Sunday, October 18, 2015

Canada's Libertarians work to shed 'fringe' label

Some of the incidental coverage of the Libertarian Party of Canada this election campaign:

Rhinos and Pirates: A look at Canada’s federal fringe parties | CTV News - Michelle Zillio:
August 30, 2015 - "The Libertarian Party’s goal is to reduce the responsibilities and expense of the government so that Canadians can manage their own needs. The party stands for free market economic policies, including a gradual phase out of government control over the money supply. It believes that governmental regulatory agencies 'often do far more harm than good.'  The party also has a full platform with policies on health care, justice, immigration, foreign policy, gun ownership, aboriginal affairs and the environment. https://www.libertarian.ca"

Libertarians on the march | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun - Mike Strobel:
September 6, 2015 - "Libertarians have a snazzed-up image and a hot new leader. Fox News called him 'a dreamboat.' He’s a firefighter, for crying out loud....  'I’m no kook,' Tim Moen chuckles down the line from Calgary. Moen, 42, is the first line of the Libertarian Party of Canada slogan: New leader. New colours. New party. 'We’re here, we’re politically active and we’re ready to put our stamp on the Canadian political scene,' he tells me....  'We can’t keep throwing a reckless hail Mary pass into an endzone called Libertopia. We need to grind the ball down the field, making Canadians a little freer each time.' By 'freer,' he means small bureaucracy, a 15% flat tax and raising the personal exempt level to $17,300 from $11,000. Weed, the sex trade and other victimless 'crimes' would be legal. As taxes fall, the nanny state, which all major parties nurture, would fold its tent. 'Our culture sees government as there to solve all our problems and relieve all our anxieties. We need to change the culture.'"

Fringe candidates raise a little hell come election time - Politics - CBC News - Steve Patterson:
October 13, 2015 - "There was also a Libertarian candidate in my riding, a party I have never quite understood other than to imagine it mocking the Liberal Party for not being Liberal enough (i.e., if the Liberals say 'Vote for Justin,' the Libertarians would just say 'Vote ... or don't')."

When you don’t want to vote for a winner: Who are the OTHER parties in the Canadian election? | National Post - Tristin Hopper:
October 14, 2015 - "Canada’s Libertarians aren’t nearly as crazy as their U.S. equivalents. They seem fine with universal healthcare, but want to make it a provincial responsibility. And, as far as can be told, they have no plans to privatize sidewalks. But expect all the usual libertarian things: Legal drugs, legal prostitutes, no more loonies and a lot more guns. This election, the party’s got Tim Moen, the Alberta filmmaker who rose to prominence after giving an insider’s view of the sheer amount of fossil fuels Neil Young burned while shooting his anti-oilsands documentary."

Fringe candidates on rise across Saskatchewan - Andrea Hill & Charles Hamilton, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix: 
September 30, 2015 - "'The government has no right to tell people what they can and can't do,' said Bronek Hart, one of two Libertarian Party candidates in the province. He'll be on the ballot in Saskatoon-West. Hart said he knows he has no real chance of winning, but he decided to run after becoming disillusioned with the promises of the major parties. 'I went, "Wow, these parties suck",' he said. His party's platform includes ending the war on drugs, significantly reducing federal income tax and repealing the power of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and other federal regulatory agencies. The party also promises to end all Canadian involvement in foreign wars and make it easier for lawabiding citizens to carry guns. Hart said he hopes that, at the very least, support for the Libertarian Party will influence the next government."

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