Orleans EMC - candidate profiles for the Orléans-Ottawa riding for the upcoming provincial election.
1. Why are you running?
David McGruer: I am running to shift the basis of political discussion from the collectivist fight over who will pull the levers of government interventions to a rational one where individual rights are respected and protected.
2. Tell me about yourself, what do you do? Where are you originally from?
David McGruer: I was born in Montreal, where I completed a B.Ed. and M.A. at McGill University. I lectured for one year at Concordia and one year at McGill before my wife Carole and I moved to teaching in the Inuit village of Salluit, Quebec for four years. Since 1993 I have lived in eastern Ottawa and have worked as a personal financial planner for a national firm. Since 1994 I have taught adult education interest courses on financial subjects. We have two daughters in University (Ottawa) and grade 12 (Orleans).
3. Why the Orleans area? Are you based out of Orléans?
David McGruer: I live in Vars but have historically had much stronger ties to Orleans. I lived in Orleans for seven years after moving to Ottawa, from Quebec, then Cumberland for four years and for the last seven years in Vars. My kids high schooling has all been in Orleans, their ringette has been there, many of our friends are there and it is where our doctor and dentist are and most of our shopping is done.
4. What's the most important issue for you in the coming election as it relates to Orléans?
David McGruer: Like all other Ontarians, Orleans residents have seen a steady deterioration of their freedoms over the last several decades as government has intruded into ever more areas of our lives. The largest expense of the Ontario government, by far, is health care, and it is rising sharply and unsustainably. The province is functionally bankrupt. The other parties are willfully blind to the fundamental problem, which is the enforcement of government monopolies. They tinker blindly with the innumerable government controls while not even understanding the nature of the problem. They have no idea how to construct and operate an efficient health care system, nor does any other person or group. Only a fully free market can allow each person's voice to be heard and enable health care providers to organize their businesses to meet the needs of citizens. Centrally commanded systems do not work - and have never worked - efficiently in any industry. To protect the lives of Ontarians, freedom of choice must be fully restored in health care.
5. Why should Orléans residents choose you, why should they choose the Freedom Party?
David McGruer: Alone among the Orleans candidates, I think the role of government is to defend every individual's life, liberty and property and - in deciding the scope of those things - I am guided by the nature and purpose of man: to pursue his own happiness solely by rational means. The others either believe the largest group has the right to trample the rights of minorities, the smallest of which is the individual. They are either explicit or implicit collectivists. They fight over how they will control the lives of citizens while I wish to return freedoms to citizens.
6. If elected, what do you hope to accomplish?
David McGruer: The principles and policies of the Freedom Party will require a fundamental re-shaping of how government operates, returning it to only its basic and moral role as protector of individual rights. After a century of growing interventions, it will take time to undo. Our 2011 platform is only a small fraction of what needs doing, but fundamentally points us in the right direction.
David McGruer: I am running to shift the basis of political discussion from the collectivist fight over who will pull the levers of government interventions to a rational one where individual rights are respected and protected.
2. Tell me about yourself, what do you do? Where are you originally from?
David McGruer: I was born in Montreal, where I completed a B.Ed. and M.A. at McGill University. I lectured for one year at Concordia and one year at McGill before my wife Carole and I moved to teaching in the Inuit village of Salluit, Quebec for four years. Since 1993 I have lived in eastern Ottawa and have worked as a personal financial planner for a national firm. Since 1994 I have taught adult education interest courses on financial subjects. We have two daughters in University (Ottawa) and grade 12 (Orleans).
3. Why the Orleans area? Are you based out of Orléans?
David McGruer: I live in Vars but have historically had much stronger ties to Orleans. I lived in Orleans for seven years after moving to Ottawa, from Quebec, then Cumberland for four years and for the last seven years in Vars. My kids high schooling has all been in Orleans, their ringette has been there, many of our friends are there and it is where our doctor and dentist are and most of our shopping is done.
4. What's the most important issue for you in the coming election as it relates to Orléans?
David McGruer: Like all other Ontarians, Orleans residents have seen a steady deterioration of their freedoms over the last several decades as government has intruded into ever more areas of our lives. The largest expense of the Ontario government, by far, is health care, and it is rising sharply and unsustainably. The province is functionally bankrupt. The other parties are willfully blind to the fundamental problem, which is the enforcement of government monopolies. They tinker blindly with the innumerable government controls while not even understanding the nature of the problem. They have no idea how to construct and operate an efficient health care system, nor does any other person or group. Only a fully free market can allow each person's voice to be heard and enable health care providers to organize their businesses to meet the needs of citizens. Centrally commanded systems do not work - and have never worked - efficiently in any industry. To protect the lives of Ontarians, freedom of choice must be fully restored in health care.
5. Why should Orléans residents choose you, why should they choose the Freedom Party?
David McGruer: Alone among the Orleans candidates, I think the role of government is to defend every individual's life, liberty and property and - in deciding the scope of those things - I am guided by the nature and purpose of man: to pursue his own happiness solely by rational means. The others either believe the largest group has the right to trample the rights of minorities, the smallest of which is the individual. They are either explicit or implicit collectivists. They fight over how they will control the lives of citizens while I wish to return freedoms to citizens.
6. If elected, what do you hope to accomplish?
David McGruer: The principles and policies of the Freedom Party will require a fundamental re-shaping of how government operates, returning it to only its basic and moral role as protector of individual rights. After a century of growing interventions, it will take time to undo. Our 2011 platform is only a small fraction of what needs doing, but fundamentally points us in the right direction.
Our platform promises to cancel the bans on incandescent light bulbs, pesticides and shopping on religious holidays.
We would restore choice in health care and scrap the Health Premium.
We would close race-based public schools, separate organized religious practices from public schools and remove religion from official government proceedings.
We would restore fair auto insurance, restore sensible highway speed limits and eliminate Ontario's gasoline tax.
We would end the LCBO and Beer Store monopolies and eliminate minimum pricing rules.
If I was elected but not in a majority government, I would press for government to examine every action it takes from the perspective of the individual rights of citizens instead of virtually ignoring them.
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