden.ca.

Raiden DeDominicis — Independent for University-Rosedale

vote4raiden.ca