Oct 18, 2020

Vancouver, BC:

Libertarians are committed to defending civil liberties, when all other parties in both levels of government are embracing draconian powers.

For the next four years in BC, it will be crucial to have a voice for liberty in the BC Legislature. Even if a minority government is elected again, all three of the well-funded parties are in favour of various forms of dictatorial powers, and they will not hold each other to account for overstepping the boundaries of fundamental Charter freedoms. Only BC Libertarians will.

Even worse is the prospect of a majority government of any stripe, enjoying the draconian powers provided by Bill 19 without principled and capable opposition. This bill, which has now become law, allows the government to extend the state of emergency for an indefinite period, and add emergency powers to regulations. It gives ministers and bureaucrats much greater power, and does away with the normal process where such extraordinary powers are voted on in the legislature.

Disturbingly, Liberal MLA’s in the official opposition have let their constituents down by voting in favour of reducing government accountability. It’s clear that all three of the major parties support a dictatorial approach.

In this snap election, the BC Libertarian Party has registered 25 candidates across BC, the largest number of candidates next to the Greens. If elected, Libertarians could form a formidable and important opposition caucus.

Only the BC Libertarians are committed to upholding the fundamental freedoms that many of us take for granted. The BC Liberals, NDP, and Greens all support, to varying degrees, the constraint of freedoms for their purposes and interests. Only the BC Libertarians are prepared to support the public’s own definition of what its interests are.

 

Freedoms allow people to organize against dominant powers 

We need to retain the freedom to believe something other than what we are told, to express our thoughts and thus connect with others who are like-minded, and to meet and organize to influence the laws that affect us. Unlike in a theocracy, it must always be OK to think and say something that others consider blasphemous. All ideas must be available for examination in order for the people to respond. This is the basis of why a free press is important, not just to report to us, but to reflect us.

 

BC Libertarians are not new

Libertarians have been formulating BC-oriented policies and running candidates in BC since 1986. The elegant principles of libertarianism form a logical framework for responsive and flexible decision-making that no other party can offer.

BC Libertarian Leader Don Wilson is a family lawyer who practices and lives in New Westminster, where he is running in this election. Called to the BC bar in 2011, he has practiced in the areas of real estate, civil litigation, and family law. He has been the party leader for two years.

The party’s roster of candidates also includes party President Clayton Welwood. Involved in the party since 2015, Clayton is running in North Vancouver-Seymour where he lives with his family. With a BA in International Development and Anthropology from Trent University, Clayton is a strong advocate of political decentralization and the ability of local communities to experiment with different models of governance.

Meet Don and Clayton, and our other candidates, at libertarian.bc.ca/candidates.

Karin Litzcke

Candidate for Vancouver-Kingsway

[email protected]