Editor:
Recently, John Weston, our member of Parliament, distributed a year-end message titled Seasons Greetings, extolling the achievements of the Harper government, highlighting security, health and well-being, job creation and good government.
He maintains that the government is doing all the things that Canadians want and have been promised. The pamphlet includes a mail-back coupon asking for comments.
Previously, Weston had invited constituents to phone in with comments about his and his government's performance. I and many others I know responded with our concerns, which included the question: How could a person with his obvious intelligence support, for example, the crime prevention omnibus bill which has been criticized by almost all authorities in the criminal justice system?
His secretary told me, that is the gist of almost all the calls received. I would respect Weston's integrity more if he at least acknowledged that a significant number of citizens have concerns about such issues as climate change, the tar sands, defence spending, dismantling of gun registry data and the disdain with which Harper treats Parliament. Sadly, these obviously are not on the agenda.
My partner and I did return the coupon with our thoughts along these lines. Dare we hope that it will not be a complete waste of time?
Michael Siddall
Sechelt
