>Congratulations on your election in your riding -- so many >of these were changed, but your duties will still be the same. >As you seem to have been a Member of Parliament prior to >March 1999, you must be accustomed to duties to not only >constituents, but all Canadians. I have to stress again, that an MP, *as* MP, has no political responsibilities to anyone outside his or her own riding. That includes responsibilities to respond. I would imagine most out-of-riding campaign mail, whether paper, fax, or email, in any given private members' office, is deleted or discarded on sight, unless the author has some personal connection to the MP or the riding. It would otherwise be impossible to keep up with the flood. MPs are elected by small sets of 10,000 to 50,000 electors, not by Canadians or Albertans or Ontarians at large. This is a fundamental fact of our political system, and anyone engaged in any political campaign must always be cognizent of, and respectful of, that fact. It is a mistake, and frankly a waste of time, for people in Moose Jaw-Salt Flats to try and sway the opinion of the member for Saint-Onesime--Maskawaga. (Fictitious ridings). "All politics is local." The only MPs, other than your own, that you can legitimately hope to sway, are - your province or region's regional political minister (e.g., Ralph Goodale in SK; John Efford in NL); - the MP who also happens to be a Minister or Parliamentary Secretary for a given portfolio which has federal jurisdiction over some part of the cause that concerns you; - and the MPs who sit on a particular committee that has taken, or will take, notice of the issue at hand. And that, only after you have written to your own MP, if he or she is not also one of the above. It is unfair to yourself, and to the MP who is getting bombarded with out-of-riding campaign mail, to think otherwise. The census campaign is worthwhile, but it has to be fought right, and strategically. Carpet-bombing other people's Members of Parliament is a waste of resources and time, and, if annoying enough to the other MPs and their staff, potentially very counter-productive. The most powerful piece of campaigning anyone can do is to write to the MP who last appeared on the ballot in the community where you live. There are genealogists in every riding in Canada, so the best thing is to keep stirring the pot among the larger genealogical community, raising their awareness of the issue, and encouraging people to write to their own representatives on Parliament Hill. This stuff doesn't apply to campaigning among Senators... I'm sure one of the list has much more insight into that! ;)

Dear Wallace:- The release of the Canadian census records affects not only ALL Canadians, but descendants of many former Canadians living in all parts of the world. YES -- any vote on this issue affects all who desire release of the Canadian census records. Please forward the section that states a Member of Parliament only answers to the residents of his or her constituency? Until that time, the present symbol on the Ontario scoreboard will remain the same. Muriel M. Davidson muriel_davidson@sympatico.ca ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wallace J.McLean" <ag737@freenet.carleton.ca> To: <CANADA-CENSUS-CAMPAIGN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 11:16 AM Subject: [CCC] Maurizio Bevilacqua and other MPs > > > >Congratulations on your election in your riding -- so many > >of these were changed, but your duties will still be the same. > >As you seem to have been a Member of Parliament prior to > >March 1999, you must be accustomed to duties to not only > >constituents, but all Canadians. > > I have to stress again, that an MP, *as* MP, has no > political responsibilities to anyone outside his or her own riding. That > includes responsibilities to respond. I would imagine most out-of-riding > campaign mail, whether paper, fax, or email, in any given private members' > office, is deleted or discarded on sight, unless the author has some > personal connection to the MP or the riding. It would otherwise be > impossible to keep up with the flood. > > MPs are elected by small sets of 10,000 to 50,000 electors, not by > Canadians or Albertans or Ontarians at large. This is a fundamental fact > of our political system, and anyone engaged in any political campaign must > always be cognizent of, and respectful of, that fact. > > It is a mistake, and frankly a waste of time, for people in Moose Jaw-Salt > Flats to try and sway the opinion of the member for > Saint-Onesime--Maskawaga. (Fictitious ridings). "All politics is local." > > The only MPs, other than your own, that you can legitimately hope to sway, > are > > - your province or region's regional political minister (e.g., Ralph > Goodale in SK; John Efford in NL); > > - the MP who also happens to be a Minister or Parliamentary Secretary for a > given portfolio which has federal jurisdiction over some part of the cause > that concerns you; > > - and the MPs who sit on a particular committee that has taken, or will take, > notice of the issue at hand. > > And that, only after you have written to your own MP, if he or she is not > also one of the above. > > It is unfair to yourself, and to the MP who is getting bombarded with > out-of-riding campaign mail, to think otherwise. The census campaign is > worthwhile, but it has to be fought right, and strategically. > Carpet-bombing other people's Members of Parliament is a waste of > resources and time, and, if annoying enough to the other MPs and their > staff, potentially very counter-productive. > > The most powerful piece of campaigning anyone can do is to write to the MP > who last appeared on the ballot in the community where you live. There are > genealogists in every riding in Canada, so the best thing is to keep > stirring the pot among the larger genealogical community, raising their > awareness of the issue, and encouraging people to write to their own > representatives on Parliament Hill. > > > This stuff doesn't apply to campaigning among Senators... I'm sure one of > the list has much more insight into that! ;) > > > > ==== CANADA-CENSUS-CAMPAIGN Mailing List ==== > How to unsubscribe from Digest Mode. Send a message to > CANADA-CENSUS-CAMPAIGN-D-request@rootsweb.com that contains > (in the Subject line and body of the message) the command > -- unsubscribe -- and no additional text. >