Tea Party godfather Ron Paul gives some small-government advice to Canada

Editors note: This is an unabridged transcript of Paul Korings interview with Ron Paul. An edited and condensed version appeared in The Globe on Monday.

Ron Paul, the plain-speaking libertarian from Texas whose three presidential bids all ended in failure despite a devoted, often young, and growing band of limited-government activists will share his controversial visions at the Manning Centre for Building Democracy in Ottawa later this week.

Open the border, says Dr. Paul, now 77, who recalls hassle-free trips to Windsor when he was a young medical student in Detroit. Build Keystone, but scrap Obamacare and NAFTA. He has no time for gun control or universal healthcare, but does think America could learn some budgeting prudence from north of the border. Above all, let the people and the market decide.

Q. What can Canadian conservatives learn from you and the libertarian movement?

A. A lot of people want to segregate us what do liberals think, what do conservatives think, what do black people think, what do white people think, and on and on but to me the message is universal -- that is the message of liberty and why it is beneficial, not only to our personal lives as well as our economic lives. A whole generation of young people is learning of the problems they are inheriting and they are very receptive to limited-government ideas. They are energized and that energy from young people has given me a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of encouragement. I will be anxious to see on my visits I have several visits to Canada this year if there is a response there?

The message of limited government is universal. Its been around for a long time. We have ups and downs. Right now, I am looking forward to a few more up years for limited government worldwide.

Q. Is there anything Americans can learn from Canada, where the state has very broad control in contentious areas like gun control and healthcare?

A. I think Canadians have done a better job managing their budget in the last few years, not that it takes a whole lot to do a better job than the United States. But anything thats done in Canada that means more regulation and less in personal freedom and anything that encourages more intervention overseas, I would say that I work to go in the opposite direction.

[On healthcare] I believe in the private practice of medicine. Although everyone can point out the short-run benefits of government programs, in the long run they have to be paid for and in the long run they always fail. Right now, we [in America] are in transition away from private health care; doctors are quitting, prices are going up, quality of care in going down, the doctor-patient relationship is getting undermined. You can find one-tenth of one per cent of the people who say I got free medical care, but ultimately nothing is free and somebody has to pay for it. If something is important, then it is more important than ever that that service of good be delivered by the private sector because governments dont do a very good job. Obamacare is in chaos, prices are going up, there are shortages, doctors are quitting, so I dont see that government delivering a service or a good is of any benefit to the people.

Q. Should President Barack Obama block or approve the Keystone XL pipeline to deliver Alberta oilsands crude to Gulf coast refineries in Texas?

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Tea Party godfather Ron Paul gives some small-government advice to Canada