Pubdate: Tue, 30 Sep 2008 Source: Terrace Standard (CN BC) Copyright: 2008 Terrace Standard Contact: http://www.terracestandard.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1329 Author: Robert Hart STOP IT, STEPHEN HARPER Dear Sir: Like my fellow Canadians, I have been receiving a barrage of flyers from Conservative Members of Parliament over the past months leading up to the federal election call. While it is my democratic right to speak to my government without cost by mailing my letters to my elected leaders postage free, I do not think it is the right of the party in power to send me party propaganda under the guise of parliamentary privilege. I resent having my tax dollars used to disseminate party bias. Frankly, some of these have been offensive. The one from Conservative MP Inky Mark is a good example. Junkies and drug pushers don't belong near children and families. They should be in rehab or behind bars. Keep junkies in rehab and off the streets. I find this message disturbing on several levels. It is self-righteous. It mixes the perpetrators of crime with their victims. It takes a punitive approach to the human beings who suffer from addiction. It is simplistic and wrong-headed in treating addiction as a life-style choice instead of a serious health issue. Finally, it is especially inappropriate coming from a government that does not want to support approaches that do work like the Insite Clinic in Vancouver. The Conservative Party should not be abusing our right to speak to our elected representatives by using it to send us their views. I don't know Inky Mark and given the view expressed in the mailing that was supposedly sent by him (or her), I don't care to. Robert Hart Terrace, B.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin