Mitchell would like Carbon Tax to go

Mark Mitchell is on the campaign trail for the Libertarian Party of Ontario for the June 7 provincial election in the riding of Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte.

His is one of the lesser-known parties, and if one does pore into Libertarian.on.ca, one will find that the party is against higher taxes.

“In general, taxes are anathema to Libertarians," says the site, which also explains that taxes for services provided by the Ontario government would continue, but stipulates that taxpayers need more to choice as to where those funds go.

“For example, each taxpayer would have the Healthcare portion of their taxes allocated to their families’ healthcare needs and supplemented if necessary, similarly an Education amount apportioned for their children, and in general things like gasoline taxes would go for roads and transportation and so on.

“At the very least for taxes that have been levied, legislation should be revisited and revised to be easily discernible as a benefit to individual taxpayers and their families.”

The Libertarian party recognizes that the aim of carbon taxes, most notably the Cap and Trade Carbon Tax, is to “discourage the use of fossil fuels, based on the assumption that carbon dioxide emissions from the use of these fuels is the primary reason for the planet-wide catastrophic anthropogenic climate change that many believe is happening.”

Libertarians doubt that this threat is coming to pass, or that higher prices for fossil fuels would stem the threat even if it were true. Libertarians oppose carbon taxes more for the economic impact on taxpayers.

Mitchell, who runs a small HVAC contracting business, says he is running because he sees “the destruction of both small business and the trades by big government, and quasi-government agencies that disguise themselves as not-for-profit, (TSSA, ESA, and Ontario college of trades).

“We need to speak out and stop these regulators, who exist purely for their own profit and power.”

Getting the word out about himself and his party’s platform consists mostly of “mainly jobsite conversations with fellow tradesmen and construction workers.”

But Mitchell also tells BarrieToday, “I am experiencing overhead and regulation to the point that it is actually costing as much to administer a job, and pay all the inspectors, as it is to actually do a job.

“When the cost of inspection and regulation exceeds the actual cost of the equipment and labour, we are at the point of unaffordable living in Ontario.”