Dear Mr. HarperLetters to the Canadian Prime Minister blogUN Moratorium on Capital PunishmentDear Mr. Harper, I am disappointed with your government's decision not to co-sponsor the UN resolution to impose a universal moratorium on capital punishment. Please instruct Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Bernier to reverse his decision and add Canada's name to the list of the co-sponsors for this resolution. Canada abolished the death penalty in 1976. Since abolition, at least 6 Canadian prisoners convicted of first-degree murder have been released on grounds of innocence. The Canadian murder rate has dropped since abolition from 2.8 per 100,000 to 1.9 per 100,000 in 1998. Violence begets violence. Compassion begets compassion. Thank you kindly. Sources: The Death Penalty in Canada: Twenty Years of Abolition last updated 12 months ago # 2006 StatsDear Mr. Harper, 28 December 2006, 09:49 CST Statistics: Since May ninth of this year sixty-two emails have been sent from this e-ddress to your public inbox. Of these, five provoked replies from your office, their subject matter diverse: your media woes; a tome you are writing on the history of hockey; September eleventh; human rights in China. While four of the replies were automated, an enquiry into MP benefit packages prompted an Executive Correspondence Officer to offer up your salary. Enjoy 2007. Thank you Kindly. last updated 12 months ago # Human Rights vs. Trade Dollars17 November 2006, 16:07 Dear Mr. Harper, It is with great interest that I have been watching your "awkward dance" (as the press has called it) over a meeting with the President of China. I am pleased that you are not letting trade dollars trump your stand on human rights. Kind Regards
Please know that your e-mail message has been received in the Prime Minister's Office and that your comments have been noted. Our office always welcomes hearing from correspondents and being made aware of their views. Thank you for writing. Sachez que le Cabinet du Premier ministre a bien reçu votre courriel et que nous avons pris bonne note de vos commentaires. Nous aimons être bien informés de l'opinion des correspondants. Je vous remercie d'avoir écrit au Premier ministre. last updated 1 year ago # Bricks and Mortar07 November 2006, 10:31 CST Dear Mr. Harper, I have just returned from a trip to the Washington D.C. area. I noticed that their nation capital has many stone buildings built in faux-ancient-Greek style. Are there many faux-ancient-Greek government buildings in Ottawa? Side note: The Ottawa parliament buildings (and 24 Sussex Drive) look much nicer than the White House, IMHO. Kind Regards last updated 2 years ago # Torture, Habeas Corpus, and all that Jazz29 September 2006, 16:19 CST Dear Mr. Harper, The US Congress did a strange thing this week. They paved the way for the legality of certain abusive interrogation methods, and have effectively killed Habeas Corpus. The US president now has tyrannical control over suspected “illegal enemy combatant." The US is slipping towards totalitarianism. What measures are in place to prevent this from occurring in Canada? Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # September Eleventh08 September 2006, 15:38 CST Dear Mr. Harper, I hear you are planning a televised address to the country to mark the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Please, out of respect for the victims, do not use this address to rally support for our military presence in Afghanistan. I would also ask that you spare us from fear mongering in the name of freedom, democracy, and patriotism. Kind Regards.
Please know that your e-mail message has been received in the Prime Minister's Office and that your comments have been noted. Our office always welcomes hearing from correspondents and being made aware of their views. Thank you for writing. Sachez que le Cabinet du Premier ministre a bien reçu votre courriel et que nous avons pris bonne note de vos commentaires. Nous aimons être bien informés de l'opinion des correspondants. Je vous remercie d'avoir écrit au Premier ministre. last updated 1 year ago # Hockey Prose29 August 2006, 23:33 CST Dear Mr. Harper, Eariler this year, you mentioned that you were writing a history book about hockey. How goes the battle? You should send me a draft. I fancy myself an "armchair editor". Kind Regards.
Please know that your e-mail message has been received in the Prime Minister's Office and that your comments have been noted. Our office always welcomes hearing from correspondents and being made aware of their views. Thank you for writing. Sachez que le Cabinet du Premier ministre a bien reçu votre courriel et que nous avons pris bonne note de vos commentaires. Nous aimons être bien informés de l'opinion des correspondants. Je vous remercie d'avoir écrit au Premier ministre. last updated 1 year ago # Crafting Code24 August 2006, 09:04 CST Dear Mr. Harper, I heard a rumour that you worked as a computer programmer in your early 20s. What languages did you code in? Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # Recurring Date22 August 2006, 09:08 CST Dear Mr. Harper, Today my wife and I celebrate our two year wedding anniversary. How long have you been married to Mrs. L. Harper? Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # United States of Absurdity15 August 2006, 12:05 CST Dear Mr. Harper, Over his summer vacation, George Bush read Albert Camus' novel, The Stranger. White House spokesman Tony Snow has said that Bush enjoyed the book, and that it sparked some presidential discussions on the origins of existentialism. In The Stranger, the main character Meursault shoots and kills an Arab under the glare of a hot Algerian sun. Once arrested, the authorities are baffled, and later enraged, by Meursault's lack of remorse. One hopes that Bush doesn't misinterpret Camus' meditations on the absurdity of meaning in a meaningless universe. What's on your summer reading list? Thank you kindly. last updated 2 years ago # Sense of Insecurity09 August 2006, 22:58 CST Dear Mr. Harper, Attached you will find an article on terrorism written by John Mueller of Ohio State University. Mr. Mueller states that when measured against everyday dangers, terrorism isn't as threatening as we perceive it to be. A Quote:
Enjoy the read. Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # First Nation Visit04 August 2006, 16:05 CST Dear Mr. Harper, This weekend we're driving to the Muskoday First Nation (near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan) to visit some of my wife's family. Do you have any Aboriginal relatives or ancestors? When was your last visit to a First Nation community? How long did you stay? Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # Critical Mass01 August 2006, 13:31 CST Dear Mr. Harper, Critical Mass is a bike ride typically held on the last Friday of every month in cities around the world where bicyclists (and other self-propelled commuters) take to the streets en masse. The last three rides in Winnipeg have been marred by conflicts with the police. The next Critical Mass in Ottawa takes place on August 25th, with a meet-up at Confederation park at 17:30. You might enjoying taking part in the ride. Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # Water Rights31 July 2006, 22:48 CST Dear Mr. Harper, Probe Research has found that 74 per cent of Canadians are opposed to bulk water exports to the USA. Here in Manitoba, 80 per cent of our people felt that Canada would lose control of this resource if we started shipping water to the States. Could our NAFTA obligations be used to force the exportation of our water? Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # Choice and Reponse28 July 2006, 15:48 CST Dear Mr. Harper, This is the 50th email we have sent you in the past three months. Of these emails we've received two responses. The first response was a form letter; our comments on your feud with the Canadian press had "been noted". The second response came from a M. Bredeson, Executive Correspondence Officer for the Prime Minister's Office. This was in response to a query regarding the benefit packages enjoyed by Federal MPs. How many emails are received by this email address daily? Are they all read by humans, or are they first filtered by a computer program? Who decides which emails deserve a response? Thank You Kindly. last updated 2 years ago # Work Load26 June 2006, 23:16 CST Dear Mr. Harper, Quick Fact: The average workday for Canadians aged 25 - 54 (including paid and unpaid work) was 8.8 hours in 2005. This is up from the 8.2 hour average workday in 1986. Source: Stats Canada Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # The Big Here23 July 2006, 23:45 CST Dear Mr. Harper, The editor at large of Wired magazine, Kevin Kelly, sits on the board of The Long Now Foundation, a private organization (slowly) promoting long-term thinking. Posted on Mr. Kelly's webpage are 30 questions designed to elevate your awareness of the Big Here, the greater place in which you live.
I've included six "Big Here" question for you to ponder about Ottawa: 1) What spring wildflower is consistently among the first to bloom here? 2) Trace the water you drink from rainfall to your tap. 3) How far do you have to travel before you reach a different watershed? Can you draw the boundaries of yours? 4) Before your tribe lived here, what did the previous inhabitants eat and how did they sustain themselves? 5) When you flush, where do the solids go? What happens to the waste water? 6) How many days is the growing season here (from frost to frost)?
Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # A Steve By Any Other Name21 July 2006, 15:13 EST Dear Mr. Harper, Now that George Bush Jr. calls you Steve, do you have any plans to go hunting with him? Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # Manufacturing Consent20 July 2006, 02:19 EST Dear Mr. Harper: I'm reading a book called Manufacturing Consent1 that examines the role of media within a 'free thinking' society. Media platforms that rely on advertising dollars to cover operational expenses are inherently biased. Knowing this, do you feel we should be funding the CBC more, or less? I await your response. Kind Regards.
last updated 2 years ago # Toxic Leaders19 July 2006, 13:16 CST Dear Mr. Harper, Last month I wrote to you about an Environmental Defence study on the high level of toxins found in the average Canadian. Tomorrow, federal NDP leader Jack Layton will have his blood tested for harmful chemicals at the University of Toronto Health Service Clinic. It would be interesting to compare the levels of toxins found in the bodies of all federal party leaders. Are you game? Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # A Measured Response17 July 2006, 01:21 CST Dear Mr. Harper, Civilians (including 8 Canadians) continue to be murdered in Lebanon, justified by the Hezbollah kidnapping of three Israeli soldiers. Do you still consider the Israeli military response "measured"? Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # News Flash13 July 2006, 23:51 CST Dear Mr. Harper, I'm having trouble keeping up with both local and world News. The world population has increased by 2 billion since I was a toddler. Is more being reported on, or is more happening? Kind Regards.
last updated 2 years ago # Lake Winnipeg11 July 2006, 20:21 CST Dear Mr. Harper, Lake Winnipeg is the 10th largest lake in the world, the 3rd largest in our country. Along with other lakes in this region, it contains an abundance of phosphorus due to run-off from lawns, farms, and factories, (not to mention Devils Lake). The phosphorus saturation leads to algae blooms, which deprive the lake of oxygen, upsetting the delicate balance of the food chain. The Manitoba government has pledged to continue studying the health of the lake, but what we also need is a clean-up project. During his re-election campaign, Paul Martin promised $120 million to clean up nutrient contamination in Lake Winnipeg. Any chance you could extend the same offer? Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # (little yellow) Flower Power10 July 2006, 12:34 CST Dear Mr. Harper, I dug a small garden into my new backyard. There are already thirty-eight tomatoes ripening back there. Wouldn't it be health-full & wonder-full if we taught gardening in school? Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # Vacation Dreams07 July 2006, 14:30 CST Dear Mr. Harper, On Wednesday my wife and I returned home after spending 5 days in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There, we made temporary friends at our hostel, time-travelled through the Minneapolis Institute of Art, satisfied our morbid curiosities at Gunther von Hagens Body Worlds exhibit, enjoyed our strong dollar at the Mall of America, partied a bit, and explored the city by foot. Where would you spend your dream vacation? Kind Regards. last updated 2 years ago # |
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