JCR

The war in Afganistan appears to be quite wasteful on many levels. Diplomacy and trade restrictions are powerful tools that we should rely on more heavily. Canada should return to being a peace keeping nation, and not continue down this path of war mongering. The bureaucracy that eats up precious resources and prevents end-users from accessing the basic help they require.Non-governmental not for profits have the best rate of return on helping end-users. Let's cut-out the bureaucracy and encourage those small, local programs that actually work instead of large, wasteful central planning that has a one-size-fits-all agenda. As a first step, perhaps we could stop criminalizing mental illness, addiction and poverty and take measures to change the criminal justice system by implementing an evidence based approach to corrections. We need fewer laws, not more prisons. Harper's “tough on crime” legislation has been demonstrated to be expensive and ineffective. Resources that could be much more effectively used for the prevention of crime are being directed toward exponentially more expensive band-aid solutions that only aggravate the situation. Policy based on fear that seeks to legislate morality is doomed to fail. It's time have a responsible and rational discussion about how to address the issues of addiction, poverty and mental illness in a way that does not line the pockets of drug dealers, pimps and gang members. Though we believe in harsh consequences for individuals, corporations and governments that violate the rights of others, too many of our laws punish people for victimless crimes and create circumstances that aggravate many social inequalities.

A good background on "Bleeding Heart Libertarianism" theory: http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2011/11/a-bleeding-heart-history-of-libertarian-thought-herbert-spencer/ Here is what the Ontario Libertarian Party has to say about healthcare in the province... Time passes. Needs keep growing by leaps and bounds. They become difficult to satisfy. Meanwhile, the taxpayers reach their limit of tolerance for demands to hand over ever more of their money to satisfy the wishes of others. No more can be extracted from them. The easy times are over. There are now many problems with government health care in Ontario. Notwithstanding high taxes and enormous expenditures, there are shortages of medical staff and facilities, poor allocation and distribution of resources, and inadequate patient care. Treatments are often available only after long waits if at all. These are the consequences of unrestrained demand for “free” services coupled with central bureaucratic planning and government mandated supply restrictions. In spite of all the problems, 35 years of government health care makes it difficult for many to envision that this important service can be provided without any government involvement whatsoever. Nonetheless, getting government entirely out of health care is the only way to provide the greatest access for the most people to the best available treatment at the lowest possible cost. That is the policy of the Ontario Libertarian Party. The old-line political parties proclaim themselves able to preserve Medicare in its current form. No matter what they say, you can expect further deterioration to occur while they continue to spend more money attempting to address the scandalous issues which happen to receive media attention. Furthermore, health care will become increasingly privatized in the near future. There is no other way to provide the services. Even now, many who can afford it are forgoing the lower quality service in Canada and are choosing to receive medical treatment in the U.S. To relieve pressure on local facilities, the Ontario government is already sending patients there for treatment. A mix of private and government medicine will approximate what now exists south of the border. U.S. medical care is probably the best in the world. However, it is very expensive and often unaffordable for people who are ineligible for government assistance and do not have health insurance. Contrary to commonly held belief, high cost and inaccessibility results primarily because American health care is not even close to being free market medical care, with governments in the U.S. being very much involved in controlling and paying for it. Ontario will begin to have competitively priced, widely accessible, high quality health care the day there is no Minister of Health. A number of outcomes are predictable. Firstly, all the taxes needed to support government health care will be entirely eliminated. Ontario residents will have more money in their pockets. They will then be able to afford to pay for their own medical care and will cease being supplicants begging government to give back some of their own money for this purpose. Another predictable outcome is that variously structured private health insurance plans will spring up to provide protection against disastrous major illnesses. Unlike the U.S. system, the cost of insurance will not be boosted by government laws forcing extended coverage upon insurance companies for political reasons. Those who wish to obtain insurance for more than major medical catastrophes will be able to do so at additional expense. Once government is out of the picture, there will be less frivolous use of medical services. When the benefit of a service is received and the cost paid by one and the same person, it is less likely there will be abuse. If privately owned insurance companies are paying, they will protect themselves from having their money spent without good reason. At the same time, competition and the need to preserve and improve their businesses will result in a reasonable balance being struck between heavy-handed coverage restriction and too easy payment of benefits. For similar reasons, there will be less health care fraud. Governments simply do not have the same interest in protecting money under their control that you and private insurers have. A Libertarian government will eliminate any requirement for government licensing of physicians, medical treatment facilities, or other medical care providers. The existing government licensing monopoly reduces competition in medicine by erecting needless barriers preventing or impeding entry into the medical services field. Getting rid of these will lead to increased supply of medical personnel, less costly health care services, and more innovation. Private certification will let us know whether someone is qualified to provide medical treatment. Dismantling government health cannot be done overnight. A transition period will be necessary. This could take the form of government continuing to pay for medical services for the elderly while requiring co-payment on an increas­ing scale as age decreases. Another possibility is to have the government continue to pay for more serious illnesses with the level of payments decreasing over time. Eventually everyone will be respon­sible for the full cost of their own health care. What about the poor or the unlucky? This question is often asked. An important Libertarian objective is freeing people to create abundance. Abundance cannot be achieved in the absence of free markets. Where there is abundance people will be more benevolent to those who need help. Where there is scarcity benevolence is less likely and there will be many more poor people needing charitable assistance. Government meddling in health care has led to scarcity. A truly free market in medical services will lead to greater abundance which will benefit everybody including those unable to provide for themselves.

Thank you for your interest in the Libertarian Party of Canada. For specifics about the long term goals of libertarianism, please visit the party website (libertarian.ca) platform section. There are also many great resources on the web that explain in more detail how these goals can be achieved. You can find some useful links on my website johnreckerlibertarian.ca in the contact section, along with my contact information should you wish to ask me directly for my perspective. Thanks again, John

Thank you for your question Rick. Since you've already posted a link to the party's platform, I'll assume you already know that the Libertarian Party seeks to transition away from a government monopoly on the provision of healthcare services. Here again, any changes would be incremental.

I don't know anyone who is naive enough to think the changes that will ultimately bring about a more free and equitable society could be achieved over night. There are many other wasteful areas of government that need to be considered before we address those services that effect the most vulnerable members of our society. Even then, any transition would be gradual and ultimately for everyone's benefit. So, I don't know that-in the short term-the changes made would have a negative impact on people who are dependent on social services.

I believe the traditional left-right dichotomy to be misleading when applied to libertarianism. While Libertarians support reducing barriers to freedom in many sectors, the goal of this is to bolster social liberties and well-being. For example, we'd like to see a huge reduction in wasteful spending and much reduced size of government, but we're also against the government legislating morality. Libertarians also support stiff penalties for those who violate the rights of others, whether they be individuals, corporations or governments. We believe we need to hold the leaders of large corporations personally responsible for the messes they make - be it in banking, government, environment or scandals. It's hard to deny that there is a lack of accountability across the board. Though we differ on the means, I think libertarians have a lot in common with left-leaning thought in terms of it's goals.

Toronto-Danforth NDP Nomination contest, the nomination vote will be 7pm at Metropolitan Community Church on Monday, January 9. Olivia Chow is the guest speaker, I understand. To stay up to date this f/b group seems to be staying on top of things: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/325112527518489/

Thank you Michael. I'm the first to admit that I've got my work cut out for me in this riding. There are some basic ideological similarities, but I think the focus tends to be different. Just as the conservatives in the US might focus more on Christian principles and Tax breaks, and the PC's in Canada appear to favor concentrating on managing resources and creating more stringent legislation, both advocate for "strong government". Libertarians in America might focus more on constitutional rights, while Canadian Libertarians (at least the ones I know) tend to look at things like the environment and social liberties as being more important issues. I think it would be fair to say that in both countries, Libertarians believe in non-aggression, that the government should be accountable, and that the State should be more limited in its ability to use force against its citizens. Something that does differentiate Canadian vs. American libertarianism is that the Libertarian Party of Canada is younger and growing. Because of this, the American party is a little more cohesive in it's message. Although not foreign to the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP, there is debate amongst members of this party about what exactly it means to be a Libertarian. While there is largely consensus on the fundamentals, there remains much discussion along the periphery, but I tend to view this as a positive.

Things seem to be taking shape here in Toronto Danforth. It would appear that there are a few people vying for the Liberal and NDP nomination. From what I've been able to gather, none of the mainstream parties have declared their candidates. There is a facebook group (Toronto Danforth 2012 By-Election) that has updated information regarding the candidates and events leading up to the by-election. I will be the candidate for the Libertarian Party. My name is John Recker, and you can find out more about myself and the party at JohnReckerLibertarian.ca.