We are quickly moving towards a secular, socialist or communist state and does anyone care?
I would think not. If we lived in a democratic society, we would have choice. What has happened to our rights and freedoms (and I emphasize rights) to choose these days?
Government suggests and demands that it has the right to “keep” its citizens safe from everything under the sun. If you do this, you get fined, if you don’t do that, you get fined; except of course for government and the mighty corporation with money punching lobbying processes. Government allows itself and corporations to kill humans with many cancers and other disease causing sources in our food products and the air we breathe. Sure we have a choice to eat or not (or do we); it’s a matter of picking the least compounding disease in our food products as Health Canada is simply a joke on world scales, however, we do not have a choice in the air we breathe. Government is now collecting money from thin air in the form of carbon emission fees instead of instilling laws that demand corporations capture their emissions. Government is handing out millions of dollars to corporations to collect some carbon. Taxpayers get stung for the same thing both ways, from big corporations and big government. Taxpayers pay for everything; why not give us the choice to spend our money wisely instead of handing our money over to big corporations?
We live in a state that the minority drives our government to instil laws that affect the majority. An example would be the law that demands one wears a helmet when pedalling a bicycle. How many individuals are injured or killed when pedalling a bicycle? I would venture the number would not even impact the scale of population. I have a bicycle, but I would rather get fat and lazy than go and purchase a helmet to ride it. Quit kowtowing to every little crybaby that comes along for crying out loud! Now we have a law placing a decibel limit on motorcycles. How about a law regarding the stupidity of government officials? I would venture every bureaucrat, decision maker or politician would be fined to homelessness in very little time if I were in control of handing out fines. It’s a criminal offence to smoke a joint in Canada, yet one can produce an alcoholic product and advertise the product to extreme limits and then allow that driver to get in a vehicle and kill someone.
Policing is not proactive; it’s reactive and always will be. Laws don’t actually prevent all crimes. In fact, they create more than they cure as governments instil laws such as the marijuana law that enables gangs or individuals to commit the crimes for the lucrative and copious amounts of money one can make in an illegal activity. If laws were created to legalize marijuana and control the substance, courts would be freed up, policing would be freed up and jail space would be amply available. We don’t see any Al Capones in the illegal alcohol business anymore do we? Look at Mexico for example — think they’re going to win the war on drugs? Ask the government officials who are being gunned down by the criminals created by draconian laws such as drug laws. Government is all about policing, policing its citizens to death. Government needs to be reminded who pays the bills in this province and country. I’ve said this before — let the voters decide what and how you get paid and don’t tell us after you’re elected.
If government was concerned with the safety of its citizens, it would force manufacturers to govern vehicles to the maximum speed limit, they would legalize and control all drugs, they would fire Health Canada officials and hire someone credible, they would have a user pay system for arts and sports as I could care less for either and don’t appreciate my tax dollars going towards these unnecessary expenses, etc. Truly, laws are not about safety, it’s all about the dollars that can be collected in order for government to grow more controlling in a nice and friendly socialist way. Every year, taxes are increased; costs of every kind go up with no relief in sight, we are being taxed, GST’d, fined and nickel and dimed to death. Government does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.
Greg Jackman, St. Albert
