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Meet the candidate: Kelowna-Lake Country - Kyle Geronazzo (Libertarian)

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I’m running for the BC Libertarian Party because I do not believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Whether that comes to auto insurance, education, health care or even liquor distribution, you deserve the right to choose. You are the most qualified person to make decisions in your life, and I believe that you should have more power to do so.

You deserve a lower rate of taxation, more choice in your services, and real freedom from strict overreach from the powers that be.

You deserve a government that sees itself for what it is; a servant of the people, not the ruler of the people. A government that will treat you as an individual with rights rather than someone that they can control.

When I ran in the by-election of 2018, I discovered first hand just how sick and tired people were of the current two-party system, which often led folks into choosing the “lesser of two evils.” I’m here to add another voice on the matter, an option that is not the ‘lesser’ of anything, but a real alternative.

What is the most important issue in your riding?

The most important issue in my riding is the COVID-19 lockdown. As a Libertarian, I am opposed to government-mandated lockdowns, as the proper role of government is to provide the best information at hand to the general public. This allows for people to take the correct precautions willingly, without compromising their freedoms. We don’t have the information necessary to justify imposing extreme travel bans, or harming small businesses by limiting the number of people allowed in a building.

Anyone showing symptoms of COVID-19 should absolutely self-isolate, and take every precaution to avoid spreading the disease to others, as the crucial ideology of being a Libertarian is to uphold freedoms without harming others.

That being said, every business and owner has the right to refuse service and entry to unmasked individuals.

Voluntary solutions will do more good than a lockdown will reduce harm in the long run

What have you done to benefit your community in the past?

During my 2018 election, I pledged to donate an amount equal to 10 per cent of my campaign budget to a local non-profit. I chose the Okanagan Mental Health Services Society, and I challenged the other candidates to match my donation to a charity of their choosing. I followed through on my pledge, but unfortunately, none of the other candidates took on my challenge. I chose them because mental health is an important issue that has been swept under the rug for too long.

According to The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, as many as half of Canadians will suffer from a mental illness by the time we are 40.

For this election, I am again pledging to donate an amount equal to 10 per cent of my campaign budget to Okanagan Mental Health Services Society, and I again challenge the four other candidates to do the same for a charity of their choosing.

What will you do to represent your community in Victoria?

In Victoria, I would have the advantage of being able to represent our community free from party politics. I would be able to vote according to my conscience and the needs of our community.

While in Victoria I would focus on the following:

• Allowing alternative insurance options to the bloated monopoly of ICBC

• Ending the ALR (Agricultural Land Reserve) and giving back those with ALR land control over their own property

• Increasing the B.C. charitable donation tax credit, to promote better solutions to community issues

• Giving parents more choice in their children’s education by funding the parents rather than the schools themselves

• Dissolving the B.C. Liquor Board

• Reducing taxes for every British Columbian

• Reducing MLA salaries and benefits

• Allowing for more options in medical care, including a voluntary model to work alongside our public model



Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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