The role of Member of Parliament (MP) is to understand the issues of the people that he or she represents, and to be willing to speak on behalf of those citizens without hesitation. It is the responsibility of your MP to protect your interests even when that means speaking out against the government.
The current MP for Kootenay Columbia has indicated that he feels that he can only vote the way the prime minister tells him to vote; he’s a cheerleader for government regardless of the consequences for his constituents.
Bill C-51, the anti-terrorism bill, is a classic example. The current MP is 100 per cent in support of the bill even though he knows that the resulting degradation of your rights and freedoms could seriously impact your life. Rural residents rightly feel strongly about any legislation that could result in unreasonable access to their personal information.
Bill C-51 will result in significant damage to your rights to privacy. Your personal information could be widely shared between federal agencies. Canada’s privacy commissioner says that Bill C-51 sets the threshold for sharing Canadians’ personal data too low.
The current MP, regardless of what his leader tells him, should be standing up for your rights and freedoms.
I will speak out loudly against any attempts to degrade the rights of the residents of Kootenay Columbia.
That is one very important reason why I am running to represent you in Ottawa.
Wayne Stetski
NDP candidate for Kootenay Columbia