To The Leader of Liberal Party of Canada, Paul Martin,
Party President, Mike Eizenga
Vice presidents, Regional Vice Presidents, Presidents of member Organizations, Caucus Chairs, National Women’s Liberal Commission,
Young Liberals of Canada
Seniors’ Commission, Chairs of Standing Committees, Financial Management Committee, Liberal Party Members and to those who quietly vote Liberal,

Dear Sirs and Madams,
It is with the greatest sadness and deep sorrow that I find myself writing this letter to you this day.

Heading into this election, I would have called myself a faithful, quiet Liberal. I formed my political opinions after studying the lives and hard work of people like, Jean Cretien, Pierre Trudeau, and then Finance Minister, Paul Martin, as well as closely scrutinizing the Liberal’s policy and philosophies. I truly felt the Liberal party reflected my traditional values as a Canadian; therefore I was proud of voting Liberal and felt very safe living in Canada under the leadership of past Liberal Prime Ministers.

However, over the last few years I have seen a dramatic shift in the policy and philosophy of the Liberal party. I had some deep concerns about the direction that party was taking so I called my local riding and spoke to one of the aids in the office.
When I questioned them about why I didn’t see traditional Canadian values reflected in the Liberal party platform I was genuinely shocked, angered and felt deeply betrayed at the response that I received.

I was told, “That Canada is evolving” , “That Canada used to be “middle class”, “white”, “Christian” but no longer”, “That the white middle class Christian used to have all the power.” and that they “were” the majority. I then asked isn’t that the definition of democracy? I was told that that was “Some people’s definition of a democracy”. Unfortunately, the conversation deteriorated quickly as I felt I had to defend my heritage as a descendant of Empire Loyalist stock. My family helped build this country, they built some of the first schools and roads and yes, the first churches, in New Brunswick. They helped to make Canada great. The aid however, felt that my heritage, values and believes somehow infringed upon the “rights” of their Muslim neighbour and that they would fight for the rights of the minorities!

It was at this time that I mentioned that the Liberal party had just lost my vote, only to hear a loud bang and have the phone line cut.
I was left with the very strong impression that someone was trying to denigrate my heritage, to devalue the hard work and sacrifice of my forefathers and that the Canada of today only began in 1982.

It was an uncomfortable feeling to say the least and lest we say this was just an unfortunate phone call that really shouldn’t influence ones faithfulness to a political ideology; I felt I really had to examine the ideas that were presented. Were they just the opinions of one aid or did the aid reflect the party’s values as a whole?

The first thing mentioned was that, “That Canada is evolving”, I was surprised to read Mr. Martins own statement on the idea that Canada may evolve.
“In Canada today and Canada as it may evolve, I believe we’re going to want minority rights to be protected in case in any circumstances a prime minister was going to decide what rights he would and wouldn’t protect, and I think that’s fundamentally wrong,” Martin said.
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I personally believe in growth as opposed to evolution.

When a baby boy is born, that child grows, he goes through many changes until he matures into a man but he is still a male of the human race. I believe in that type of change and growth.

Evolution, however, involves a series of changes that change one type of creature into another creature such as a dinosaur becoming a bird, if you believe in that form of religious doctrine.

If the Liberal party as a whole is advocating that Canada evolve – what is the party proposing that Canada will evolve into?

I deeply love the Canada that the Fathers of Confederation founded, the true north, strong and free. They built a country that could change and grow but still remain strong, free and democratic in its form of government. There was room for the creation of our Constitution and our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This leadership though, attacked the Charter adding in changes to “protect a special interest group”. According to Stats Canada 2004 only 1.7 % of Canadians have ever belonged to this group, yet this Liberal government changed the Charter for 1.7% of the population, and an age old definition of marriage that had served Canada and the world well for hundreds of years! What arrogance!

This is not democracy. This is oligarchy!

This is a powerful shift in the policy and philosophy of the Liberal party and if this is how the party sees Canada evolving; a country where a few individuals can change the laws and govern the majority, I can not and will not vote for this. I see this same type of oligarchic thinking in Mr. Martin’s commenting he would like to remove the “notwithstanding clause” from the Charter.

The length of this letter already precludes me from commenting in depth on the prejudicial statement of anyone in Canada being referred to as a, “middle class, white, Christian”; I think such statements speak for themselves and equal Mr. Martin’s comments of calling some Canadians “rightwing fundamentalists”.
Hitler used the same type of prejudicial statements to demonize the Jewish nation before the Second World War, I believe this level of prejudice is unacceptable to most Canadians. These “white, middle class, right winged fundamentalist Christians” just happen to be our friends and neighbours and live, work, pay taxes and vote in every community in Canada.

The Liberal party has ask Canadians to “Choose their Canada” during this election. I sincerely feel this party has not been honest or upfront about where you are leading us as a country. If I hadn’t called for clarification on some of the issues I would have voted Liberal not realizing or knowing that the policies and philosophy of the Liberal party of the past had so radically changed.

Therefore, I will be choosing my Canada. I choose the Canada that was…the Canada that was built upon the strong moral values and Christian principles of our forefathers and upon the deep sacrifices made by the generations that went before us to keep this country free.

The Canada that is… growing, expanding, questioning, changing and yes, even rebelling in some areas where we feel our forefathers may have failed, but still holding fast to the strong family values that were pasted down to us, values like respect, honesty and acceptance, never devaluing the price that was paid so that we can live in and enjoy this peaceful country.

The Canada that can be… maturing, powerful, democratic, built on the solid foundations of our heritage and the sacrifice of our veterans with the wisdom and knowledge gained during this time of growth.

I know that there are many, like myself, who believe that Canada will grow and mature into the country that our forefathers envisioned it to be, the true north, strong and free.
It is therefore my intention to vote for any party holding these progressive views, and after close consideration of the current policies of the Liberal Party of Canada, I can not and do not believe that you are that party.

Therefore, I respectfully asked to be removed from all mailing lists, email and otherwise, and from this day forward renounce any and all support for the Liberal Party of Canada.

Yours truly,

Mrs. Lois D. McKenna – McQuinn