BC Climate debate VIDEOS

I went to the BC Sustainable Energy Association sponsored debate on climate change. I was the ONLY one there challenging the status quo and not bending over for carbn taxes and government land expropriation. If you are tired of the Climate Hustle and massive tax rates and high costs that accompany them, its time to vote BC Libertarian Party!

This May 9th, you have a choice…Liberty or Green Tyranny!

Let’s get to the juicy debate bits wth your main liberty man!!!

Opening and closing statements-

Question 1- How will we move to a green economy?
Answer-

Question 2 – What kind of Climate Action will your party take?
Answer –

Question 3 –  What will your Party do about Site C Dam?
Answer –

Question 4 – What will you do to stop Kinder Morgan Pipeline and all Pipelines? and Tankers?
Answer –

 

Know that you are not alone if you dont want to go along wth a rising green tyranny. Exessive taxation and ever shrinking liberty. Join me online and subscribe
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/user/VoteJoshSteffler
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/JoshStefflerForBCLibertarianPartyMLA/
Email – votejoshsteffler@gmail.com
TV Show – http://www.freedomfreeforall.com/

Happy people in Esquimalt – VIDEO

Freedom Slam 2014 – Not Voting is not rebellion, it is surrender

Last week, I was able to give an ad hoc speech at the WACV Freedom Slam. All throughout this campaignI keep hearing the call “we must give up some freedom, to make city hall work”

Thank you to We Are Change Victoria for the opportunity to speak, and thank you for organizing the Freedom Slam! you can find We Are Change Victoria and their community access TV Show, Freedom Free For All, at http://wearechangevictoria.com/

They do AMAZING grassroots liberty activism and are friends of Liberty

Here is my speech, if this resonates with you, please vote Josh Steffler this Nov.15th for Liberty, for Prosperity and for Community

Council NEEDS a Constitutional Watchdog

The Constitution of Canada is an important document for ALL levels of government. Municipal government is the closest to the people so it should be keeping a close eye on the limits of its authority. Last year Esquimalt Council tried to overstep its constitutional limits a few different times. In the first place trying to limit free speech and controlling what people can wear (mascot costumes) unless you begged for a permit. In the same bylaw, they made themselves exempt from any restrictions. The act of making themselves exempt from the bylaw counters one of the most important limits to our government, I believe. Equality before the law. We MUST have the law makers hold themselves accountable to the laws they create.

Second Bylaw is the Municipal Business License bylaw. This totally violates the Constitution because they have created 2 classes of citizens and made people UNequal before the law. Charging someone 20 TIMES the amount as others to hold a business license is criminal. It Violates the charter, the constitution and Canadian Values of equality of ALL people. What this bylaw does is charge some people $2000.00 a year for a license and others only $100.00. This sends a message to business that Esquimalt does not want your jobs here, and if the council finds your business unacceptable they will buly you out of town with onerous regulation and fees.This is DISCRIMINATION….which is not acceptable by Canadian standards. Where are my left wing friends on this issue???

When I am elected, One of my first priorities is to revisit all Bylaws and rectify any and all Charter violations. We will then see who on council is willing to stand up for freedom, justice and equality for ALL poeple. Sadly there are people who do not understand the Constitution and say things that seem to show they do not fully understand the authority that government has or that there really are legal limits to what they are allowed to do.

While our Constitution is not perfect, it is supposed to legaly limit the scope and authority of government in Canada. Too often we hear of candidates with no respect for the limits of government and would force it into aspects of your lifethat it does not belong.

If you want sustainability for government in Esquimalt, if you value Justice and fairness, then please elect Josh Steffler as you Constitutional Watchdog this Nov.15th

For Liberty, Prosperity and Community my friends!

Inspiration from JFK on Government secrecy

JFK was a statesman and one of my inspirations. Sadly all too often we have way too much secrecy in our government. All too often does council go behind closed doors to discuss OUR money, and OUR community, only to never disclose these discssions.

I have some concerns about government secrecy, and I believe in a much more open and transparent government in Esquimalt. Example our recent council decision to leave Victoria PD and go with RCMP. I was not consulted…..were YOU? This is YOUR community,these should be decisions YOU are involved in. Is there any wonder why more and more people are disengaged from politics?

A vote for Josh is a vote against decisions behind closed doors. A vote for Josh is a vote against government secrecy.

Privacy is important in our PRIVATE lives, yet when we are doing the public work, it should be in the light of day, open and on display for all to see. There is a clear divide from our private lives, and yes even politicians have private lives, but when they are on the public job doing the public business, it has not place behind locked and closed doors.

I hope I can count on just 1 of your 6 votes this Nov.15th for Esquimalt council

Fundamental Rights in Canada

Sadly this immensely important document, and one of the foundation documents of our free and democratic society, is nowhere to be found in our municipal hall. More and more we see municipal government expand itself beyond the limits set in our constitution.

Let us look at the fundamental rights enshrined in this document, and WHY I am discussing this in a municipal campaign.

Take Section 15.
15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

Sounds pretty easy to understand, we are all to be treated equally before the law, and yet we have in Esquimalt numerous by-laws that violate this basic and fundamental right.

Look at the Business License By-law

Click to access Bylaw_2810_-_Business_Licence_and_Regulation.pdf

This creates a by-law that is inherently discriminatory and violates a few different sections of our constitution. For if we are all to be treated equaly before the law, then the cost of a business license should be the same for any man or woman in Esquimalt, yes? Sadly some on council found it appropriate to place their moral objoecitons to certian legal products, and demanded that some of our residents must pay $2000.00 a year for a business license, while others can have a license for $100.00 so the cost of doing business for SOME costs the same as 20 years of doing business for others.

This is one of many by-laws I believe I can fix by focusing on the constitutional limits of our municipal government. We must charge all people the same amount to do business in Esquimalt or we are creating a situation of uncertainty for business, and an unequal playing field. Do you think business owners want to open a shop in our town if they could come under fire from one or 2 council members, and have their costs driven up 20 times? How does this by-law facillitate the creation of local jobs for our residents? To me it looks like the opposite, it scares business away, leaving our residents having to leave the community to find work.

My vision for Esquimalt is an equal and level playing field for all poeple, who’s rights are protected and not undermined by our municipal council. A place where local business can thrive, and our locals can at least have the opportunity to walk to work, if they so choose.

As the home of te Canadian Navy on the west coast, we musy be extra vigilant in following and supporting the foundational documents of our free society. The same freedoms our military goes out and fights for in the world, are under assault in its backyard. I am only one voice, and yet one voice CAN make a difference, especially on council when you are warning other council and staff that what they are proposing is beyond the limits and jurisdiction of a municipal government and violates the fundamental freedoms that our navy has fought for, all across the globe.

This Nov.15th please vote for Josh Steffler to be your constitutional watchdog on our Township Council.

Sustainable Government

What is “sustainable Government”?

I believe that just like the environment we need to be looking at the sustainability of our governments. I find that no matter what we do or how hard we work, our taxes always go up, and government spending always goes up. It seems that unless you work FOR the government in this town, your wages do not go up as fast as the spending or tax increases. Showing that this rate of growth in government is UNsustainable.

There are things government is mandated to do, and that most people accept, like maintaining roads, and infrastructure. Sadly our abilty to do these things is being undermined by some very high wages at our city hall. According to the 2013 Statement of Financial Information the CAO makes $178,710…over $6000 more then the top advisor at the White House. Find the full statement here on page 7 http://www.esquimalt.ca/files/PDF/Municipal_Hall/Finance/2013_Statement_of_Financial_Information.pdf

Our tiny municipality does not need nor can we afford to be paying these insanely high wages. The argument many make for amalgamation is that it will reduce costs. We dont need to lose the governing authority of Esquimalt to reduce these wages. Our Council makes much less then this, it is not council or mayoral wages that need to be cut. It is these high municipal middle and upper management wages that MUST come down to make Esquimalt affordable.

I ask you, do we need to pay the top Admin in Esquimalt more then the top advisor to USA’s President Obama? Do we need to be paying ANYONE over $100k a year? I think not, though I would not touch the emergency service salaries, I would freeze them. I believe we need a hard cap on these gross salaries that come out of the pockets of homeowners, or our businesses, of our seniors and young families trying to make a go of it in the most beautiful city in BC?

For our government to be truly economically sustainable, we need a hard cap on salaries in our township. I believe $100K a year is more then enough to have a decent life in Esquimalt. On that kind of salary you can afford some of the best houses in our township, have a very generous savings account, afford wonderful vacations, save for your own retirement and engage in our community through all sorts of different ways. If these wages keep rising, and without a cap you can guarantee they will, our taxation will become unsustainable. Our seniors who have worked their whole lives and live on a fixed income, will soon be pushed out of their ownhomes because of the increasing taxation needed to fund these grossly high wages. Eventually the requirement to pay these salaries will have to cut into the services and infrastructure we expect our government to provide.

What do you think? Should we have a wage cap on municipal salaries?

I would love to know what you think. Send me an email at Votejoshsteffler@gmail.ca

I hope this Nov.15th I can count on you to vote Josh Steffler for municipal council

Free Speech in Esquimalt….and The SASQUATCH!

I am a staunch defender of free speech. I feel that it is one of the foundations of a free society. Sadly, in Esquimalt our Municipal Council tried to step on that fundamental right, by means of an authoritarian by-law, to control what people can wear while advertising their business. I had to stand up against this aggression against our free society. My friends and I prevailed in defending our rights. What made this even more appalling, was that Esquimalt Council was prepared to make themselves exempt from this by-law. I believe it is absolutely tyrannical and authoritarian when a government would enact laws for the people, but make themselves exempt from the same law.

This was not about the content of the mascot, this was not about anything other then the very liberty of the people to be able to express themselves.

I found this to be very concerning, so much so, that despite not being a business owner in Esquimalt, I had to gather my friends and stand up at the Council meeting to defend the very freedom our military fights for abroad, the very freedom that millions of people are denied every day by their own authoritarian regime.

If free speech, fundamental freedoms and a free society are important to you, then I would urge you to vote for me. I will be our Constitutional watchdog and make sure the Council does not try to trounce on the very Constitution of our country we fight to defend.

Open for Business in Esquimalt?

Is Esquimalt Open or Closed for business? this Election YOU have a choice.

OR

I see many closed shops and empty storefronts in Esquimalt these days. I believe I have a solution that can help Esquimalt facilitate the re-population of our empty storefronts. The main problem I believe is the discriminatory Business and License Regulation By-Law. There are all sorts of Constitutional violations inside this beast. This by-law inhibits the growth of business in Esquimalt and tries to impose rules that it has no authority to impose. At 18 pages long, it may seem like a simple and harmless document, but nothing could be further from the truth. You can find the full text of the by-law here http://www.esquimalt.ca/files/PDF/Bylaws/Bylaw_2810_-_Business_Licence_and_Regulation.pdf

For our residents to be able to share in the prosperity of the business community, we need local jobs. These can help stem some of the rising costs we face in society today. Such as being able to walk to work, would eliminate the cost of gas or bus fare. It would give our residents more time to be doing the things they choose to enjoy rather then spending long times commuting, especially if they have to commute during the horrendous traffic jam in the afternoon. I have heard many rumblings of people who are unwilling to open a business here because of the meddling of Council to impose their subjective morals to a job which should be facilitating the creation of business in our township.

There are quite a few things in this by-law I would strike down.

Firstly, I would imitate a very successful community, Langford, in making the business licenses not expire every single year. To most people this looks like an obvious cash grab. Eliminate the need to reapply every year if the business has not had any substantial changes.

Second, I would eliminate the power and authority to control which days business are allowed to open, for it is the business owners/operators liberty to choose their work hours to best suit their customers. Council has no right to dictate that a business cannot be open on a Sunday.

Third, I would eliminate the discriminatory differences in costs for licenses, as under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, we are all to be treated EQUALLY under and before the law. Charging some people $100 and others $2000 is a gross violation of the fundamental freedoms we all enjoy in Canada.

I would be open to hosting some town halls and talking more to you if you have any other ideas on how to get more businesses to open and relocate to Esquimalt. When a Council starts messing with the liberty of its residents to engage in business in their home towns, it affects their prosperity and brings the whole community down.

If I am given a Council seat, I will be your constitutional watchdog. I will begin eliminating unlawful and obviously unconstitutional violations in any and all by-laws. The role of government is to protect the rights and property of its citizens. Council is not here to tell you how to run your business, or decide that some business need moral restrictions, while others should be given more liberty.

This Nov.15th I’m asking you to Vote for Josh Steffler for Liberty, Prosperity and Community.

Amalgamation NO!

As your Council member I will stand opposed to any and all attempts to amalgamate Esquimalt into any other municipality. Time and time again we have seen that amalgamation does not reduce the costs of government. Instead it brings the number of middle management up, and the exorbitant wages of the corporate employees higher and higher, increasing the divide between the average taxpayer’s wages and their employee’s salary. The mess of trying to harmonize all by-laws into one super structure would mean that individual communities that have built by-laws that are best for their own community, would be undermined by people who don’t live or work in that community.

While I support the idea of being open to all ideas, plus people running for political office, I will proudly stand as a member of the Esquimalt community, defending our rights to self governance.

The problems with amalgamation are many and documented, while the benefits are only perceived and hypothetical. With the additional questions added to the ballot this municipal election, I would urge you to vote NO in reducing the number of municipalities in Greater Victoria and no on amalgamation.