Elections

Greg Pattinson, Candidate for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek in Federal Election 2011

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Candidate Details (top)

NameGreg Pattinson
ElectionFederal Election 2011
AreaHamilton East-Stoney Creek
PartyLibertarian Party of Canada
Votes0
Email greg.pattinson@yahoo.ca
Website http://www.libertarian.ca
Home
Business289-440-4734
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Responses to Questions (top)

QuestionBrief ResponseFull Response
Do you believe the Federal Government is doing everything it can to complete the cleanup of Randle Reef? Why or why not? Maybe I am not currently aware of the situation so it would not be fair for me to comment.
Do you believe global oil production is at or near an historic peak? If so, what will your party do to prepare Canada for declining oil production? If not, why not? Yes The amount of oil reserves in the world is arguably finite since it takes millions of years to form an oil deposit and current consumption far exceeds that rate. Alternate energy sources are the future. The scarcer the resource becomes, the higher the price should be. If gas goes up to $5 per litre, people will start buying electric cars. Canadians are already feeling the pressure from higher oil and gas prices. What the government is doing now only makes things worse for Canadians. Canadians are being charged taxes on top of taxes. In order to get the money to pay for the gas they pay income tax. Then they pay excise tax at the pump, and then get charged sales tax on top of the excise tax. There are provincial taxes and federal taxes. Canada needs a flat tax system, one tax so Canadians know what their tax burden is. This could be an income tax or a sales tax but only one, all other forms of tax should be abolished. Personally I prefer a sales tax so at least Canadians can choose how much tax they pay by buying cheaper products. Our current tax system is so convoluted that nobody knows what they paid in taxes last year. The government has done that on purpose so that people don't realize just how much of their money is going to the government.
Will you always vote along party lines, or are you prepared to vote your conscience on a matter in which you disagree with your party's position? No I joined the Libertarian party because the party's views are almost identical to my own. That is the only reason I joined the party instead of running as an independent. As a member of a small party I have a bigger influence on the party's policies than a Conservative or Liberal candidate would, making them even closer to my own. That being said, I feel that the idea of a whipped vote is ludicrous. Politicians should always vote their conscience. The parliamentary practice of having an official party whip is something that needs reform. It adds unnecessary cost to the taxpayer in paying for the appointment and also is an infringement of freedom of expression.
Please explain how the Prime Minister and cabinet are formed in the Canadian Parliamentary system. Yes The Governor General (as a representative of the Queen) appoints the Prime Minister based on who is believed to best hold the confidence of the House of Commons. This is often the leader of the party that holds the most seats. Alternatively it could be the minority house leader in the case of a coalition government. The cabinet is then appointed on recommendation by the Prime Minister.
Will your party take steps to make sure the foreign purchase of Canadian companies does not cost Canadian jobs? If so, what will you do? If not, why not? No Anyone who has taken a fist year economics course knows that protectionist policies are detrimental to Canada's economy. Weather it is a foreign or domestic acquisition that "costs Canadian jobs" it removes inefficiencies in the Canadian economy. When inefficiencies are removed in one area of the economy, people have more money to spend, and other areas of the economy grow, creating more jobs than were initially lost.
Do you believe human activity is contributing to climate change? If so, what should we do about it? If not, why not? Maybe With the huge amount of natural areas in Canada the environment is or at least should be a major concern for all Canadians. With all of the conflicting information circulating it is hard for even the best intentioned Canadians to find accurate information. All information on any subject must be looked at sceptically. The best course of action the government can take on the environmental issue is to ensure that people are not imposing costs on other individuals by polluting and destroying the natural environment.
Do you support Vrancor's attempt to remove heritage protection from 150 Main Street West (the old Revenue Canada building)? Why or why not? Yes Any person who owns property has the right to use that property as they see fit as long as it does not infringe the rights of others. Not only should heritage protection be removed from law, property rights should have greater protection in Canada. Government has no right to dictate how an individual uses their property and should have no right to expropriate real property or chattels.
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has recommended that CBC's annual parliamentary grant be raised from $33 per Canadian to $40. Will you support this recommendation? Why or why not? If so, will you advocate for a Hamilton-based CBC radio station? No A free country fundamentally requires a free press. Authoritarian states require control of the media. I want Canada to be a free country so the Libertarian party and I fundamentally oppose state run media. Instead of increasing the parliamentary grant to $40 per Canadian and increasing taxes the grant should be reduced to $0 and decrees taxes. There are many other stations that make a profit without resorting to government handouts. CBC should operate the same way.
Do you believe parliamentary rule has been eroding in Canada? If so, what will you do to reverse it? If not, why not? No There are only two means of interacting with others: consent and force. In a civilized society consent is the only reasonable means of interaction. Government is no exception. Government's role should be to protect individuals from force, not apply it arbitrarily. Consent leads to better utilization of resources than force. Consent allows innovation to flourish while force stifles it. Throughout history, societies that have recognized this more than others have become the world's super power. Nomadic hunter gatherer tribes that were innovative lead to agricultural societies. The Greeks innovation of philosophy laid the groundwork of reason and became the largest empire under Alexander the great. Magna Carta and the Roman senate lead to the Roman Empire. The French became the super power under Napoleon by establishing the Napoleonic Code. The British innovation of parliamentary supremacy that Canada inherited was a much freer society than the traditional supremacy of the king mentality that dominated in other nations. America improved on this and came up with constitutional supremacy. Canada could become the world's next superpower without the wars of the past through libertarian thinking to establish individual supremacy. For this to happen, parliamentary rule must erode to decentralise power to the lowest level - and in most cases that is the individual. The way we can accomplish this in Canada is to constrain the role of government to its proper function through constitutional reform and greater protection and expansion of charter rights. For example section 33 gives the government the power to infringe a person's rights in any way and by any means they want. This is not acceptable.
Will your platform promote the growth of manufacturing jobs in Hamilton? If so, how? If not, why not? Yes Libertarians are high on economic freedom. Canada is currently ranked number three in the world on economic freedom, which is why our economy fared so well and was the strongest of any industrialized nation during the '08 recession. Being number three means there is still room for considerable improvement. Even the highest ranked country could improve. By removing unnecessary bureaucratic restrictions it would not only promote growth in manufacturing but also in all sectors of the economy.
Will you call for a full public inquiry into the 2010 G20? Why or why not? Yes Absolutely! The police state instituted by Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty is one of the major reasons I got involved in politics. The kind of human rights violations that occurred during the G20 cannot be tolerated in a free society. If the people who are responsible are not held accountable, it sets a bad precedent for rights to be infringed again in the future. This could lead to a militant revolution here in Canada and a total breakdown of law and justice. I would like to see those whom are responsible held personally liable and charged criminally, regardless of their current position.
Do you believe the Federal Government needs to do more to support cities? If so, what needs to change? If not, why not? Yes Power is far to centralised in Ottawa. In order to have an efficient system of government power must be decentralized to the lowest level possible. In most cases that is the individual citizens of Canada. Cities are second. Only if it is not possible for a government function to operate at the local level should power be vested in the provinces or the federal government.
Do you support some form of proportional representation instead of first-past-the-post voting? If so, what will you do to promote it? If not, why not? Yes Proportional representation would allow smaller parties to have a bigger voice in elections. It removes the necessity to vote strategically for the party that is likely to win and that is least offensive. If proportional representation were to be implemented in Canada people could vote for the candidate that they want to win instead of the candidate they think will beat the candidate they want to lose. The argument can also be made that first past the post voting will inevitably lead to a two party system like in the U.S. eliminating choice that Canadians have.