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.