My Letter To My Tory M.P.

As mentioned in my previous post, the Harper Conservatives are starting to receive 'blowback' as a result of their heavy-handed and undemocratic push of Bill C-38, their budget omnibus bill. Now would seem to be a propitious time to express how we feel about M.P.s whose fealty to 'Dear Leader' renders impossible any meaningful representation of their constituents.

Here is my letter to David Sweet, the M.P. for the riding of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale.

Dear Mr. Sweet:

I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with your government in general and your constituency representation in particular.

Being part of three protests near your constituency office has been an educational experience for all involved. High on the hill overlooking Dundas, inaccessible by public transit, your choice of location seems symbolically apt for the distant and disdainful view that Harper Conservatives hold 'for the people.' Coupled with your office's hiding behind the property manager's 'no trespassing' edict and the engagement of the local police to prevent a direct democratic expression of displeasure makes your separation and isolation complete.

Your party, by facilely dismissing all criticism and countervailing views as the work of fear mongers or the result of foreign influences, makes your disdain for democracy palpable. Claiming to hold the only truth worth holding is to have the evangelical fervour of the fanatical. To dismiss the concerns of your constituents as you blithely mouth the party line is to show your contempt for those you pretend to represent.

I speak for many others when I say that I shall work very hard to defeat you in the next election. However, given that it is three years in the future, I and many others will spend the intervening time informing, educating, and persuading our fellow Canadians to reengage in the political process so that by 2015, more than your 'true believers' will show up at the polls, and with any luck, your government will be recognized for what it is.

Sincerely,

Lorne Warwick

It's Time To Show Some National Self-Respect

When I was a child, I was afraid of many people: my teachers, who believed in strapping and slapping us as early as Grade One, school bullies who periodically picked on me, and some of the thuggish people residing in my working-class neighbourhood who enjoyed verbally assaulting those even more powerless than themselves.

It didn't occur all at once, but gradually, as I got older, whatever was in my personality that encouraged easy victimhood changed, and I started to assert myself as an individual. And over the years I have discovered that although my battles are not always won, there are clear and healthy psychological benefits in refusing to adopt a passive acceptance of the injustices and indignities the world can offer. Sometimes there are victories to be savored which can be particularly sweet.

It is therefore difficult for me to watch so many of my fellow Canadians wearing personae of passivity, indifference, and helplessness in response to the national bullying that is the defining characteristic of the Harper regime, the arrogant thrusting through of the budget omnibus bill just the latest example. Far too many of us are content to allow our video games, our smart phones and our sundry other diversions to narcotize and infantilize us while the country we love is being radically altered by a government that respects neither its constituents nor the values that define us as a nation.

It is time for everyone to grow up.

A story in yesterday's Globe suggests that Harper's latest assault on democracy could prove to be a costly one for his government, as Tory M.P's are hearing from constituents loudly complaining over thuggish tactics to pass a budget bill that includes far too many non-budgetary items, many of which, for example, pertain to the weakening and, in many cases, the dismantling of environmental protections and oversights.

Now is the time to communicate volubly and voluminously our displeasure.

Now is the time to begin the long process of reclaiming our democracy and educating ourselves to the perils it faces.

Now is the time to start mobilizing our opposition to this regime so that 2015 does not repeat recent history.

I have an out-of-town-commitment today, but in my next post, I hope to have composed a letter to my M.P. David Sweet, putting him on notice by expressing some of the things I have discussed above.

Another Victim of the Harper Thought Police

The message couldn't be clearer: if you want to continue to receive funding, don't produce data that contradicts Dear Leader.

Another Event That Conservative M.P. David Sweet Will Not Attend

For those living in my neck of the woods, the following may be of interest. Unfortunately, due to a prior commitment, I can't attend. And, although it will come as no surprise except perhaps to the naive or politically ignorant, neither will my M.P., Conservative David Sweet, a decision his sycophantic followers no doubt concur with:

The following is the message about the Bill C-38 Public Forum tomorrow:

You have heard a lot about Bill C-38 (Federal Budget Implementation Act) over the past few days.

If you want to learn more about this Trojan Horse Bill please plan to attend a Public Forum which has been planned for this Saturday.

What: Public Forum on Bill C-38

When: Saturday, June 16, 2012

Time: 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Where: Dundas Town Hall Auditorium, 60 Main Street, Dundas. There is an elevator at the back for people who want it.

Speakers: Representatives of the Liberal Party, Green Party and the NDP. David Sweet was invited but he has declined the invitation and is not sending a representative. (my italics)

This is an opportunity to hear from our elected representatives and other party candidates what this budget implementation bill is really about.

Bring your questions and concerns.

Please bring your family, friends and neighbours. This is a community event organized by 10 community organizations working together to raise public awareness about Bill C-38.

We Have Failed Ourselves And Each Other

Psychically tired, I can think of little to add to this Star editorial on Bill C-38.

The rest is really up to us, isn't it?

An Independent M.P. Condemns Harper Omnibus Bill

I was just reading my weekly community paper, and my M.P., the disingenuous David Sweet, indulges in a debasement of language befitting Orwell's 1984. For example, despite the tremendous havoc the Harper omnibus bill will wreak on environmental protection, Sweet says that under Bill C-38, "environmental initiatives will not be diminished at all."

A refreshing contrast to this gross distortion of the truth is offered by Bruce Hyer, the independent M.P. for Thunder Bay. In a Huffington Post article, he provides a very lucid and readable analysis of some of the bill's most devastating effects out of which a clear pattern of the Harper agenda emerges.

Let's hope that some day, in a future that is now difficult to imagine, the majority of our elected representatives will respect language, not abuse it with their politically expedient lies.

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

A few pictures and signs from last night's protest near Conservative M.P David Sweet's constituency office. As in the previous protest against Bill C- 38, we were prevented from demonstrating in front of his office by the Hamilton Police, on orders from the property owner, Kevin Vanderlaan (IPC Investments).

A few of us arrived early before being ordered off the property by the police.

A camera-shy Hamilton police sergeant.

Stoically standing on guard protecting private property rights?

This final sign, I think, reflects the view of many of Mr. Sweet's constituents.