KAWARTHA411 Election Questions and Libertarians replies

Question provided by Pamela VanMeer, President, Kawartha411

Question 1. Could you please provide us with a two or three paragraph bio along with a photo. 

I am a retired business professional with a B.Sc. in Kinesiology (class of 1975) with a work history beginning in the health and physical fitness sector. My career also included 4 years with IBM Canada in mainframe sales and support in the Ontario Government account, then the next 36 years as a professional recruiter in the IT sector. I have interviewed over 10,000 job candidates for the discrete staffing needs of organizations in every sector. In addition, I am a student of Economics which began with MBA studies in the late 1970s then continued after 2007 with a focus on the “Austrian school” of Economics known as praxiology (the study of human action).

I have been an advocate for less government since working at IBM. In 2007, I joined the Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP). Since then, have been a Less Government Libertarian candidate in 8 federal and provincial elections and led the OLP’s efforts in the 2018 election as it’s Chairman; we fielded 116 candidates for the 124 electoral ridings under my leadership.

I continue to be a candidate in every election to ensure that all voters have a genuine option to vote for Less Government if they see the wisdom in that choice. Also, as a father of two extraordinary daughters, I ask what kind of a father would I be if I did not try to protect them from the long term burdens imposed on them by excessively large, expensive, impersonal and autocratic governments which have been creeping deeper into our lives for decades?

Question 2. What are the three top local issues in your opinion?

Government-causes of inflation. The high and rising cost of living has its root causes in government policies and their enforcement institutions.

“Back off government” is a slogan you occasionally see on signs. It advises the best way to unshackle our businesses from government-imposed restrictions and to free up their entrepreneurial abilities to deliver goods and services in a cost-effective manner.

Government disrespect for our citizens. Our Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms have been ignored repeatedly and we have no way to hold government authorities to account for these violations.  Too many past voters have chosen politicians who planned to expand the role of governments in our lives. This mistake has enabled elected politicians to assume far too much authority and non-elected bureaucrats like public health officials to have too much influence on public policies such as broad lockdowns as well as mask and vaccine mandates.

The assumption of pandemic “emergency powers” by Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford has highlighted the enormous current risks of too much government to Canadian democracy. Just ask a trucker if he thinks too much power resides in the public sector.

Government’s compulsive need to indoctrinate everyone. It starts with our children in public schools. It continues with our adult population through legacy media and social media corporations. Our public health officials also stepped up to feed the the government’s preferred fear-mongering  narratives during the pandemic;  the public listened knowing that these officials hold monopoly control over all of the public health institutions upon which they depend exclusively.

All of these institutions share two things in common: their funding originally comes from taxpayers;  the people who ultimately control their paycheques are elected politicians like Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford.

“Never bite the hand that feeds you” is a universal truth in public sector employment. It pays to do what ‘the boss’ wants.

Question 3. What is your stance on those issues and your proposed solutions?

If Big and Bigger Governments are the root cause of most society ailments, then Less Government is the only realistic antidote. Libertarians would repeal every piece of legislation that has awarded monopoly powers to government services in Education, Media, Health-related sectors. This will allow competition into these sectors on an unbiased playing field. The Libertarian Non-Government Options plan will establish a vibrant market of strong competitors in those sectors providing every citizen the choice to patronize which of many government and non-government service providers will meet their needs best and pay accordingly. This plan is described in greater detail here https://libertarian.on.ca/platform/2022.

As a final note, please read the ONTARIO Charter of Rights and Freedoms under our published platform. We took the best of the Canadian version and adapted for Ontario with some improvements. If the federal government will not respect and enforce our Charter, then maybe it’s time to decentralize that authority into Ontario’s hands to focus on protecting those rights and freedoms for Ontario’s 14.6 million residents. It’s a great idea for discussion with friends, families and community members!