Canada's Red Tape Ride was born from one man's frustration with the
bureaucratic mess we call the Canadian government. It was given life almost
two years ago in the heart of British Columbian logger and rancher, Mal
Holland. It is in short, a trip of heroic proportions. To protest the
degradation of freedom in our once great nation Mal is planning (beginning
this spring in Newfoundland) on setting out on a journey to cross the
country in a covered wagon with nothing more than the wind in his hair (if
we can ever get him to take his damn hat off) and the asphalt under his
wheels. Mal has given up almost everything he owns to make this trip and he
hopes that by the end of his journey he will have collected letters of
governmental abuse and notes of protest from as many Canadians as he can
from across the country. He then plans, at the end of those two years, to
deliver a wagon load of letters from fed up Canadians to the Parliament
Buildings in Ottawa.
Mal wants to make it perfectly clear to all Canadians that he is not asking
the government for anything. He wants all of the people of this nation (and
beyond) to understand that he is making this trip to deliver one firm
message to the boys in Ottawa: "Don't Tread on Us!". Mal states that the
best thing any government can do is to leave people alone and to quit
violating their God given and natural rights. He hopes that his trip will be
the impetuous to Canadians standing up to their government and reclaiming
their lost rights to life, liberty and property.
The trip itself will take two years to complete. Mal will travel during the
spring, summer and fall months, and will return to work in the winter in
order to finance the second half of his trip the following year. Although he
has no political affiliations with any group or business he is happy to
carry the message, banner or logo of any organization who supports his
principles. Organizations, businesses and individuals are welcome to send
him literature or whatever else they deem necessary to spread the word about
a new concept in Canadian culture: Individual Liberty.
Everyone is encouraged to follow Mal's trip through this site and others and
to ride along with him as he passes through your community. A map outlining
Mal's route is provided here. Simply click on "The Trip" link at the top of the page.
Mal is an average, middle aged Canadian working man and taxpayer. As Mal
puts it: "I'm just a guy."
That's right, he's just a guy who's had enough. Mal is the same as most
middle aged Canadians. He goes to work, pays taxes and likes meat and
potatoes for dinner. He has NO political aspirations and states that the
purpose of this trip is simply to create awareness and to set an example. He
says, "If I can get a backbone and do something like this then so can
everybody else. I don't mean that everyone needs to ride across the country,
they just need to learn to say no. Basically, I'm no different than the
farmer in the field, the mechanic in the shop, the lawyer in the court or
the accountant in his office. I work, eat three meals a day, put my pants on
one leg at a time and pay my debts. The only difference is that I've decided
that enough is enough and I'm not going to be pushed around anymore. I don't
need to register my property or to be treated like a criminal. I'm entitled
to keep more than 50% of my earnings and I sure as heck don't need any
government to tell me how to live my life."
Mal's trip begins on April 15th in St. John's, Newfoundland. He plans on
making it as far west as west/central Ontario by winter. The following is a
map of Mal's journey. Feel free to follow along the yellow line and look for him when he
passes through your community.
That every Canadian man and woman has the God given or natural right to
life, liberty and property.
The right to life is a claim on the ownership of one's life. A man's life
belongs to him. How he chooses to live that life or dispose of it is his
decision and his alone. The right to life implies the right to defend it
against aggression and force.
The right to liberty means the right to pursue one's interests and to live
one's life free from force or coercion by one's fellow citizens or
government.
The right to property means the right to obtain, use, enjoy and dispose of
any property necessary to the maintenance of the life and happiness of a
free man. What a man earns is his and no other person, group or government
may have what is his without his express permission and consent.
All rights are reciprocal. In a civilized society all men (including
government) must respect the rights of their fellow citizens. No man or
group may lawfully violate any of the above rights or their logical
corollaries while in pursuit of their own interest. Thus rights also imply a
responsibility to treat one's fellow man with the same respect that one
would expect in return.
If you believe that government has gotten too big, too intrusive and needs to
be trimmed back to its proper size and function then you can help us. You
can write a letter telling us about a bad experience you've had with
Canadian politicians and bureaucrats or you can simply register your
frustration in the form of a short note that tells the government you are
seizing your rights and throwing off their tangled and unjust tentacles once
and for all.
Mal is also offering weekend and week long trips on his wagon for those
interested in taking part in this historic journey. It ain't free but you
can work out the details with Mal so that everyone who rides along on the
wagon is covered for food, drink and so forth. Happy Trails all!
You can hand deliver your letters to Mal as he passes through your community
or you can email them. You may also show your support by
putting one of our buttons (provided at the bottom of the page) on your web page
with a link back to this site.
If you don't have a computer or if you are not able to come and see Mal then
send your correspondence to:
Canada's Red Tape Ride
Box 360
Dawson Creek, BC
To all horse owners: Please feel free to come on out and ride along with
Mal! The more the merrier!
Mal would also appreciate any offers of lodging and feed for himself and his
horses. It is a long trip that is made lighter through the fellowship and
kindness of strangers.
You probably won't read about it in any of the Toronto dailies - and if you
do it will be buried somewhere near the back of the paper in the middle of
some special interest section. What happened in Toronto? Mal Holland
happened.
Today Mal had the guts to ride his wagon down one of the busiest streets in
the downtown Toronto area - Young.
He caused a traffic jam that backed up for blocks and, in spite of this act,
received many thumbs up and honks of support from local Torontonians. Mal
states "People were fascinated. They took pictures and waved as they went
by. Not one person complained - at least not to me."
But, in typical liberal fashion, all media and political types were
conspicuously absent from the event. Mal states that all of the major
Toronto papers and radio stations were told about the event before hand.
Both mayor and premier were invited to ride along. No one responded.
Yet individual Torontonians seemed to agree with Mal's message. One
anonymous woman commented that "There are more people than you can possibly
imagine that support you." I bet you won't here that on the CBC.
Otherwise Mal's trip has been progressing well. He breezed through Quebec
and has been literally bogged down in central and southern Ontario. His trip
will now take him into the north western region of the province where Mal
plans to stop for the winter.
Any other questions you may have about the trip can answered by contacting
the email address at the bottom of the page.
Cheers and God Speed.
Scott Carpenter
Editor, Liberty Free Press
Anyone else interested in helping Mal out by either wrangling, driving his
truck or delivering press packages to their local Media can get ahold of him
by emailing redtape@pris.bc.ca or by calling 1-250-552-1616 (that's Mal's
cell).
Mal is offering week long trips on the wagon to any who are interested.
Payment for this trip (which goes to support next years final leg of the
journey) can be arranged directly with Mal or by email at redtape@pris.bc.ca.
Give us a shout for more details.
