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Policies of the Freedom Party of Canada

Table of Contents


 

..Revenue
..Borrowing by Government
..Debt Relief

........1. Pay-down Debt with Currency
........2. 100% Reserve Requirement
........3. Surplus Revenues for Debt

..Federal Spending

Part IV: Prices & Canada's Money Supply

Part V:.. Federal Programs

Part VI:.. Subsidies, Monopolies & Protectionism

Part VII:. Administration of Justice

Part VIII: Arts, Sports & Culture

Part IX:.. Foreign Affairs & National Defence

Part XI:.. Government Corruption



 

 

Part I: The Rule of Law

Generally

Respecting the Constitution The Freedom Party of Canada is committed to upholding the rule of law. We respect and will not violate the allocation of legislative powers set out in the constitution. We will neither introduce nor support a bill if the constitution does not give the federal Parliament the authority to make the bill law.
 


Health Care, Education & Welfare
Respecting Provincial Jurisdiction The Constitution of Canada gives only the provincial Legislatures the power to make laws in respect of health care, education, or welfare. The Freedom Party of Canada will respect the constitutional allocation of these legislative powers and will repeal federal laws that dictate provincial decision making in matters of health care, education, and welfare.
 

Firearms Registration

Firearms: Provincial Jurisdiction The Freedom Party of Canada takes the position that the constitution provides only the provincial Legislatures with the power to make laws concerning private property except as an aspect of sentencing in criminal matters, or in the course of enforcing personal liabilities owed to the federal government. Firearms owned by Canadians are private property. Accordingly, only the provincial Legislatures have the constitutional authority to make laws relating to the registration of firearms. The Freedom Party of Canada will repeal federal firearms registration legislation.
 

Property Rights
Protecting Private
Property Rights
The Freedom Party of Canada is in favour of legal rights of property that more clearly and positively defend every individual's natural rights of property. With the exception of enforcing the payment of judgments and fines, we oppose the confiscation by government of property in the absence of illegal conduct, proved beyond a reasonable doubt. We are in favour of constitutional prohibitions against laws that constitute a violation of property rights, but private property is a matter falling under exclusively provincial jurisdiction. Accordingly the Freedom Party of Canada is in favour of seeking the support of the provinces for a constitutional amendment to prohibit both federal and provincial laws that unjustly deny Canadians their natural rights of property.
 

 

Part II: Equality of All Individuals Under the Law

Discriminatory Government
Unacceptable
The Freedom Party of Canada strongly opposes laws or government activities that do not treat every individual the same as every other individual, regardless of their genetic make-up, religion, or peaceful lifestyle choices. The Freedom Party of Canada rejects the notion that discrimination is an acceptable way of combatting discrimination. The Freedom Party of Canada will repeal discriminatory laws, or amend them such that they confer no benefit or status as a discriminatory means or to a discriminatory end.
 

 

Part III: Revenue, Borrowing, Debt & Spending
 

Revenue
All to Bear Financial Responsibility for Tax Increases The Freedom Party of Canada is in favour of disentangling accounts payable and accounts receivable. A free society is a society of individuals who bear the responsibility for their actions, including financial responsibility for the consequences of their actions in the voting booth. While an income tax is in place, every resident of Canada must bear a financial responsibility for increases in taxation: those who advocate raising taxes must be prepared, and themselves required, to pay more taxes. The financial assistance of those who, because of their tax liabilities, are in demonstrable need, is an accounts payable matter, and ought not to be effected by means of reduced tax liabilities.
Decreasing Income Taxes before Consumption Taxes The Freedom Party of Canada distinguishes between government services (e.g., military) and government subsidies (e.g., welfare). Taxes paid by every individual must, to the extent possible and feasible, bear a direct relation to the costs of the government services provided to that individual. Also, to the greatest extent possible, the payment of a tax or fee should be the result of a voluntary choice on the part of the individual paying the tax. Accordingly, the Freedom Party of Canada puts a higher priority on decreasing income taxes than on decreasing sales or other consumption taxes.
Single Rate of Income Taxation In a "single rate" or "flat" tax system, every individual pays a given percentage of his earnings to the government. The result is that those who earn more dollars pay more dollars to the government. Many people would like to earn more money to make ends meet, to save for retirement, to purchase a house, or to put their children through college or university. However, under the current "progressive taxation" system, many individuals are discouraged from making extra money because they are forced to pay a higher percentage of their extra earnings over to the government. Canadians ought not to be discouraged in this way from trying to make life better for themselves and their families. The Freedom Party of Canada is opposed to "progressive taxation". Until a better system can be introduced feasibly to improve the relation between taxes paid and government services provided, we support the transition to a single rate of income taxation (i.e., a "flat tax").
Capital Gains Tax to be Eliminated The Freedom Party of Canada respects every individual's property rights. We reject the notion that a person should be taxed on the accrued value of property purchased with earnings that have already been taxed. Accordingly, the Freedom Party of Canada is committed to eliminating the taxation of capital gains.
Respecting Exclusively Provincial Taxation Powers The Freedom Party of Canada is committed to obeying the constitutional division of legislative powers over taxation and other revenue-generating measures. Specifically, we reject the notion that federal taxation powers are unlimited in scope, and we are committed to respecting the exclusive jurisdiction of the provincial Legislatures with respect to "direct taxation, within the province, in order to the raising of a revenue for provincial purposes".
 


Borrowing by Government
Federal Government Not to Borrow; Fighting War an Exception Deficit spending (i.e., borrowing by government) allows Canadian governments today to buy the votes of today's Canadians by spending the money earned by the Canadians of tomorrow. The Freedom Party of Canada is committed to legislation prohibiting the borrowing of money by government except to fund the Canadian military for the purposes of fighting a war declared by Parliament.
 


Debt Relief
Debt Relief Plan

As of 2012, the federal debt was 600 billion dollars. Canadians pay over 100 million dollars per day in interest on the federal debt alone: they pay additional millions toward the interest owing on their provincial governments' debt. Under current monetary and banking policy the debt will not be paid off with tax revenues within most Canadians' lifetime. To pay that interest, federal taxes are 60% higher than they would be if the debt were eliminated. Because Canadians pay that extra tax money to government, most Canadians are borrowing more than they otherwise would borrow. Canada is in the middle of a debt crisis, though the parties in power are unwilling to acknowledge it, much less do anything about it.

The Freedom Party of Canada, when elected, will take immediate action to eliminate those debts that function as Canadian dollars (e.g., "credit" loaned by banks to individuals and their federal, provincial and municipal governments): to provide Canadians with a much-needed, one-time fresh start. In broad outline, the Freedom Party debt relief plan has three parts:

Replace Bank Credit with Currency; No Change in Number of Dollars
i.
Every dollar of bank-issued credit that is part of the Canadian money supply and that has been borrowed by persons or governments in Canada will be repaid with a dollar of Bank of Canada currency (because every dollar of credit will be replaced with a dollar of currency, there will be no change in the number of dollars constituting the Canadian money supply). Specifically, the chartered banks will be deemed to hold, at the Bank of Canada, additional currency in the exact quantity needed to pay off the those debts. The Bank of Canada will be required to provide notes to represent that currency if the notes are demanded by a chartered bank to whom they are owed.
Preventing Inflation: 100% Reserve Requirement to be Imposed
ii.
So that an increase in the money supply does not result from the issuance of the additional currency, a 100% reserve requirement will be imposed on all financial institutions in Canada: banks will no longer be permitted to increase the supply of Canadian dollars. Banks will still be permitted to lend out money deposited by their customers for that purpose, but only if the customer does not, at the same time, have use of, or access to, the money deposited by him or her.
Resultant Surplus Revenues First Used to Pay Down Remaining Debt
iii.
Steps 1 and 2 would leave the federal government with revenue that had previously been paid to banks as interest. The Freedom Party of Canada will dedicate that revenue to paying down any debt remaining after steps 1 and 2 are implemented (e.g., to pay off debts owing to foreign creditors and the federal civil service pension plan).
 


Federal Spending
Fiscal Responsibility: Federal Spending Power not Unlimited With the exception of federal transfer payments mandated by the constitution, the constitution does not permit the federal government to spend federal revenues on provincial purposes. The Freedom Party of Canada rejects the claim that the federal government has a so-called "federal spending power" that gives the federal government unlimited power to spend federal revenues on exclusively provincial matters. With the exception of constitutionally mandated subsidies to provinces, a Freedom Party of Canada government will spend federal revenues on only those matters over which the federal Parliament has the power to make laws. "Spending" shall not, itself, be considered a federal "matter" for that purpose. MORE INFORMATION
 

 

Part IV: Prices & Canada's Money Supply

Buying Power of Dollar Allowed to Increase; Improved Standard of Living for All Canadians The Freedom Party of Canada believes that all Canadians should benefit from a growing economy. We take the position that a person who saves or earns Canadian dollars ought not to be deprived of an increase in the buying power of the Canadian dollar. The Freedom Party of Canada is committed to ensuring that efforts to control price deflation/inflation do not involve a redistribution of buying power (for example, a redistribution caused by the creation of additional dollars by government or banks). We take the position that a person who saves or earns Canadian dollars is entitled to the full benefit of an increase in the value of those dollars (for example, during times of economic growth).
 

 

Part V: Federal Programs

Canada Pension Plan

Canada Pension Plan Value Transferable to Another Retirement Investment Canadians must be free to direct their retirement savings - all of their savings - to the investment vehicles of their choice. Accordingly, the Freedom Party of Canada is in favour of discontinuing forced contributions to the Canada Pension Plan and permitting Canadians to invest their retirement savings as they see fit. At the same time, the Freedom Party of Canada respects the fact that Canadians have, for decades, paid into the CPP system and cannot be expected now to be robbed of the benefit of those contributions. Accordingly, while discontinuing mandatory CPP contributions, the Freedom Party of Canada is in favour of an implementation that will compensate Canadians in full for the current value of their Canada Pension, and allow them to transfer that value into the investment vehicle of their choice.
 


Employment Insurance
Excess Employment Insurance Premiums Returned to Those who Paid Them It is wrong for a government to force Canadians to buy employment insurance, and then add the excess employment insurance premiums paid by some Canadians to the general revenues spent, by government, on all Canadians. Insurance premiums are not tax revenues. The Freedom Party of Canada would return excess premiums to the persons from whom they were taken.
 

 

Part VI: Subsidies, Monopolies & Protectionism

Business Subsidies

No Subsidies to Businesses The Freedom Party of Canada is opposed to forcing Canadians to give or lend their earnings to businesses in Canada through the mechanism of government taxing and spending. All businesses in Canada that want or need financing must be left to borrow it from banks or other private sources, or to encourage Canadians and others to purchase shares or bonds. A business whose financial situation is so bad that banks and investors are unwilling to lend the business money or buy the business' shares is not a business to which taxpayers should be forced to give their earnings.
No Subsidies to Customers of Businesses The Freedom Party of Canada is opposed to forcing Canadians to give or lend their earnings - through the mechanism of government taxing and spending - to foreign persons that want the money so that they can buy products made in Canada. In such cases, the real buyer is the Canadian taxpayer, yet the recipient of the product is a person in another country.
 


Government-Imposed Monopolies
Ending Monopolies Imposed by Law A monopoly that is created pursuant to law or regulation has no less of a negative impact on the provision of goods or services than a monopoly that results naturally from competition in a free market. Whereas a business that has gained a natural monopoly must continue to satisfy customers sufficiently to maintain its monopoly in a financially rewarding way, a business that is granted a monopoly by government need not satisfy anyone to maintain its monopoly. Accordingly, the Freedom Party of Canada will repeal federal laws that give any business a monopoly on the provision of goods or services.
 


C.R.T.C.
No Censorship, Content, Pricing or Monopoly Role for CRTC Individuals must be free to express or not express themselves in a peaceful manner without legal consequences. Accordingly, the Freedom Party of Canada is in favour of disempowering the CRTC with respect to matters of censorship, content, pricing and monopoly.
 


Bank Mergers & Competition
Banks Free to Merge The Freedom Party of Canada takes the position that decisions concerning mergers by banks in Canada should be made solely by the banks in question, which properly act only in the interests of their respective shareholders: the thousands of Canadians who own shares of the banks.
Open Competition in Banking The Freedom Party of Canada also takes the position that greater competition should be permitted in Canadian banking. Canadians are not well-served by the current two-class system which impedes free-market competition among banks, to the detriment of Canadian banking customers. The rights, powers, and duties of all banks in Canada ought rightfully to be the same.
 

 

Part VII: Administration of Justice

Election of Trial Judges

Trial Judges to be Elected to single 10 year term

All judges have political values and a philosophy, and no judge is completely uninfluenced by his or her values and philosophy when rendering decisions in our Courts. Currently, judges in our Superior Courts are appointed by the Governor General of Canada according to the recommendations of the Minister of Justice.

The findings and reasons of a trial judge have a very large impact on the success or failure of appeals. There will always exist the ability of a skilled trial judge to render an unjust result one that is difficult to appeal successfully. Because appeals are so costly, most Canadians cannot afford an appeal. Accordingly, the selection of intellectually honest, logical and capable trial judges is crucial.

As a check and balance, the Freedom Party of Canada would implement a constitutional convention whereby the federal Justice Minister's recommendation to the Governor General in respect of the appointment of trial judges to Canada's superior and federal courts would be made in accordance with the desire of the public, as expressed in judicial elections. Because elections do not guarantee that a judge will end up being a good judge, the Freedom Party of Canada also supports and would promote an amendment to the constitution that would allow trial judges to serve for only a single term of not more than 10 years.

 


Judges Not Legislators
Judicial "Reading-In" and "Reading-Down" to be Prohibited The Freedom Party of Canada takes the position that, with respect to laws made by Parliament, the proper function of the judiciary is to interpret the statutes, not to amend them. Only our duly-elected representatives in Parliament have the constitutional authority to make statutes, or to amend or repeal statutes. In recent years, judges have adopted the practice of deeming statutes to say things that they do not expressly say (i.e., "reading in" things that are not written in a statute, or "reading down/out" things that are written in a statute). Sometimes, this is done to prevent a law from being rendered unconstitutional. Sometimes, it is done to the constitution itself (for example, to create rights for groups or individuals that are mentioned nowhere in the constitution). The Freedom Party of Canada takes the position that the courts must be prevented from amending statutes in this way. The proper course is for the courts to remit a flawed law back to Parliament for amendment by Canada's elected representatives. Accordingly, the Freedom Party of Canada would pass a law prohibiting such judicial "reading in" and "reading down" of Canada's statutes, including Canada's constitution.
 


Criminal Law
Judicial Vacancies to be Filled Promptly Canada does not suffer from a lack of criminal laws, but from a lack of enforcement. Under the constitution, the federal Parliament makes criminal laws, but the provinces are responsible for paying the police and prosecutors who enforce the Criminal Code within the provinces. Accordingly, in the provinces, underfunding for law enforcement is largely a problem to be taken up with ones provincial legislature. However, the appointment of judges to Canada's superior courts is a federal responsibility. To the extent that federally-appointed judges are in short supply from time to time, the Freedom Party of Canada places a high priority on filling judicial vacancies.
 

 

Part VIII: Arts, Sports & Culture

Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism to be Free of Government Interference: No Subsidies to Promote One Culture over Another

Canadians and other residents of Canada hold, cherish, explore and express thousands of cultural beliefs, habits, preferences and practices. Canada's culture, if it can be said to have only one, changes constantly as trends and fads come and go, and as the cultural mix of Canadians changes over time.

In reality, Canada is a land with not one but many, changing cultures: a dynamic, multicultural land. And it is naturally so: even in the absence of government, Canada would be multicultural.

Government efforts to prevent cultural change and diversity are time consuming, expensive, and fruitless. They are also offensive and wrong. The Freedom Party of Canada takes the position that each individual in Canada should be free to promote and support the culture that appeals to him or her, and should not have to fight to counter pressures from a government to adopt or support certain elements of what a government considers to be Canadian culture. Accordingly, the Freedom Party of Canada is in favour of ending efforts to prevent or control cultural change or to promote what a given government might fancy the "official" culture of Canada.

 


Arts & Sports Sponsorships
Arts and Sports Free to Seek Sponsorships Government interference with matters of contract in relation to funding is presently hurting Canada's arts and sports communities. Accordingly, the Freedom Party is opposed to laws against the marketing of legal products and services and in favour of lifting the financial barriers to what could be a more vital and thriving arts and sports community in Canada.
 

 

Part IX: Foreign Affairs & National Defence

Foreign Affairs

International Agreements to Require Parliamentary Approval; No Global Legal Jurisdiction Decisions to enter into international agreements ought not to rest with the government but must require the agreement of Canada's elected representatives in Parliament. And, even with said agreement, Canada must not enter into any agreement that prejudices, limits or restricts Canada's right to make laws and policies for itself, or that delegates governmental power (law-making, executive functions, judicial functions or administrative/enforcement functions) to an international body: no Canadian should be subjected to the jurisdiction of a foreign authority. Moreover, the realities of political dynamics requires that individuals continue to have the ability to find asylum outside of legal jurisdictions in which they are persecuted: the defence of freedom requires that no individual or group ought ever to be trusted with global legal jurisdiction.
International Trade and Freedom of Movement to be Pursued; Canada to Remain Absolutely Sovereign The Freedom Party of Canada supports continued efforts to harmonize the laws of the world's countries, and to free up the movement of goods, services and persons around the globe. This includes participation in meetings held by international non-governmental organizations. However, the Freedom Party of Canada is committed to a foreign policy that respects, and guarantees the continuance of, Canada's absolute jurisdictional sovereignty and independence.
 


National Defence
Military for Defence, Not Political Currency The Canadian forces are too few in number, over-extended, and under-equipped. The Freedom Party of Canada takes the position that the legitimate functions of the military are to respond to and prevent unwelcome invasion of Canadian territory, attacks on Canadian territory, or other acts of war against Canada that occur away from Canadian territory (for example, as against Canadians held hostage by a foreign power or terrorist group). Activities or planned activities anywhere on the globe that have as their purpose or effect an attack on the life, liberty or property of Canadians are legitimate triggers for military response where prudent diplomacy has failed. The Freedom Party of Canada opposes the use of military personnel where such a trigger has not occurred. In particular, the Freedom Party of Canada opposes the use of Canadian military to curry political or economic favour with foreign governments in the absence of a legitimate trigger.
Restoration of Military; Basic Training for Volunteer Civilians The Freedom Party of Canada is committed to the restoration of an effective military defence of the life, liberty and property of Canadians. This requires a larger, more intensively trained full-time force, and an investment in military hardware and software. However, given the size of Canada, and the large number of sparsely populated communities in it, the provision of basic physical and military training for volunteer civilians ought also to be a priority.
 

 

Part X: The Environment

Environmental Laws Consistent with Rights of Life, Liberty and Property The guiding principle in matters of the environment must be the preservation of human life, liberty and property. To that end, the Freedom Party of Canada is in favour of a balanced and intellectually honest approach to environmental law that prevents or punishes demonstrable environmental harm that demonstrably violates an individual's rights of life, liberty or property. We reject the imposition of environmental laws the purpose and effect of which are not to protect rights of life, liberty and property but to undermine those rights or to turn back the clock on human scientific, intellectual or technological progress.
 

 

Part XI: Government Corruption

Party Kick-backs Prohibited The Freedom Party of Canada would prohibit MPs, and the parties and riding associations of which they are members, from receiving and retaining political contributions from any individual or corporation that has entered into a contract for the provision to the federal government, or a federal agency, of goods or services.
 

 

Part XII: Marijuana Prohibition

Marijuana Prohibition to be Ended; Prisoners Released; Records Cleared Few adults want their children to smoke marijuana, but fewer still would want their children labelled offenders for life simply for having smoked marijuana. Moreover, the manufacture and sale of marijuana cannot be stopped: prohibition laws simply move marijuana trade from the legitimate drug production market into the dangerous, unregulated criminal market. In the criminal market, there exist no controls to ensure that consumers are not unwittingly sold marijuana tainted with much more harmful chemicals, such as PCP. The Freedom Party of Canada will not promote marijuana consumption. However, the Freedom Party of Canada will repeal marijuana prohibition, will release from custody or imprisonment all Canadians held only for growing, selling, or possessing marijuana, and will purge from every Canadian's record any record of a violation concerning only the growing, selling, or possession of marijuana.