Ontario Libertarian Party Newsletter
Volume 17, Number 3, Winter 1995
As we enter a new year, now is a good time to look back on all that has happened to our province and our party in 1995. It was an exciting year; more excitement is in store in 1996. I hope that, after reading this letter, you will share in my enthusiasm.
Above all, I wish to stress three points. First, Libertarian influence is today greater than ever. Second, the need in Ontario for a Libertarian Party is greater than ever. Third, the Libertarian Party's growth, and even its existence, depends on your support now more than ever.
I hope that, after reading this message, you will be inspired to send the Ontario Libertarian Party a donation in this time of need. As I hope to make clear, it is a time of real need for us. But all I ask now is that you read this message in its entirety.
For years the Libertarian Party has struggled along, ignored or treated as a fringe curiosity. Suddenly, all that has changed. This year, it was hard to read a newspaper without seeing the word "libertarian" at least once a month. This year, Fraser Forum, Insight on the News, The New Republic, Rolling Stone, USA Today, The Utne Reader, and the Wall Street Journal have all carried major articles on libertarians and libertarianism.
Just seven years ago, Libertarian activist Marshall Fritz predicted the triumph of libertarian ideas in this generation. He pointed out that a new idea begins and spreads slowly, known only to a few; moves into more rapid growth when a large enough elite becomes aware of it; then enters a rapid "popularization" phase in which almost everyone knows of it, seemingly overnight.
Libertarianism did become known to an elite during the last decade. Now the "popularization phase" is beginning; it will continue, and increase, in 1996. The breakthrough has begun.
As for specific Libertarian policies - reducing government, cutting spending and taxes, deregulating and privatizing - the breakthrough is coming even faster. In the former Communist bloc, in Western Europe, in Asia, in the U.S. and Canada - everywhere political parties are adopting our ideas. And they are using those ideas to win.
There is no better example than that of the Mike Harris government in Ontario. After five years of socialist mismanagement under Bob Rae, the election of Harris was like a breath of fresh air. Harris's campaign platform, The Common Sense Revolution (CSR), showed a distinct libertarian leaning. Even a quick scan at some of CSR's chapter titles - "Lowering Your Taxes," "Less Government Spending,' "Fewer Politicians," "Cut Government Grants & Subsidies," "Eliminating Red Tape," "Abolish Inter-provincial Barriers," "Free Choice in Child Care" - shows the influence of libertarian ideas on the Tory campaign.
Of course, there were cracks in the libertarian facade. For example, the Tories denounced JobsOntario, the NDP's training program to get people off welfare, as rife with waste and inefficiency, and promised to save $340 million by scrapping it. At the same time, they promised to spend $500 million in new training programs to get people off welfare. This was justified because, first, the extra funds would not just be spent, but "invested;" and, second, the new programs would (for unstated reasons) have none of JobsOntario's problems.
Similarly, the Tories bowed to public opinion by promising to leave the health care system alone: to maintain current spending levels, to keep the ban on competition levels, and to fund OHIP with a new surtax rather than even consider any user-based charges. But such cracks in the facade as these could be dismissed as quibbles, easily ignored or papered over.
More, and wider, cracks are starting to appear. First came the welfare "snitch line" announced in early November. Suddenly Ontarians were being urged to inform on their fellow citizens to the government; some faced the possibility of being investigated by the government merely on the basis of anonymous tips.
Then came the economic statement. We discovered that CSR's vaunted economic plan - the result of four years of research, developed with input from across Ontario, analyzed by independent experts - was flawed. Its $5.8 billion in spending cuts would not be enough to balance the budget and deliver the promised tax break; more and deeper cuts were needed. But with this further tinkering, we were assured, everything was back on track: the tax break would be delivered as planned.
Or would it? Finance Minister Ernie Eves let slip that the Tories took power with no design for the tax break; and that even worse, five months after their election, there is still no design.
The 30% provincial income tax cut was not just a part of CSR's economic plan (the result of four years of study, etc.). It was its centrepiece: the issue on which the Tories campaigned the loudest and longest, the issue that focussed public attention on their campaign, the issue that got them elected. Ontarians believe, and they are right, that high taxes are devastating our economy. If we are to get back on the track to prosperity and job creation, the tax break is essential. Yet this key step, we now discover, is being improvised.
Now comes Bill 26, the Savings and Restructuring Act. This huge omnibus bill, which amends more than 40 laws, will concentrate vast power in the hands of the Tory cabinet. Originally to be pushed through by Christmas, its passage has been delayed until the end of January to allow public hearings.
Hearings are necessary. Bill 26 gives enormous arbitrary power to cabinet ministers: to merge or dissolve municipalities, to renege on contracted agreements, to take over and close hospitals, and (as Mark De Wolf's article makes clear) to order doctors around, and to inspect and circulate private files.
Liberal/NDP outrage over Bill 26 can in part be dismissed as grandstanding. The Liberals (with the Independent Health Facilities Act), and the NDP (with their employment equity law), have not shrunk from giving the government power to enter private property and go through confidential files. What is disturbing is that the Harris Tories are continuing this trend.
Toronto Sun columnist Lorrie Goldstein sums it up best:
Despite all of Harris' rhetoric against Big Government, these "conservatives" have initially sought not less power for the state, but more. That is the point of their omnibus bill. It concentrates power not just in the government but in the cabinet. This may be a needed response to a fiscal emergency, but it's also a power grab."
Why, in less than half a year, has the "Common Sense" Revolution begun to degenerate into improvisation and power grabs? The answer appears in the same Goldstein column: that "their stated goal is to preserve the best aspects of the welfare state in the face of a fiscal crisis," and that is their only goal.
The Tories are not Libertarians. They have adopted some Libertarian ideas in response to a crisis, the debt crisis that is raging out of control in Ottawa and Ontario - a crisis that is taking ever increasing amounts of our money for no return - that is destroying jobs and savings - that has saddled us with high taxes and high unemployment - that, if unchecked, could reduce governments and citizens to bankruptcy. There is just one way out: the Libertarian path of cutting government to restore economic prosperity.
Yet (I repeat) the Tories are not Libertarians. Their goal is to save the welfare state, not to eliminate it. They have always been a traditional big-government party. If they are now compelled by events to adopt Libertarian policies, they are doing so with no conviction in or understanding of those policies.
In this, the Tories mirror public opinion. Ontarians are suffering from the failure of the last 50 years of Big Government. They know first-hand the crises that statist ideology has brought: lost jobs, high taxes, shrinking savings, a plummeting standard of living. They are angry, frustrated, and bitter: eager to punish sitting politicians, and to grab on frantically (though with ever less hope) to any new face, like Harris, who can promise "change."
At the same time, they fear change. They are suspicious of the rapid changes Ontario and Canada have gone through recently, and long for the comfort of the "good old days." While they know Big Government has failed, they do not know why; nor do they understand why it will always fail.
Without an ideology - without a clear, principled framework to make sense of events in Ontario today - they cannot distinguish good changes, ideas, and actions from bad. "A majority without an ideology," Ayn Rand once said, "is a helpless mob." Angry, frustrated, increasingly desperate yet increasingly suspicious: a helpless mob is what Ontarians are becoming.
That is our challenge, and our opportunity.
Our opportunity is that never before have Ontarians been so disillusioned with things as they are now, so eager to turn to new ideas and fresh approaches. At the same time, Libertarian ideas are no longer foreign to them; today they hear echoes of our message in many quarters.
Our challenge is to take advantage of this opportunity. Our party and our principles must be heard. Should we miss the chance, our families, our friends and neighbours, our province and our country, will lose too. They will lose what may be our last chance to arrest the downward spiral we are on, and to make Ontario the province of opportunity it still claims to be.
Are we ready to seize this opportunity? There is much work to do, and many pitfalls. The growth of a potential libertarian constituency has increased competition from quasi-Libertarian groups, like the Harris Tories, who can combine the most appealing of our ideas with larger budgets and slicker ad campaigns than we could manage. But we can prevail, if we work together and stay focussed on our goal.
The Ontario Libertarian Party has one purpose: to use the political means to bring about a non-coercive political system in Ontario. We can achieve that goal. In 1996, we can move toward it like never before. To do so, your support is needed, including your financial support. To give that support comfortably, you deserve to be satisfied on four points:
My arguments for the first three points have been outlined. I will use the short space remaining to expand on the last point.
To move us onto the path to political success, I intend in 1996 to concentrate on the following items. While these are my priorities, none are written in granite. I welcome your suggestions and comments. Please write me at our office, or call me there on Wednesdays (416-763-3688) or at home (416-285-9056) in December to discuss these points, and give me your input.
Paying off the Debt. Our party faces its own debt crisis. Past executives have saddled us with deficits that are now a debt burden (of less than $10,000). All debt is interest-free. However, starting new activities, or even budgeting to meet regular expenses has become a matter of difficult choices.
The choices soon may not be ours to make. The Commission on Election Finances, the bureaucracy that oversees political parties, has decided that our debt is illegal. Unless we pay the more outstanding accounts, we could be deregistered, which would destroy the party. It is not just a matter of issuing tax credits for contributions; under Ontario law, it is illegal for you to contribute (more than $10 a year) to an unregistered party; and it would be illegal for us to receive such contributions.
Since June, we have been paying down the debt. We have tried to raise money more actively, supplementing our letters with volunteer telemarketers. If you receive a call, please understand the need for this approach.
Communication. We will stay in touch through regular newsletters. I have pushed to get two newsletters out in the six months I have been Leader. Funds permitting, Bulletin will be published at least quarterly in 1996.
Advertising. If we are to grow, we have to reach other Ontarians. In November, we ran a small advertising campaign, for outreach and as a test marketing - the ads are printed in this issue. All were paid for with funds donated for this purposes. Your support permitting, we will run more and larger ads next year. Who will support an ad campaign in January on Bill 26?
The Internet. We will explore new ways to reach voters. One is the Internet, the worldwide computer network that The New Republic has called "the unassailable liberty of cyberspace," inhabited by "the intellectual vanguard for ... a libertarian view of global ... stateless capitalism."
We will be on the 'Net in 1996. Robert Morse, a new Member-at-Large elected at the October ADM, is establishing a regularly monitored e-mail address at our office. Michal Zeithammel of Ottawa is setting up a Home Page for us on the World Wide Web, a joint venture with the LP of Canada.
Policy Development. As we must have something to say to the voters we reach, we will publish as much policy as we can. Every Bulletin will carry at least one article on current issues. The X Plan for Ontario will be kept in circulation. We will generate some pamphlets, and will distribute material from organizations like ISIL and the Fraser Institute.
Local Development. As new members join, what will they do? Our Political Attache, Hill Cox, is working on the "Doing It" program (launched at our 1995 AGM) to organize throughout the country. Hill, who is LP of Canada Leader, is promoting "Doing It" to form federal riding associations. If Harris keeps his promise to harmonize federal and provincial riding boundaries, "Doing It" will give us potential constituency associations across Ontario.
There is much more that could be added. However, I hope the case has been made. To sum up: Libertarian influence, the need for our Party, our chances of political success, and our need for your support, are all greater now than ever before.
Please show your support by making a donation today. Remember that Ontario's tax credits are generous: 75% of the first $200 you donate can be taken off your provincial income tax. That is one "tax subsidy" that Mike Harris will not be touching.
Due to our urgent financial need, and to new Commission regulations, we will not offer a premium for donations this year. Please rest assured, our supporters are not forgotten.
I thank you for your support, and wish you a happy and prosperous 1996.
Yours for liberty,
George Dance, Party Leader
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For more information write or phone:
George Dance, Editor
Libertarian Bulletin
Ontario Libertarian Party,
1 St. John's Road, Suite 301
Toronto, ON, M6P 1T7
(416) 763-3688 Fax (416) 763-5306