Since much of this blog will involve political commentary, I think it's only fair to articulate some of my own views. Most people would define me as a 'conservative'; actually, I really tend to identify with late 19th and early 20th century (British) liberalism. In other words, I favour small government, free trade and social equality for all. In my view, the more roles a government undertakes, the less well it performs those roles and that a free market is much better at meeting people's needs than even the best-intentioned central planning.

Government's core responsibilities are:

• fiscal responsibility,
• maintaining law and order,
• promoting our interests and relations abroad and defending those interests when required (i.e. foreign policy and national defence),
• providing an infrastructure for its citizens (including environmental stewardship for future generations),
• provide an educational foundation to allow citizens to pursue their aspirations and fully participate within society, and finally
• assist those in our society who are in genuine need.

My views on government role in health care (the quintessential Canadian question) are more complex and deserve (and will no doubt receive) a post (or posts) of their own.

The words most likely to fill me with despair are 'why doesn’t the government do this?' or 'the government isn't doing enough about that'. The continuing abdication of personal responsibility in favour of a larger 'faceless' entity called 'government' is perhaps my greatest fear for the future; mainly because I don't believe government can handle it...

So those are my political views in a nutshell and will maybe give you an insight into my thoughts as I comment in future posts.