Communities work best when neighbours know and help each other

The Ice Storm of December 2013 was a real test for many of Thornhill residents, as well as for several hundred thousand citizens in southern Ontario. In its aftermath, the cleanup has progressed slowly – partially because we are all waiting to see which level of government funding will gets stuck with the $125 million “hot potato” the represents the bill for cleaning up the remaining debris and items requiring repair. Almost all of this work, of course, is being done by the high cost, unionized labour that is employed by the government.  

Meanwhile, in the middle of the storm and since its passing, our citizens have worked to clean up their own properties - often with the help of their neighbours. What struck me most about the past month is the extent to which citizens were ready to help their neighbours. This “spirit of giving” reminds me of the stories told by my mother and father about life in their youth when knowing and helping your neighbour was  “the norm”. It makes me wonder how much “quality of life“  we have forfeited by replacing the community spirit of a bygone era with the impersonal, expensive and less responsive services of various levels of government that most citizens rely upon today.

I was born in 1951 and have always lived in southern Ontario. It seems to me that the psychological shift from citizen self-reliance to state-reliance began to accelerate during the Trudeau years and spread like a virus to other levels of government. This modern “turn-to-the-government-for-every problem-or-desire” mindset is now so pervasive that most of our citizens can’t even imagine life without the government taking charge of virtually every aspect of our lives.

What is particularly mind-blowing is that people with this mindset rarely inquire about the true cost of everything that our governments provide. When someone mentions to them that our provincial debt currently exceeds $260 Billion and is steadily growing, this number is so difficult to comprehend that the typical response is a somewhat blasé “so what?”

The Ontario Libertarian Party envisions a province that can, one day, return to community living where all citizens are self-reliant to the best of their ability, and when they need help, they can turn to, and receive from, family and community members who know and care about them. If all else fails, there is a role for government services but this role should only be invoked after all else fails. The result will be stronger, more caring and productive communities with a government “safety net“ which is much smaller, less bureaucratic and significantly less costly than exists today.

An even better scenario would be one whereby many of our existing state-supplied  services be replaced by local entrepreneurs with  a range of innovative business services that can satisfy market demand at competitive levels of price and quality.

I believe that many retirees in Ontario remember the “good old days” of their youth when their neighbours were friendly, helpful and made time to get to know each other. When these seniors visit the by-election polls on February 13 in Thornhill and Niagara Falls, I hope they understand that the Ontario Libertarian Party is the only party that genuinely aspires to bring back the best aspects of the “good old days”. In so doing, it will be for their sake as  well as for every taxpayer in Ontario.