I've written my Member of Parliament, Gary Lunn, a few times. I am certain that he never sees my mail though I hope that he gets to read a summary of all of his mail. I am not sure of this though. One thing that I am sure of is that the letters of response that he signs are from an alternate universe. You see, he tends to reply to issues I have not raised. He talks about other stuff.

(I know. I know. It's just the technique of sticking to talking points established by PR brainiacs and ignoring what is actually asked or said. Gary, that's B.S. 101.)

A letter from Gary Lunn's alternate universe arrived this morning. Wow. Gary's alternate universe has moved further away. It is as if no one, not even the office paper clip monitor, read my email. So, I am doing what all good bloggers do, making it public.

I wrote about the cancellation of the inquiry into the alleged torture of Afghan detainees. I got bafflegab about how hard Gary works even though Parliament is prorogued. The subject field of my email was: "What I ask". Gary writes back "re: Parliament". He spends the entire letter saying he is working hard and mentions briefly that proroguing is a common practice. He takes a shot at opposition MP's who criticize the prorogation.

Prorogation is a parliamentary tool that has been used several times. A hockey stick is a tool in hockey. If it is used to whack someone, not cool. Go to the penalty box. Prorogation has been misused and we all can see it. Because it has been used, the inquiry into the question of the torture of Afghan detainees remains unanswered.

My main point is this: I am not at all concerned about the reputation of the Conservative Party. I am very concerned about the treatment of Afghan people — Taliban prisoners and innocents included. Get it, Gary?

For the record, here is my email:

From: Bill Davidson
Subject: What I ask
Date: January 7, 2010 1:40:43 PM PST
To: LunnG@parl.gc.ca

Dear Minister Lunn,

As a citizen of Saanich I ask that you stand up to the Prime Minister. He's not behaving as one would expect of a Prime Minister devoted to democratic rule. I worry that your staff is justifying the PM's behaviour when I phone to offer my thoughts. Not impressed. Proroguing is a tool that can be used properly and improperly. It is being used improperly.

Regardless of the partisan politics that may be at stake, I ask that a new inquiry into the Afghan-detainee situation be convened. We must know what has happened. It is a most un-Canadian-like feeling to be left wondering about whether Canadians have violated the Geneva Convention. The behaviour of the PM and high-ranking cabinet ministers is worrisome.

As my representative, I want you to stand up for disclosure and transparency, the very things that were promised by the Conservative Party.

I represent a constituency of one -- myself -- when I speak.

I belong to no political party.

I am a citizen.

Please do not reply by snail mail -- it's not a conservationist style of communication most of the time. If you wish to reply, you have my email address now.

sincerely,

Bill Davidson
Saanich BC

Gary Lunn (or staffer) replied to me by snail mail. The hogwash factor was higher than normal, so I have put it here so that you can read it too.

I will write a response to Gary Lunn's response and will publish it in a blog post later this week after the email is sent.