Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce Member Questions
Question distributed to local Provincial candidates ahead of the upcoming election. All responses will be sent to the membership and community ahead of the election.
I wish to include this Introduction to my responses in order to provide context because most people know very little about Libertarians or the Ontario Libertarian Party.
Libertarians defend and protect individual persons (their mind, body and efforts) and their property from intentional and unwanted harm and aggression imposed by others. These others may include those employed by a government or associated with any “collective” organization that acts to sway government policies to favour its own self-serving special interests at the cost to others.
Contemporary Libertarians believe that the root cause of most of the societal and financial challenges that face our citizens can be traced to too much government. Less Government is the only common sense way to reduce those unnecessary challenges.
The Ontario Libertarian Party has promoted Freedom of Choice policies in Ontario since 1975. The recent pandemic has revealed to most Canadians the vital importance of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which I support. It was signed into constitutional law in 1982 and was meant to act as a shield of protection (displayed above) for all citizens against the excessive use of power by our elected representatives and unelected public officials.
Your Questions, My Replies
1. What strategies will you be putting forward to address the housing crisis in Haliburton County?
The housing crisis has more than one dimension. Each root cause deserves consideration, analysis and appropriate actions. One dimension is the ability to pay for housing with after-tax earnings.
Fact: The average Canadian pays ~53% of annual income to governments at every level; this has risen from 38% since 1961. Excessive taxation clearly affects ability to pay.
Excessive regulations in the housing sector is another root cause. The red tape and constraints that these burdens impose on builders and property owners adds greatly to both the cost of all housing-related inputs as well as the time it takes to meet the demand for affordable housing by residents.
Libertarians advocate for Less Government in order to unshackle all of the resources needed to make goals like affordable housing possible for everyone. Our approach is to pare back all unnecessary laws and regulations while ensuring the right balance for public safety. We can’t do this, however, until the public demands it at the election polls. The means that voters must elect Less Government advocates at every government level who are 100% committed to shrinking the burden of excessive government. This is especially important to address all rising costs of living such as housing.
Freedom of Choice is our Party’s theme for good reason. We believe that our economy works best when our citizens voluntarily exchange, compete and cooperate with each other in a fair and respectful manner.
Governments hold a monopoly on force, on the other hand. The word ‘enforcement’ describes the work of most of their personnel. If all citizens were to increasingly vote for freedom of choice to replace force & enforcement, then we can create the conditions for affordable housing.
2. The County’s labour shortage and the non-participation of many who could be up skilled to fill roles is a major concern for businesses. What will you do to address this issue?
This question invokes my core area of professional expertise. Over 40 years of my career took place in the computer/IT sector of which I specialized for 36 years as a professional Recruiter. I have interviewed over 10,000 job candidates in my career and learned a great deal about how to attract workers to job opportunities. If elected, I would take great pride and satisfaction in using my expertise to help the County formulate a plan to eliminate the current labour shortages.
No other political candidate can bring as much productive value to this issue as I can. However, like most issues, some of the problems arise from counterproductive government regulations. Like housing, these unnecessary constraints can only be repealed through the efforts of many appropriately-motivated and qualified MPPs in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
3. Haliburton County relies heavily on our tourist economy. With inflation and the rising cost of gas, how will you ensure that this industry is not negatively impacted?
To rely on politicians and government officials to responsibly and adequately address risks to tourism is not a great strategy. Take complete ownership of the issue at the County level and create your own strategy to mitigate these risks. Engage local stakeholders who have “skin in the game” so that you will have better control and buy-in of all needed resources.
BTW. I would never attempt to address any issue without considering all possible solution alternatives and then critically evaluating their trade-offs. A SWOT (strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats) analysis was the approach I used when working as a Director in an international consulting firm. I recommend that the County’s tourism stakeholders employ the use of SWOT for each tourist season. This will ensure that they employ a proven and disciplined approach to make the industry more resilient to the changing circumstances that will inevitably evolve.
Once again, politics does have a role to play from the perspective of your residents and their voting preferences. As mentioned in answer #1, past and current government policies have contributed incrementally to the challenges this industry faces, especially when the high cost of energy (gas, heating, electricity) is considered. If the majority of your residents vote for parties that demand more carbon taxes and green energy policies, then they are choosing politicians who will add to those challenges. Every resident must understand that there are real consequences to the viability of your tourism industry if they vote for Liberal, NDP or Green Party candidates who actively promote more of those harmful policies. Instead, elect an MPP who is best qualified to be on your team and focus his/her efforts on identifying the areas where government interventions have exacerbated the risks. Secure his/her commitment to eliminate them permanently in the LAO.
A further comment on SWOT. I suggest a referendum-like campaign for your County to engage citizens in a SWOT-like community discussion regarding this vital topic. This exercise will help to inform and educate members of your community so that they will become aligned with your goals and chosen plans of action. As a community-building exercise, it can be an invaluable way to strengthen community spirit and citizen engagement. This approach has been practiced in Switzerland for many generations. A form of ‘direct democracy’, citizens in each of the 26 Swiss cantons participate actively in decision-making on matters affecting their communities. I have long wished to introduce direct democracy approaches to Ontario. If elected, I would gladly participate in this effort if invited.
4. What is your plan to improve upon high speed, affordable internet access within the County?
My immediate priority would be to become better-informed about the existing plans for rolling out these services within the County. I am aware that the federal and provincial governments have already committed sizeable expenditures to accelerate the roll out of fibre-optic cable across Eastern Ontario where current access is poor. Addressing any problem begins with understanding its details and then becoming an informed facilitator to achieve the intended goals.
Like all large projects, the schedule for this rollout has already been established. If the implementation schedule is not satisfactory to your residents, then this is something that can be addressed through negotiations or by other means. Of course, StarNet is already available for residents who are not prepared to wait for the promised fibre-optic cable services.
Prices are another matter. I do not favour government subsidies and prefer to investigate more creative ways to address these costs. I generally have little confidence in receiving timely and cost-effective ‘help’ from government institutions or promises made by Big Government politicians.
5. This is an exceptional time requiring exceptional measures. With this understanding, are there plans to remove red tape, barriers,…
I have been an Advocate for Less Government since 2007 when I first discovered Libertarianism and the Austrian ‘school’ of Economics. My commitment to reducing governments’ size, cost and scope of authority has been long-lasting and unwavering.
Academically, I have read and studied Economics for many years. I consider this to be a vital domain of knowledge for any elected official to be able to make sound decisions. Since 2007, I have favoured Austrian Economics which teaches praxiology - the study of human action. It offers great insights into how individuals trade, engage and cooperate with others in society. In 1979, I studied Economics at University of Toronto as part of an MBA program. It only taught Keynesian Economics which focuses on the use of statistics to understand and manipulate the “collective” behaviour of groups in society. Government leaders and government-controlled Educational institutions have only taught Keynesian Economics because it actively promotes their role in the central planning and management of all social and economic activities. Needless to say, over many decades, many Economics students have graduated from government schools to enter the workforce (as I did) with the view that government officials and politicians are essential actors to shape a democratic society.
Considering how many Keynesian-trained students have built careers over recent decades, it comes as no surprise that we currently live under the controls of the mammoth public sector. In my view, the pendulum has swung too far in favour of concentrating power in government institutions. Our public sector is overly bureaucratic, excessively controlling, and far too expensive. Libertarians have been trying to hold back the pendulum from causing further harm. We hope to inspire our citizens to demand that it reverse direction.
What’s the solution you ask? Your “exceptional measures” must certainly NOT include more government! If our citizens continue to vote for Big and Bigger government programs proposed by Liberal, NDP and Green Party politicians, then the Country’s challenges will continue to get worse.
Education and critical analysis is a better path to take. Voters must understand how and why we allowed excessive government intervention to dominate our lives. Let’s start with the basics…
All government spending is authorized by existing and new legislation. These laws have been passed by thousands of elected MPPs in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (LAO) over many decades and they form the basis of authority for everything governments do. If citizens want less red tape and lower taxes, then they must elect MPPs who will be committed to repealing all legislation that authorizes government operations and associated spending in areas that we can no longer afford or that are causing harm to our businesses and citizens. For example, if they want to eliminate carbon taxes, they must elect MPPs who will commit to ax the related legislation.
Option 1. We are being threatened by emergency room closures, 1,000 people on waitlists to see a family doctor, County ambulances spending valuable time outside of the County transferring patients to Lindsay/Peterborough for Cat scans. What are the regional health plans?
The Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP) offers a unique plan to improve Health Care in every part of Ontario. It is guaranteed to resolve chronic issues like these when adopted fully.
Non-Government Options is a plan that will introduce greater Freedom of Choice through competition in the Health Care sector (and eventually all government sectors that are monopolies today). This type of approach already exists in many European countries where wait times and personnel shortages are rare. The issues identified in your question have persisted in Ontario for decades. Too many voters have stubbornly insisted on keeping a monopoly, government-run system even though it has failed our citizens far too often. Albert Einstein famously defined ‘insanity’ as repeating the same approach and expecting different results. Change much come.
The Non-Government Options model works by enabling non-government service providers to complete and co-exist with government service providers in a vibrant market of consumer choices. For this to succeed as envisioned, every citizen must be free to choose to opt out of selected government programs and thereby be exempt from paying taxes to fund the related government service providers. In so choosing, they can save those taxes to pay directly for their choice of non-government services. Over time, more citizens will move away from government services allowing their after-tax disposable incomes to rise. The number and range of non-government services will then grow in direct proportion to the voluntary spending choices made by our citizens.
Economics teaches that minimally-regulated markets encourage innovative and productive competition. This keeps all market participants focused on being the best in meeting the needs of customers in a timely, convenient and cost-effective manner. Every shopper knows this from personal experience in virtually every business where they shop today. A healthy dose of competition in health care is just the remedy we need to bring out the best possible range of affordable choices for everyone.
As a final note, please look up two recently-established companies which represent the kinds of Non-Government Options that are already beginning to emerge to meet the needs of our citizens when governments cannot or will not provide them under a public system: immunoceutica.ca and https://clearpointhealth.ca/about-us/. Of course dental, chiropractic, massage, eye care and other health care service providers also exist but face excessive government interventions which could be adjusted by paring back legislation in order to make these services more affordable.
Our Health Care sector is in crisis and it’s public monopoly model is a major part of the problem. Let’s address it together. To better understand this crisis, read
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