Electra Gold CEO focuses on world peace

I am announcing my decision to refuse to pay income tax in the United States and Canada. I have divested myself of all personal assets, redirected these assets toward organizations which are working toward world peace and justice, and have advised Electra Gold Ltd., of which I am chief executive officer and chairman, to cap my salary at C$100 per month.

I have taken this action because a better world is needed for our people. I am a citizen of both the U.S. and Canada, and it is with a profound sense of compassion and duty for my countries that I have decided to act as a catalyst for bringing about necessary change.

I am convinced that this change is desperately needed and desired by many of our people. My governments have been drifting away from their core values, which I have so genuinely embraced. I have reached a point where decisive action is required.

In too many ways, both governments have not been good stewards of their entrusted constituents. In fact, tonight 1 billion children around the world will go to bed hungry. Approximately 32,000 children around the world will die today of starvation or preventable disease.

These and other continuing injustices must be put to an end.

We can do better. We can do much better. I do not claim to have all the answers, but I am sure that my governments’ policies are clearly on the wrong track. So instead of paying my taxes, I have made this decisive undertaking of divesting myself of virtually all of my assets and redirecting them toward organizations that are actively pursuing the needs of our world and its inhabitants.

I have full knowledge of the consequences, not only to myself, but also to my family. Last April, the Dalai Lama and two other former Nobel Peace Prize laureates urged us in Vancouver to recognize that bold action is needed in order to get our world back on track. It was then that I realized that I should take personal responsibility and take the bold action called for — not only for my existing family, but for my grandchildren’s grandchildren.

This action is being taken in the same spirit as the great visionaries such as Jesus Christ, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., to mention a few.

— This is a personal statement by Doug Stelling and does not represent the position of Vancouver-based Electra Gold (ELT-V).