Ontario Election Kit: Libertarian Party Platform '07

by Apathy is Boring — September 14, 2007

ONTARIO LIBERTARIAN PARTY   
President:    George Dance
Leader:    Sam Apelbaum

LESS GOVERNMENT
When Libertarians talk about less government they mean it! Regional Government would disappear as would the Ministries of Citizenship; Culture, Tourism and Recreation; Housing; Francophone Affairs; Consumer and Commercial Relations; etc. Many others will be phased out or privatized.

The Provincial and municipal governments would be cut back to basics in the first phases of the plan and limited to those basics.

Education
The policy of the Ontario Libertarian Party is to create conditions in which quality education can develop by completely ending all government participation and allowing education to be a matter of individual choice.

Libertarian ideas must be understood in context.  Getting government out of education will eliminate the considerable taxes now levied for that purpose, but more than that will change.  Once libertarian ideas are generally accepted, growth of productivity and higher incomes will make it easier to afford a good education.

ENVIRONMENT
A Libertarian government would introduce a system in which owners have full control of their property to the extent that their actions do not infringe on the rights of others.

Pollution of another person’s property, including their body, is a violation of individual rights. Pollutants refer to substances that are harmful or unwanted from the point of view of the injured party, and can include noise, odours, toxic and non-toxic substances, radiation and litter.

Natural resources would become the property of those who access them, based on agreements with landowners who control the source.

Property owners would pay responsible waste management services to remove all kinds of waste. The disposal rate for a particular material would reflect the reality of real costs and would tend to affect the buying habits of consumers.

Tax reforms
A Libertarian government would:
- Introduce a flat rate income tax.
- Ensure dedicated taxation
- Phase sales tax out of existence.
- Reduce property taxes by limiting the services municipalities could operate on a tax funded basis; all other services and facilities would be provided by voluntary, private funding.

Scrap Employment equity and pay equity
Libertarians believe employment and pay equity interfere with the right of individuals to negotiate a private employment contract without government interference. They are unjust, unfair, expensive and represent more red tape that sends jobs to other jurisdictions.

Health care
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.

Day care/childcare
We believe parents should have the choices they once had when it comes to how their children shall be looked after. This can be done by reducing the need for both parents to work by reducing taxes. The cost of day care can be reduced by restoring a free market which will also put the service closer to those who need it.

Crime
Changes Libertarians would make include:
    * Promote private arbitration between criminal and victim for property crimes.
    * Elimination of "victimless" crimes such as seat belt laws where no one is hurt nor property lost or damaged; thus freeing our police officers to fight violent crime.
    * Have juries set sentences within the limits prescribed in law.
    * Remove government-backed legal aid programmes.
    * Free the police from the multitude of politically-correct commissions.
    * Enforce existing laws that deal with violent crime.
    * Make government and its employees subject to the same laws as everyone else without exception.

Contact info:
Tel:    (416) 283-7589
Internet:    http://www.libertarian.on.ca
Email:    info@libertarian.on.ca