The Rants of Issachar
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Writing to parliament...
I believe in Canadian democracy. I also believe that the internet holds the promise of improving Canadian democracy particularly in how we communicate with our representatives.
So I'm reverting to e-mail. It's better anyway. Since I still don't have any response from Mr. Prentice & Mr. Day about the copyright I've rewritten my letters as e-mails. (I think I've waited long enough for a reply to a letter I mailed on December 12th.
If you haven't read up on the copyright issue, I strongly encourage you to do so and to write to your MP. This isn't some geek issue that doesn't affect you. It does affect you.
That's why I write to my representatives. I get mixed results. My first letter to Svend Robinson who was my MP at the time received no response at all. My more recent letters about our upcoming copyright law Senators Ross Fitzpatrick, Pat Carney, Mobina Jaffer, my MP Stockwell Day, and Jim Prentice who is the minister responsible elicted a response only from Senator Ross Fitzpatrick who subsequently announced his retirement. (Ms. Carney retired in December and I didn't hear until after I sent the letter). Interestingly I sent e-mails to the Senators and Canada Post letters to the MP's and it was the e-mail that got a response. A later e-mail to Stockwell Day's office about the his office's mailings in my mailbox got a very prompt and personal reply from one of his staffers which seems to contradict the received wisdom that e-mail gets ignored, but mail with a stamp gets read.
So I'm reverting to e-mail. It's better anyway. Since I still don't have any response from Mr. Prentice & Mr. Day about the copyright I've rewritten my letters as e-mails. (I think I've waited long enough for a reply to a letter I mailed on December 12th.
If you haven't read up on the copyright issue, I strongly encourage you to do so and to write to your MP. This isn't some geek issue that doesn't affect you. It does affect you.
