David Emerson affair non-resident illegitimate MP E
merson claims he is the best person for the job. But his job, first and foremost, is not to reach an agreement on softwood lumber, but to represent his constituents. Emerson claims people voted for him as a person. But he had Liberal written all over his name during the election. Emerson claims those who opposed his move are partisan zealots. But he was a proud Liberal zealot when it helped him to get elected. Emerson claims the people he has spoken to since his move still support him. But he seems too keen to avoid meeting any of his constituents. Yiman Jiang, Vancouver-Kingsway Here is the letter I delivered to Stephen Emerson’s office on March 16th. I have not yet had a reply. Dear Mr. Emerson, I am writing to you to request a meeting. I have been a resident of VancouverKingsway for 28 years. I would like to have a chance to tell you in person why I think you ought to resign and thus pave the way for a by-election. I was a 10-year-old child when we crossed the border, in the darkness of night, between Hungary and Austria on November 24th, 1956. We became
refugees. Our father and mother, at the age of 46 and 37 respectively, decided to leave behind the security of their homes, loved ones, jobs and all earthly possessions in the hope of providing a better life for their two sons. 150,000 people made the same monumental decision during those weeks. As Jews, our parents had lived through anti-semitism, fascism, the Nazi Holocaust and Communism. In Hungary, under all regimes, everyone knew that politicians and governments lied, and that the news media was not trustworthy. People learned to read between the lines, indeed From the first day that we arrived in Vancouver in February of 1957 my father had one mantra, “I have never felt so free in my whole life”. He was 52 years old when he had the opportunity to cast his very first free ballot. Our parents took the rights accorded to them by Canadian democracy very seriously, almost religiously. They never missed voting in elections... municipal, provincial and federal. They never took for granted their democratic rights, especially their right to vote. My mother had muscular dystrophy. She was bed ridden for the last five years of her life, barely able to move her arms and limbs. But she never missed being taken by her sons to the ballot box.
In the name of our late parents and their commitment to and utter belief in the principles of Canadian democracy I shall continue to demand, as long as necessary, that you resign and enable a by-election. Mr. Emerson, you chose to run on the platform of the Liberal Party, which included support for the Kyoto Protocol, support for a national childcare program and support for same sex marriage. The Liberal Party was also opposed to Canada’s participation in the Iraq war and in George Bush’s plans to militarize space through the missile defense shield. During the election you eloquently delineated the differences between the Liberal and the Conservative agenda for Canada, and you repeatedly aligned yourself with the former. When you joined the Conservative Party, for what seems like the perks of office, you abandoned the political agenda you ran on, and you aligned yourself with a party that stands in stark opposition to the vision of Canada you purported to embrace as a Liberal candidate. You thus betrayed the trust of the citizens who voted for you. You are sadly mistaken if you think that the majority of the people who voted Liberal in Vancouver-Kingsway were voting for you in person. They were voting for a set of priorities and principles that they thought you represented. To think otherwise is sheer hubris on your part. But you didn’t only betray those who voted Liberal in the last election. You betrayed all the residents of VancouverKingsway, and all voting citizens across Canada, who by the sheer act of exercising their franchise demonstrated their continued faith in the democratic process. By your action, and your words in
defense of your move, you made a game out of our democracy. Essentially your message is: values, principles and party platforms have zero meaning. Switching from one corporation to another without accountability to the shareholders may be acceptable in the corporate world. It is, however, repugnant to the democratic process. Under the democratic system politicians only have a mandate through the confidence expressed in them at the ballot box. Presently you do not have the confidence of the voters of VancouverKingsway. Mr. Emerson, you have already done much greater damage to our society than any good you could possibly generate for Canada as a Cabinet Minister. No business deal, not even your sudden settling of the softwood lumber dispute with the United States, is worth the level of cynicism your action has infused into our body politic. Mr. Emerson, it is so obvious to so many that the only honourable thing you can do now is to resign and thus make way for democracy. Please do not dismiss my concerns as that of a partisan zealot. That is simply inane. By using such dismissive terminology you simply display further disrespect for the citizens you are supposed to represent and you only malign yourself. I would be equally concerned had any Member of Parliament that purports to represent Vancouver-Kingsway done what you have done... regardless of their party affiliation. As a resident of Vancouver-Kingsway I respectfully ask to have a meeting with you to discuss my concerns. Alternatively, I would be willing to discuss with you my concerns at a Vancouver-Kingsway Town Hall Meeting. Sincerely, Janos Maté, Vancouver-Kingway Emerson’s bait and switch is an insult to all Canadians regardless of riding. The arrogance of the man. His cronies say that we vote for the man, not the party. Shouldn’t we then expect the man not to follow party line and do the best for his constituents? Not a chance! To show our disgust for what he did, whenever we write emerson’s name we should use a lower case “e” as a lack of respect for his actions. I hope that your riding will be able to replace emerson with an “Honourable” Member to represent you. Jack Roberts, Lanzville, Vancouver Island For further details and updating of actions go to the non-partisan websites www.walkfordemocracy.ca or www. realdemocracy.ca where many other websites are linked to. As well for a background on David Emerson do a search in the on-line encyclopaedia www. en.wikipedia.org
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MAY 2006
