Election 2005

Paul Geddes: Libertarian, Coquitlam-Maillardville

Paul Geddes is the Libertarian candidate for the riding of Coquitlam-Maillardville.

Platform

British Columbia Libertarian Party
West Coast Libertarian Foundation

A libertarian is someone who values liberty. Libertarians believe a freer market will bring greater prosperity and also believe that there is too much government interference in our personal lives. We wish to replace coercive government programs with voluntary alternatives (see Libertarianism.com).

The BC Libertarian Party proposes:

Greatly reduced taxation and regulation of the economy. We want to free the many good citizens trapped in government employment to achieve the greater potentials that are possible in private and voluntary institutions.
More choice in health care. We want to end the government monopoly on health insurance and allow willing patients to make voluntary contracts with doctors for extra services. We also want more market incentives in hospitals.
More choice in education. Money should follow the students to the particular school they choose and not be given to school boards to allocate.
End the government monopoly on deciding who should be allowed to produce eggs, chickens and milk. Agricultural marketing boards should be made voluntary. This will increase the selection of available products and also reduce costs to consumers.
End the government monopoly on basic car insurance. If ICBC is truly doing a good job for us, then there is no need to protect it from competition.
Rescind the agriculture land reserve legislation. If homeowners prefer to live next to farms (instead of many other homeowners) then they should pay for this privilege by entering into trust agreements with farmers instead of voting to steal the value of farmland from farmers.
Allow the legal production of marijuana so that professional growers will grow this crop in greenhouses or large warehouses where it belongs, instead of disrupting our neighbourhoods.

Paul Geddes has lived in Coquitlam for 15 years. He has been an instructor of economics at Columbia College, Vancouver for over twenty years. He is married with two young teen daughters.

Issues and Answers

Paul Geddes comments on some of the local and provincial issues in this campaign.

Electoral Reform

Some thoughts on the Single Transferable Vote (STV) referendum proposal, in response to an advocate of the STV:

Why do you think a STV will change anything important?

It won't make the sun rise any earlier. It won't make scientists invent new technologies any faster. It won't help singers reach higher notes. It won't make sex any more (or less) pleasurable.....

It may elect slightly different people than we have now, but why will this bring us any more liberty? Libertarians want to get rid of the idiotic minimum wage law, the corrupt agriculture marketing boards, the government monopoly on health insurance and end prohibition..... Why will electing people in a slightly different way end these evils?

Too many Canadians still believe that voting will bring them a free lunch. With the latest statistics showing that the top 10% of income earners now paying more than a third of all taxes in Canada, they may be right. A class of never-do-wells have been bought out to vote to steal from those who earn and our politicians have learned how to deliver the bread and circuses keep them elected to the detriment of the rest of us.

Our system chases away (out of the country or underground) those who want to earn honestly and causes the wealthy and corporations to hire more accountants and lobbyists to protect themselves by bunging up the system.

Please, can anyone who supports the STV give an argument for why there will be less democratic theft with the STV? Because ultimately, that would be the only reason to support it.

Environment

Paul Geddes responds to the Burke Mountain Naturalists Provincial Election Candidates Questionnaire, highlighting a libertarian viewpoint on a number of environmental issues.