Ontario Libertarian Party
BULLETIN

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 The Oxford Libertarian Association hosted the OLP's Annual General Meeting in Woodstock on November 7. Association president Kaye Sargent, organized the day's activities, speakers and refreshments.

Dr. Paddy McQuade delivered the luncheon address - Government is the Problem. Dr. McQuade, a Stratford resident and author of Your Life In Their Pockets, earned his medical degree in England but emigrated to Canada in a futile attempt to escape socialized medicine.

"What should concern us all is government's intrusion into our personal lives," said McQuade. He cited examples of government intervention and concluded that every new law creates more crimes and potential for corruption. He quoted Aelianus Tacticus in 2nd Century Rome as saying, "The more corrupt the state, the more laws it has."

The scope of government expands in response to demands by special interests -- what McQuade calls "the indignation industry." Governments and their client groups then vigorously deny scientific and economic evidence that questions the validity of the interventions. "But," added McQuade, "The indignation industry isn't satisfied with simply disproving the arguments. It insists on labelling its critics as bad for even raising objections."

Party leader, Sam Apelbaum, thanked Dr. McQuade for his remarks and encouraged everyone to speak up for individual freedom among their friends and acquaintances.

Apelbaum related a personal story about a 77 year old member of his Kiwanis Club chapter that died recently. He noted that his funeral was widely attended but there was little sadness among the mourners. "We all felt that our friend had lived a full and expansive life and would have no regrets," said Apelbaum.

"As libertarians, we have the same opportunity to live that expansive life. As with charitable work, you get as much out of your time and commitment as you put into it."

Apelbaum set three goals for himself for the next 12 months.

1. To field at least 50 Libertarian candidates for the next provincial election
2. To increase membership to 1,000 from 400 today
3. To raise $50,000 within the next 12 months

Apelbaum said that these goals can only be achieved with more effective communications. To that end, Apelbaum sought the approval of the executive to engage a professional communications firm to assist in the creation of promotional materials such as party brochures.

There were two vacancies on the board of directors. Dr. Paddy McQuade, of Stratford, and Doug Burn of Toronto were nominated and elected as members-at-large. Note, within the OLP, there are no elections by acclamation, member have the option of voting for "none of the above".

The two openings on the six-member Ethics Committee were filled by the nomination and election of Kaye Sargent, of Woodstock and Jean-Serge Brisson of Embrun, near Ottawa.

The party needs a campaign manager for the next election. The timing and choice of an appointment was left to the executive. Apelbaum asks Bulletin readers, "if you have the talent and commitment to do the job, let us know!!!"

The new executive held a meeting immediately following the adjournment of the AGM at 4:30.

It was agreed to hold the next OLP dinner meeting on Thursday, February 25, 1999. Members will be notified when a location and speaker are chosen.

The Ethics Committee dismissed a complaint when the complainant "flamed" the committee on the party web site.

Sam Apelbaum proposed and the executive approved the engagement of Loofah Communications Inc., Toronto, to develop communications materials for the party. Initially, Loofah will help design, produce, deliver and follow-up on the party's end-of-year fund raising letter.

If the letter and calls raise enough money, Loofah will be hired to develop a recruiting pamphlet. Future projects may include: position papers, a party values and principles brochure, a campus recruitment brochure, a video and assistance with the party web site.

We often overlook a fundamental distinction between libertarian principles and those of conventional statist political parties. They advocate different forms of government control over the lives of individuals. We do not, because libertarians believe in the greatness of human beings.

If this belief appears untrue it is only because people tend to meet the expectations we set for them. If we expect little of them, that is what we will get. If we think highly of them, they will respond accordingly. Libertarians, as you know, think highly of people.

Statists want to regulate, control, restrict, tax and otherwise run people's lives. This desire stems from their low opinion of human beings and human nature. When statists inevitably fail to mould humanity to their liking, they become ever more cynical and sceptical.

Today, the statist model is the only generally accepted model of government. Other political parties only differ as to the type and degree of control the government should have upon its citizens. Clearly, we believe them to be wrong. It is not humanity that is flawed but rather their cynical view of human nature. People could demonstrate their greatness if given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own lives.

Turning people into victims is not a pretty sight. There is no dignity in the constant whining and griping over which group or cause should be favoured over another by government.

As libertarians, we are committed to changing this way of thinking. People should trust their fellow human beings to rise to the occasion and also trust themselves to do so.

We need to do this in a positive way and without attacking people for their current beliefs, harmful as those beliefs may appear to us. We must demonstrate to them the potential for happiness that will open up for themselves and society if everyone is free to pursue their possibilities without government interference.

With this in mind, your OLP executive is hiring a communications firm to more effectively promote our party to the public. Despite our best intentions, we do not have the background or skills to create an effective marketing program and materials on our own.

We are very excited about the plan and think it will be a turning point in our party's future. We expect the project to substantially increase party membership and funding and allow us, with the help of new members, to pursue more activities and initiatives.

The communication focus goes beyond electioneering. We intend to communicate the libertarian message more effectively before, during and after any election campaign.

In order to pursue this plan, we need to raise money on a scale beyond anything we have achieved in the past. We will not be able to do that without your financial support.

I urge you to be as benevolent as possible with your year end contribution to help us achieve the breakthrough we so ardently desire. Rest assured that your executive will spend your money wisely. I believe you will be more than satisfied with the results of your generosity.

With your help the Ontario Libertarian Party can continue to work to help create a world in which freedom and harmony prevail.

I look to the US for inspiration when I become depressed and frustrated with our lack of progress here in Canada.

Membership in the US Libertarian Party continues to grow strongly. The party has thousands of members and an annual budget in the millions. In the November elections, the party ran a record 853 Libertarian candidates. Almost three Americans in four had the option to vote Libertarian.

There are many inspiring campaign stories but space permits just one.

Victor Dufour of Washington county, Indiana, joined the Libertarian Party in July after reading Libertarianism in One Lesson by David Bergland, the new USLP Chairman. By the end of the month, Dufour had personally recruited 26 members. Together, they founded the Washington County Libertarian Party (a front page news item in the local press) and ran 22 candidates for county and township offices in the November elections.

Electoral politics, however, are just the tip of the iceberg. I am most impressed with the vast number and range of Libertarian initiatives across the US -- lobbying in Florida, filing lawsuits in Ohio and California, speaking out at government meetings in Texas and South Carolina, petitioning in North Carolina, demonstrating in Colorado, and even conducting a food drive for the homeless in New Hampshire.

The USLP has shifted its focus to membership recruitment after pursing a variety of other strategies over its 25 year history. That focus is now starting to pay off, yielding a political movement with staying power and a tremendous potential for growth.

Similarly, if our party is to grow, membership recruitment has to be a priority. Not everyone can recruit 26 new members in a month, but maybe you can recruit just one new member this year and that person could turn out to be another Victor Dufour. Everyone's contribution is vital.

Note that Dufour joined the Libertarian Party because of a book. It is comforting to know, as we enter the hectic holiday season, that membership recruitment can be as easy as giving the right book to the right person.

Two good sources of books as well as audio and video tapes, are: Laissez-Faire Books, 938 Howard Street, Suite 202, San Francisco, California 94103 (1-800-326-0996) (www.laissezfaire.org) and the International Society for Individual Liberty, 836-B Southampton Road, Suite 299, Benicia, California 94510 (707 746-8796) (www.isil.org).

Have a great holiday and give some thought to membership recruitment. I hope to be writing about you next year.

"I'm a libertarian. I think a lot of people are libertarians and are afraid to admit it - or don't know," said Kurt Russell in an interview with the Washington Post, May 2, 1997. Here are the names of nine other self-declared libertarians you might recognize.

Thinking of running as a candidate in the next election? The Bulletin asked two of our perennial candidates to explain why they commit the time and effort to elections. Perhaps their answers will inspire you to become a candidate.

"Why do I run? Because if I don't run, who will? Evil triumphs when good men do nothing," says Paul Barker, a 38 year old commercial printer and one of our most successful candidates.

Barker joined the party in 1984 and has run for the LPC in 1988 and 1993 and the LPC in 1987, 1990 and 1995. Barker's lives in the Queen West Village and runs in the riding of Fort York which includes the downtown neighbourhoods west of Yonge Street and south of Bloor Street.

"We have run some big campaigns in the past. In the 1988 federal campaign we spent over $10,000 and had lots of volunteers. I do remarkably well for a libertarian. I consistently beat all the other small parties and get, on average two per cent of the vote. That places me among the top four or five candidates in the party," says Barker

What does he most like about the campaigns? "I would have to say the high points of the campaigns are the all candidate meetings," says Barker.

Has his public life made any change on his personal life? "I suppose the big difference over the years is that strangers sometimes recognize me," he says.

What about selling libertarian principles? "When I started out in 1984, any talk of tax cuts was treated as heresy. Today tax cuts are part of just about every party's platform. That's progress," says Barker.

Barker is currently studying 18th and 19th century history (John Stuart Mill, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, et al) part-time while continuing to work in commercial printing.

The upcoming provincial election will be Jean Serge Brisson's seventh in the last ten years.

Brisson, who runs his own radiator repair business in Embrun, 40 kilometres south-east of Ottawa, joined the Libertarian Party of Canada at the age of 24 in 1980 and was recently elected President. He first ran as a Libertarian candidate in the 1988 federal election. Since then he has run twice provincially, twice municipally and once more federally. He would have run in the 1997 federal election but the LPC was deregistered because it failed to register enough candidates.

"If I didn't run for the Libertarian party, I wouldn't have a candidate to vote for. There isn't another party I could support and I can't think of another party that shares my beliefs," says Brisson.

Brisson isn't exaggerating. As a matter of principle, Brisson refuses to wear a seat belt or pay GST and PST on the sales of his business. In fact, Brisson billed the government of Ontario $17,640 for the time and trouble of collecting its taxes between 1984 and 1990. He told the Ottawa Citizen, "If they wanted me to work as a tax collector, I wanted the going rate,"

In October, Brisson accepted a 30 day jail term rather than pay a fine for driving without a seat belt. This was no oversight. Brisson stopped wearing a seat belt 10 years ago. "The (seat belt) law was just another example of taking away the individual's right to make simple decisions about their safety," explained Brisson. So, you can see why Brisson might not feel at home in another political party.

Those busy body bossy boots at the CRTC want to regulate the Internet. In his oral presentation to the CRTC public hearings on "New Media", David Jones, president, Electronic Frontier Canada, offered this Top Ten list of "Changes Canadians would notice if the CRTC were to begin regulating the Internet."

If this sounds libertarian, recall that John Perry Barlow, founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation in the States is a libertarian.

Got to | Index of Bulletins | Previous issue Fall 1998 (Vol. 19 #1) | Next issue Spring 1999 (Vol. 19 #3) |