Agencies : A group of Canadian Lebanese academic activists launched a new institution called "The Canadian Lebanese Academic Forum: For a Just Lebanon for All", where they stated in the statement issued by the founding body of this forum that Lebanon suffers from various and chronic problems on different economic, social, and political levels, and from the absence of economic and social security. The explosion that swept Beirut on August 4, 2020, is nothing but conclusive evidence of criminal negligence by an authority that has never and will never bear its responsibilities. The people are in the depths of a devastating humanitarian crisis, and the authority still evades ways to confront reality, denies its ongoing negligence and failure, and persists in begging for help from the whole world, conditioning the aid methods. However, the continuation and worsening of this situation is not due to purely regional circumstances nor purely internal political disputes, but mainly due to a structural problem which is the nature of the existing Lebanese system. Therefore, changing the structure of the system is a fundamental condition for facing these problems. Thus, we, the undersigned, out of our concern for Lebanon and its people, as citizens and residents, announce the establishment of «The Canadian Lebanese Academic Forum» to contribute to this desired structural change to transition Lebanon from a sectarian state to a just civil state.

The existing system in Lebanon is a corrupt sectarian feudal capitalist quota system, where those in charge and who benefit from it seek to make profits regardless of the means and the extent of the harm they may cause to society, especially the poor and marginalized groups. In pursuit of this, they resort to:
1- Sectarian mobilization tools, through which they seek to rally their followers by invoking religious identity, deceiving people into thinking that they best represent them sectarian-wise, using people as tools against their competitors for money and power, and accusing anyone who dares to oppose them by all available means. 
2- Personalizing state institutions, thus destroying them as public institutions, so it becomes impossible for citizens/residents to obtain their ordinary rights except under the name of «services» by resorting back to the «leaders» and their clients in various administrations, consolidating their authority through the process of people’s subjugation.
3- Neglecting labor market policies and compensating for this neglect and the resulting spread of unemployment by random employment or by creating fictitious jobs and institutions to appease the largest number of supporters at the expense of the state and the people, which increases the personalization of state institutions and the subjugation process.
4- Subjugating and exploiting media tools and personalities to promote their projects and polish their image, diverting attention from core problems in order to pass shady deals.
5- Utilizing security, military, and judicial apparatuses for repression and consolidating their authority at the expense of society’s security.
6- Using regional security and political crises or global health crises as excuses to postpone any discussion about the nature of the system and their personal responsibilities for the deterioration of conditions.
7- Adopting policies that still marginalize certain areas and have led today to a state of collective impoverishment, to occupy citizens/residents with securing their livelihood and health, deterring them from demanding their rights.
All of this results in what we see today as the absence of health, economic, and social security in a country where class gaps and social injustice have reached unprecedented levels that cannot be ignored or tolerated. Saving Lebanon requires a radical change in the structure of the political-economic system starting with a transitional government, outside the circle of the corrupt political system, enjoying exceptional legislative powers to reproduce authority by enacting new laws, including an electoral law free from sectarian constraints, and adopting policies that achieve citizenship and enhance justice, and social and economic security. Moreover, saving Lebanon requires building a sovereign state capable of defending itself, imposing its sovereignty, and recovering its occupied lands. Within this framework, the forum considers that defending Lebanon’s sovereignty and achieving the interests of its people are incompatible with any normalization proposals.
This system is the core of the problem and its radical change is the root of the solution, and any attempt to reform or patch it up will be ineffective. Accordingly, we in the forum see that there is an urgent need to take some fundamental steps by the proposed transitional government:
1- Conducting an inventory of state assets as a basic condition to start any solid and coherent planning.
2- Addressing the public debt and distributing the cost among banks, large companies, and major depositors who benefited from financial policies including the unrealistically high interest rates that exhausted the state treasury and destroyed the Lebanese economy.
3- Establishing an economic, social, and health safety net for citizens and residents.
4- Abstaining from privatizing any sector under any name and rejecting IMF prescriptions and affirming non-touching of state assets and revenues by selling or mortgaging them to banks, major depositors, or special benefit holders. State assets and revenues belong to the people.
5- Enacting a set of laws to combat corruption and waste and enhance transparency in positions of responsibility.
6- Reforming the judiciary and protecting its full independence from political interference.
7- Raising the level of free public education and restoring the independence of the Lebanese University.
8- Updating and activating the law for trying presidents, deputies, and ministers.
9- Reconsidering the banking system laws.
10- Implementing laws against illicit enrichment.
11- Closing institutions, patronage councils, black funds, and corruption havens.
12- Launching workshops for infrastructure reform projects with full transparency.
13- Restructuring the public sector according to essential needs and activating oversight bodies.
14- Enacting a fair law for nationality and personal status.
The forum is in the process of building alliances and partnerships with multidisciplinary academics, and building communication bridges with parties interested in achieving social justice, aiming to support the building of a democratic civil state in Lebanon. We reiterate that the root of the problem is in the sectarian political system, and changing it is the solution. We in the forum call on all Canadian academics of Lebanese origin (from either mother’s or father’s side) to join this project and contribute intellectually and practically in order to transition Lebanon from a sectarian state to a free civil state. To communicate with the founding body, you can email us at: board@claf-facl.ca You can also visit our website www.claf-facl.ca for more information.

* The founding body of the Canadian Lebanese Academic Forum (in alphabetical order): Dr. Ali Barro, Dr. Mazen Htait, Dr. Imad Raad, Dr. Mohammad Sawan, Dr. Nahida Al-Assi, Dr. Abdulmutalib Al-Siddiq, Dr. Amal Ghazal, Dr. Jalal Kaoush, Dr. Yehia Lahib, Dr. Christo Al-Murr