A few days ago I got a piece of unsolicited mail in my mailbox. Now normally I’d just toss it into my recycling bin as per my normal routine with random mail fliers, but the picture on the front of this particular piece caught my eye.

On the front of this mailing was a milk carton with a picture of Liberal MP Mark Holland on its front. The caption below it read: “Have you seen this man?�

Being the political buff that I am I of course did, but on the back of the flier I got the feel of what exactly the point of the piece was. Typed out on the back of flier were several lines that read: “Vote on Bill C-2; MISSING� “Vote on Bill C-50; MISSING�. Amongst other things of course, and at the bottom it read: “Last Seen: Collecting six-figure MP salary�.

This jogged my memory of exactly how often half (or more) of the Liberal Party of Canada’s caucus has not shown up for a vote in the House of Commons. These members of the Liberal Party, who were elected by the people of Canada, are proving to us on an almost daily basis how far they are willing to go to serve their constituents (or not serve them, as the case may be).

As if the previous millions of dollars stolen from Canadians in the sponsorship scandal was not enough, Liberal MPs are now showing their true colors by not even showing up for work in the morning, and continuing to collect their taxpayer-funded salaries.

If I were not an already well-established Conservative, this clear disregard for the importance of the democratic and representation process in Canada by the Liberal Party would certainly make me one. In a general election, Canadians across the country elect their Member of Parliament to represent how they feel on important national issues.

Our representative for Niagara West-Glanbrook for example, Conservative Member of Parliament Dean Allison, is on the record for daily standing up in the House of Commons and voting on issues that matter to his constituents.

The Conservative Party of Canada has never had its caucus avoid coming to a vote in the House of Commons for any reason. If their votes trigger a national election over an issue – then clearly we need to have an election if there is that amount of disagreement over it.

That is where the voice of all Canadians comes in.

A federal election is where all Canadians get to choose whether or not they want their Member of Parliament to stand up to represent their beliefs, or to vote in a Member who will intentionally miss votes in Parliament to further his or her own agenda.

See you next month!

Nick Switalski
Niagara West-Glanbrook Conservative EDA