TWO PROVINCIAL POLITICAL PARTIES WORTH WATCHING - IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ONTARIO

TWO PROVINCIAL POLITICAL PARTIES WORTH WATCHING - IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ONTARIO AMONG THE TEN PROVINCES AND THREE TERRITORIES that make up the Canadian fabric, no two have yet existed in which conditions have been so equal as to give rise to completely identical principles and policies that guide their legislatures. That being said, there are two provincial political parties that do share certain similarities – the one being the newly formed OneBC party and the other being the Libertarians here in Ontario, both of which I suggest are worth watching in an age of increasing voter discontent. Their similarities include support for lower taxes, private healthcare options, and opposition to certain government mandates and regulations. Both parties advocate for policies that actually reduce the size and scope of government interference in our lives, including significant reductions in taxes. OneBC proposes immediate cuts to personal and corporate income taxes, while the Ontario Libertarian party views compulsory taxation as “theft” and aims to someday eliminate both income and corporate taxes. Imagine that. On the matter of healthcare, there is a certain shared vision towards allowing private options as a way to reduce wait times, with the Libertarians going so far as to advocate for the repeal of the Canada Health Act to allow provinces more autonomy in their decision-making. If you believe parents should have greater choice in their children's education, you’ll easily relate to OneBC supporting equalized funding for public, private, and homeschooling options – all the while opposing "woke" activism in schools. The Libertarian’s also support increasing the availability of non-government education providers as part of their manifesto. Another similarity, and the one I’d like to focus on, is the recognition by both parties of the importance of property rights and the need to reduce government regulations they believe do nothing but burden individuals and businesses. This is of particular importance in the wake of the recent BC Supreme Court Cowichan decision that seeks to legitimize Aboriginal title over about 800 acres of land in South Richmond, specifically along the Fraser River. The ruling stated that existing private property rights in this area, which past generations of the Cowichan Tribes used as a summer village site, are an unjustified infringement on their “title” to the land. In my opinion, that decision is nothing less than monstrous, and it must be challenged in every way possible. The OneBC party is led by former Conservative MLA, Dallas Brodie, who has publicly questioned what many in her province – and I suggest the rest of Canada – see as a growing reconciliation industry. Victoria, the BC capital, initiated what they describe as a voluntary ‘Reconciliation Contribution Fund’ where property owners can choose to donate five or ten percent of their property taxes to local First Nations. The fund is separate from the regular property tax bill and directly supports Indigenous people. There are fears it could become mandatory under the provincial NDP government, and at some point be taken up by the federal Liberals in Ottawa. On the overall Indigenous question in this county, OneBC goes even further by arguing that, without physical excavation of human remains, the "discovery" of graves at residential schools remains unproven, and constitutes what they call "the worst lie in Canadian history". That may be seen as a reference to claims of ‘genocide’ that are being tossed about against what has become fashionable to label as “settlers” here in Canada. The Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Nation, which announced the initial findings of 215 potential burial sites at a former Kamloops Indian Residential School in May 2021, later clarified that these were preliminary findings of soil anomalies detected by ground penetrating radar (GPR), consistent with burials and supported by oral history, not physically excavated "mass graves". While many sites identified by GPR technology have not yet been excavated, some limited excavations including the former Pine Creek Residential School site in Manitoba have not found any human remains. There’s a lot there that could be further discussed, however I want to simply remind my readers of some of what I have already shared in a previous column. Governments at all levels in this country appear ready to continue enacting policies with regard to ever-increasing claims for land, money, and power on the part of Canada’s indigenous population. The federal government has tripled its annual Indigenous spending, from $11 billion to over $32 billion, since Justin Trudeau initially took office in 2015. During that time, Canadian taxpayers have been made to support several significant settlements with First Nations, totaling well over $57 billion. The Province of Ontario has also settled claims with First Nations, paying out a total of $14.9 billion in compensation, and has reached 65 land claims and other agreements, settling for close to $11.1 billion up to March 2024. With regard to ongoing treaty negotiations, a proposed $10 billion settlement was reached to compensate for unpaid past annuities, with the Ontario government contributing $5 billion. Additionally, the Province has committed over $3 billion for loans, grants, and scholarships to encourage Indigenous participation and ownership in the mining sector, and also funds various programs and initiatives through Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. That’s a lot to take in, and the dollars involved are nothing less than staggering. OneBC is attempting to push back against the reconciliation industry, in an attempt to bring at least a modicum of sanity into what has been a one-sided debate, and I suspect others, including the Libertarians here in Ontario, may eventually join in that effort. Time alone will tell. Overall, the list of key policy positions advocated by OneBC is impressive. It includes ending mass immigration, banning mandatory indigenous land acknowledgements, erasing "gender ideology and woke policies" from schools, banning teacher strikes (which should have been done decades ago), and putting an end to mail-in and early voting during elections, with all votes to be counted by hand. Those are solid proposals, the arguments for which cannot be broken – either by politicians or by the angry woke mob that seeks to dominate all aspects of our political and cultural institutions.