EDITOR,
Like other voters in the Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon riding, I recently received a "survey" from the riding's Member of Parliament, Mark Strahl. The accompanying letter explained that my opinion on "the important issues facing our nation today" was important to him. Apparently the three important issues are: Taxes and Spending; Responsible Resource Development and the Long Gun Registry. The multiple-choice answers to questions on these issues simplistically either sought to confirm the Conservatives' policies, confirm a distorted view of the opposition parties' policies on these issues or confirm a viewpoint which directly opposed the Conservatives' policies. The second question showed that the Conservatives believe that their policies and legislation are promoting responsible resource development. What an insult to Canadians who know that Harper, et al., have gutted our environmental laws, muzzled scientists to prevent them from speaking out against climate change and continue to promote tar sands expansion, pipelines and oil tanker traffic along the B.C. coast, etc. One of the world's leading scientists, Prof. James Hansen, recently warned that "tar sands exploitation would mean game over for climate change" and accused Harper of "acting as the industry's tar sands salesman."
The survey concluded by asking me to rank the overall performance of the Conservatives. "Poor" does not begin to capture the incalculable damage the Conservatives have wrought on Canada and the world by their totally irresponsible resource exploitation.
Louise Taylor
Pemberton
