Reason for Running

From COVID, to government overreach, to rising consumer prices and supply chain problems — however you look at it, we're living in troubled times. God sent this trouble upon us (Amos 3:6), and He is using it to call us to turn away from sin (Luke 13:1-5). Deuteronomy 28 teaches that God deals kindly with the nation that pleases Him, and that He deals severely with the nation that sins against him. But, since Jesus came into the world, died, and was raised to save the world from its sins, I have good reason to hope that our present trouble will drive Canadians to repentance. Jesus did not come into the world in order to destroy it, but rather to save it (John 3:17), so I am expectantly looking for God's Spirit to bring reformation to His church and to bring faith and repentance to many in Ontario. When the Spirit of God moves them, then God's people will be looking to express corporate repentance on their ballot. I wish to provide that "repentance option" to the people of Kitchener South–Hespeler.

Beliefs

I believe the Old and New Testaments of the Bible to be the Word of God, and I believe the Bible to be relevant in all matters of faith and practice, including civil law and justice. I also subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) as a faithful summary of the Scriptures.

It is a perilous thing to bind one's political aspirations to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is jealous for His reputation, and He is particularly angered when a public figure abuses His name.

This is what the Lord has said, "By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified." — Leviticus 10:3

But Jesus is only name in which I can be securely established, so I must give that Name the preeminence. I am utterly unworthy of the task I am setting out to perform, and my prayer is that God would overlook my infirmities and build me up to be a tool in His hand to build His kingdom on earth like it is in heaven.

Political Positions

Guiding Principle

I reject the false neutrality of the modern secular order, and I support the establishment of a Biblical liberal order, meaning a society supported by civil laws which reflect the moral law of God. The State is not the ultimate authority, because Christ is King and He rules over all the nations. I understand the civil code given by Moses to the covenant nation of Israel to be one context-specific application of the moral law of God, and while that civil code is not binding in the particulars today, it does provide a helpful illustration of how to apply the Ten Commandments to civil law. I am seeking to apply God's law to the Province of Ontario. Jesus is King, and this reality will guide my actions in provincial parliament.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

        — Psalm 2:10-12

COVID-19

I am opposed to government-mandated lockdowns, capacity limitations, mask mandates, and vaccine passports in response to COVID-19. In principle, I am not opposed to short-term, localized medical quarantines based on clear pre-existing criteria in cases of severe contagious disease, but I am opposed to the measures I saw applied in Ontario over the past 2 years. Some of my thoughts on this subject are as follows:

1. The lockdowns have discouraged people from assembling to worship God at the exact same time that He has been publicly calling them to repent of their sins and to seek His face.
2. The lockdowns have prevented people from doing their jobs. When you take away a person's ability to work, you take away his life.
3. Vaccine passports represent a dangerous new power that I do not trust the government to wield. I take a dim view towards the supposed benefits of trusting government-appointed medical experts to demote certain people to a lower social class with reduced privileges because they won't take the latest drug or vaccine.
4. I have not complied with our local mask mandates at all since December 2020, and I do not intend to start complying if elected. I simply do not trust our medical elite in Ontario, and I am unwilling to pretend that I do.

God is clearly using COVID-19 to discipline the whole world. Our government should be making a public call for us to repent from our sins and to turn to Jesus. Instead, the authorities are coercing us to wear masks, to get vaccinated, to stay home, and to observe capacity limitations and physical distancing, all supposedly to save ourselves and each other. They do not honour God, and so their thoughts are futile. They think they are wise, but they have become fools (Romans 1). On the other hand, God protects those who trust Him (Psalm 91).

Social Reform

The following practices, being contrary to the law of God and destructive to public society, ought to be illegal under Ontario law: idolatry, non-essential business on the Lord's day, elective abortion, assisted suicide, adultery, etc. Under our parliamentary democracy, these reforms can only take place unless the electorate first repents. I'm ready if you are!

Public Services and Debt

Government should limit itself to its Biblical mandate — i.e. adminstering justice and maintaining the peace. Ontario's massive debt ought to be enough to convince anyone that the government is bad at doing business, and I for one do not believe the debt can continue indefinitely. Aside from the courts, law enforcement, and parliament and a minimal set of supporting functions, Ontario's public services should be sold into local private hands or shut down.

Welfare

Biblical charity is carried out by private agency and is not the responsibility of the government. Socialism uses the coercive power of the state to force the redistribution of wealth, and runs contrary to God's Word, which requires judges to treat the poor and the rich alike in court (e.g. Leviticus 19:15). In other words, when wielding the power of the state, you must not favour a poor man because he is poor nor a rich man because he is rich.