We, the members of the Libertarian Party of Canada, call for a marked reduction in the size and powers of the Government of Canada.
We hold that where governments exist, they should be stringently limited both in their structure and in their operations.
The recognition and protection of the rights of the individual to life, liberty, and property are the only proper purposes of government.
Our Constitution We support the amendment of the Canadian Constitution in order to make the federal government fully responsible to its citizens for its operations and to limit the role of government to that of protecting individual rights. We propose that all legislation ruled unconstitutional by the courts be thereby inoperative.
Charter of Rights We support amendment of the Constitution's Charter of Rights in order to guarantee protection against the use of force or fraud by any individual or group, or by the government. This Charter of Rights should contain a clause indicating that the government shall pass no laws that restrict the Charter of Rights.
Freedom of Information We favour the repeal of the Official Secrets Act, and any other legislation which keeps government information from its citizens. Current laws against trespass, breaking and entering, invasion of privacy, and theft, and secrecy clauses in government contracts, should be sufficient to preserve any legitimate government secrets.
We support adoption of a Freedom of Information Act, whereby any individual may sue for the release of any government information that affects him/her personally. The government should be compelled either to release this information or to prove that its release would violate the rights of others.
Freedom of Political Action In order to maintain our system of free elections, it is essential that elections be kept free from interference by the party in power. We are opposed to the expenditure of tax revenue to subsidize any political party, and we will not accept such money.
We oppose any laws which restrict the freedom of individuals to organize new political parties. We call for the repeal of all laws limiting the or otherwise governing political contributions and expenses, as these laws violate the right to trade, and the repeal of all laws requiring the disclosure of the names of political contributors, as violating the right to privacy and the secret ballot.
As a first step, we believe that spending and disclosure laws should apply only to those parties receiving government subsidies.
Initiatives We advocate that the electorate be empowered to require a vote on any measure at the time of an election, by prior presentation of a petition bearing the signatures of a specified number of persons qualified to vote in that election.
If approved, such measures would have the same force of law as any legislation. Initiative measures, like any legislation, must be consistent with the Constitution and the Charter or Rights.
Recall We advocate that the electorate be empowered to require a vote on the removal of any piece of legislation, by presentation of a petition bearing the signatures of a specified number of qualified electors.
Orders in Council We believe that no measure should have the force of law unless adopted by a duly elected Parliament, or by initiative; therefore, we are opposed to government by Order-in-Council.
Disallowance We would restrict the federal government's power to disallow provincial legislation to that legislation which violates the Constitution or the Charter of Rights.
Official Languages We call for the repeal of the Official Languages Act, and any other legislation compelling individuals to use certain languages. We believe that the federal government should provide services in English, French, or any other language provided that the costs of such services are borne by the individuals requesting them.
