Be Direct!

Well since the CBC ignored my email, I figured I would ask my Canadian Culture question to my local candidates. I sent it to Bev Shipley (CON), Rose-Marie Ur (LIB), and Kevin Blake (NDP). The first party to reply was the Liberals. However, they did not answer my question, and it wasn’t even Rose-Marie that replied. Here is the email:

“Could you give us your phone number so Rose-Marie can call you?”

I didn’t want an informal answer to be given to me over the phone, so I then replied with:

Hello again,

I would actually prefer a written response,
so I can compare the points one-to-one with the other candidates.

Thanks for your understanding.

The NDP still has not replied, maybe Kevin figures he is going to lose anyways, and his time would be better spent doing something other than representing the interests of his potential constituency.

And so, the only person to answer my email was Bev, my conservative candidate. Here is his response.

Joe:
” If elected, what will the Conservative party do to ensure that our national public broadcaster, the CBC, will continue to speak for
Canadians?”

Joe, I believe Canada needs to balance the need to promote and protect our unique culture in Canada with the need to support our artists in the reality of a 500 channel universe. A Conservative government will ask the Auditor General to review all granting programs, arm’s-length organizations and Crown corporations to ensure value for money. We are interested in funding artists and strengthening our Canadian identity, not bureaucracies.

The CBC, because it is a public corporation, is good to have because it can provide unbiased opinion, educational, and documentary programs and also allows the promotion of Canadian arts and culture. I believe that this is an important service and we must maintain the Canadian content. As a businessman, I also agree that every corporation needs to be accountable in its spending and business practices so that they meet the requirements under the Auditor General.

Thanks for your inquiry, and I would appreciate your support on June 28.
Regards,
Bev Shipley

—– Original Message —–
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 10:09 AM
Subject: Canadian Culture

Bev:

I just have a quick question to ask you:
—
Realizing that it is important to Canadian?s that our unique culture
and identity is appreciated, shared and continually strengthened.
If elected, what will the Conservative party do to ensure that our
national public broadcaster, the CBC, will continue to speak for
Canadians?
—

The strengthening of Canadian culture is very important to me,
and I fear that Canadian culture will largely be ignored if you are
elected. I am not really looking for numbers in your response, but
simply on how you feel and how your party feels regarding the CBC,
and other general culture issues such as Canadian content laws, effects of foreign media ownership, etc.

I look forward to your response.

So, is it better to vote for a guy who will listen to my concerns and reply to them? Or simply vote based on my values and ideals? Like everyone says “It doesn’t matter what they say, they are lie anyways!” So…. hmmm… there is still time let’s see if anyone else still replies… but I can’t hide the fact that I am impressed with Bev’s ‘respect’ towards me as a concerned citizen (even though the conservatives will HURT canadian culture more than any other party.

velkr0.