Open letter to constituents of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex

In recent days my office has been inundated with calls and emails from constituents expressing concern and anger about the plan of the separatist coalition comprised of the Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois  parties to overthrow the will of the people as expressed in the 40th General election.

More than 95% of those calls and emails have expressed support for the government and strong opposition to the potential of a separatist coalition government.  Personally I am buoyed and humbled by the outpouring of support. Many of those who have contacted me have indicated they supported one of the parties in the separatist coalition during the election of October 14th but who are now outraged at their illegitimate and undemocratic efforts to nullify the votes of the Canadian people.  Their concern and anger has mirrored those who have indicated they did support the government in the election.

Details of the agreement between the Bloc, the Liberals and NDP have now been made available and the language is quite clear; the Sovereignist Bloc Quebecois “will have control of the federal  state…and all major government  decisions including the budget.” In interviews yesterday, Mr. Duceppe made it clear to all Canadians that he is first and foremost a separatist  and that his leadership in the coalition “will be good for Quebec separation from Canada.”

I share the views of my constituents. Despite what any constitutional expert may say with respect to the legality of a separatist coalition, it is in my view morally wrong. The most sacred principal of a democracy is the right of the people to vote and choose their government. Canadians did so on October 14th and gave our party a strengthened mandate in every area of the country.  It is also now clear that claims by the separatist  coalition that their actions were in response to the government’s economic statement are blatantly false inasmuch as they were plotting the overthrow of the government within days of the election.  It is also noteworthy that on the very day the separatist coalition hatched this plot to take away your vote, they voted unanimously in favour of the Government’s Speech from the Throne which detailed the government’s legislative agenda.  Had they wanted to give Canadians the opportunity to vote for a separatist coalition government, they should have given Canadians a choice by offering their candidacy as a single party during the election campaign. To the contrary, both Liberals and the NDP declared during the campaign that they would not be part of a coalition.

They now have that choice. It is the duty of the separatist coalition to oppose the government.  It is a duty I support. However, rather than forming an unelected government which gives an absolute veto to the separatists committed to breaking up the country, they should take their quest to the Canadian people. Our government will continue to protect your vote, our economy and our nation.

However, before they do that perhaps the responsible thing to do would be to give the government an opportunity to govern. That means allowing the Government to present its budget on January 27th in which the Minister of Finance has already promised additional economic stimulus, on top of the 2% of GDP stimulus which comes into effect in just a few short weeks. I would remind all constituents that our government saw and acted on the global economic downturn in August of 2007. Countries around world in deep recession are now playing catch up and implementing the steps our government has been taking for more than a year. Economic experts  around the world are virtually unanimous that those actions allowed Canada to withstand the effects of the global economic downturn better than any other country in the G20 and will allow Canada to recover sooner than most other countries. The separatist coalition talks about economic stimulus but we have acted. We cut income, corporate and consumption taxes; delivered billions in liquidity to financial markets and export industries; we’ve been working with the Ontario Liberal government to avoid disaster in the auto industry; we’ve promised to double and accelerate federal infrastructure spending in 2009; and we committed  to deliver our 2009-2010 Budget in January – an unprecedented two months early.

Other elements of the government’s economic statement included protection for seniors by lowering the minimum mandatory requirement for RIF withdrawals and more than $3 billion in additional money for the BDC and EDC to support Canadian manufacturers. The government also moved to strengthen Canada’s financial institutions so that they would have the necessary credit to loan Canadian families the money they need to purchase homes, cars and start up small businesses.  Of particular interest to all Canadians are reports issued by Statistics Canada which show that Canada is not yet in recession and in fact the Canadian economy grew by 1.3% in the third quarter.  Our government has and will continue to provide Canadians with strong, decisive and prudent economic leadership. That is why we have created a net 210,000 new jobs so far this year and we are on target to deliver a balanced budget.

In contrast the separatist coalition have proposed $30 billion in irresponsible new spending without even detailing how that money will be spent or where it will come from.  Speaking to the separatist coalition plan, Don Drummond, Chief Economist for the TD Bank and probably Canada’s most renowned economist said yesterday the coalition plan would create a long-term deficit that would have a negative effect on the economy.
Finally, if Liberals suggest this Conservative government is not legitimate because it did not receive 50% of the popular vote, I would remind them that no Liberal government in Canadian history has ever received 50% of the vote (that has only happened twice – by Conservatives in 1958 and 1984), and I can’t remember Liberals ever suggesting that the three majority governments won by Jean Chretien in 1993, 1997 and 2000 with 41.3%, 38.5% and 40.8% of the vote, respectively, were somehow less than legitimate.

For more than 140 years, despite the fact that parties almost never get 50% of the popular vote, our parliamentary system has produced stable and legitimate governments. In my view, this is not a weakness of our system. It is an enviable record of balancing three principles necessary for any successful electoral system – democracy, legitimacy and stability.

As my constituents, I also want to share with you some of the information relevant to Stephane Dion who the separatist coalition plans to install as Prime Minister. This is the same Mr. Dion who was not only rejected by 74% of the Canadian people in the election, but who has also been rejected by his own party. This is the same Mr. Dion who will raise the GST and implement a carbon tax in these uncertain economic times.

The question virtually every constituent has asked me  is this; what can be done to stop the separatist/opposition coalition from hijacking Canadian democracy.

There are two things.

I urge all residents to express their views to the Governor General as soon as possible.  The Governor General can be reached by phone at 1-800-465-6890 or by email at [email protected]

Secondly, I will be holding “Call to Action” meetings  for residents of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex on Saturday; in Wallaceburg at the Royal Canadian Legion at 10:30 AM and in Strathroy at the Gemini sports Complex  at 2 PM. I hope to see you there and may God bless Canada!

Sincerely,

Bev Shipley, M.P

Lambton Kent Middlesex