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Haligonian & South Shore Resident Layton Dorey writes about our Saturday story reporting Stephen Greene, reaches mandatory retirement age from the Senate of Canada as today is Senator Greene’s 75th birthday.
Layton Dorey writes:
I congratulate you on the tribute to Senator Greene.
For many years I have been honoured by Stephen’s friendship. As he said in the speech you reprinted, he truly does bring balance and reason to all matters. He has been an honourable representative for Nova Scotia. We can only hope for future senators of his calibre.
I would like to challenge one assertion made about Senator Greene, however. Having experienced Stephen’s politics and debated policy analysis with him, I don’t believe it is accurate to paint him as a “right winger”.
If any labels are required, I think he would agree that “libertarian” would be closer to describing his views than “right winger”.
A libertarian doesn’t pick and choose what government should interfere with and what it should not. While “right wing” conjures notions of social and cultural judgments mixed with pro-big-business policy, libertarians would see the role of government as being limited to the basics of order and good governance in all things.
There is much merit in the liberation position, and I wish there were more who saw its merits. It would enrich our political discourse. And so, in Senator Greene’s retirement we lose more than an honourable representative. We lose a minority voice for limited and accountable government.
Regards,
Layton Dorey
Halifax
Layton Dorey writes on the retirement of Senator Stephen Greene from the Senate of Canada. (The Notebook).
