Garth Turner's taxpayer-funded Liberal-organized Quebec-based advertising program?
I got an email from a Calgary-based reader, relating to me the strange snail mail letter he received advertising the Garth Turner Lost Tory Tour. I'll relate to you what he told me, and let you muse about what it all means.
Update #1: The mail was sent from 15 different Liberal MPs into western ridings where Garth Turner would be doing his presentation. I suspect these were "10-percenters", a tool provided by the House of Commons to faciliate communications between an MP and his constituents, but increasingly used to send aggressive partisan mailings to voters in ridings held by other parties without spending party funds. If so, just how is this not a Liberal Party operation and just how does this not cost the taxpayer money?
Update #2: Having received a photo of the material sent, I've changed my mind. I don't think these are 10-percenters at all. I think this is expensive franked mail containing the equivalent of a 10-percenter. That's a huge leap in expense. Imagine the local dry cleaner sending you their monthly flyer via first class mail. Imagine then that the post office bill for that dry cleaner was paid for by you, whether you used that dry cleaner or not.
I got this email from a reader in Calgary. Let's call him Mr Smith:
I Iive in Calgary. Yesterday I received an envelope mailed under House of Commons privilege for members. It was from Massimo Pacetti, member for Saint-Leonard/Saint-Michel. It contained a double-sided advert for Turner's appearance in Calgary on September 12th. It was addressed to the [Smith] Residence.
I've replaced the real name with "Smith".
Massimo Pacetti is a Quebec-based Liberal MP sending advertising for Garth Turner, Liberal MP for Halton in Ontario, all the way out to Calgary, Alberta, to a household whose occupants aren't even Liberal Party members.
Now the rules for the use of Canada Post franking privileges are broad:
The House covers the cost of printing newsletters, commonly known as "householders", sent by the Member to all constituents. Members have free mailing privileges to send out householders and other materials. These mailing privileges are often referred to as "franking" privileges. "Franking" is the process by which Members of the House of Commons, by affixing their signatures to an addressed piece of mail, may have that mail delivered postage-free anywhere in the country.
Here is what Canada Post says about franked mail:
Canada Post provides free mailing privileges to the following:
- Governor General or Secretary to the Governor General
- Speaker or Clerk of the Senate or House of Commons
- Parliamentary Librarian or Associate Parliamentary Librarian
- Members of the Senate
- Members of the House of Commons
In addition, anyone mailing an item to the above in Canada receives free postage. As a general rule, only Lettermail, Publications Mail and Addressed Admail are acceptable.
And addressed admail?
To qualify as Addressed Admail, your mailing must be consistent with the definition of the service.
Specifically, Addressed Admail is defined as mailable Items bearing a uniform message, that;
- Promote the sale or use of products or services;
- Report on financial performance, primarily for promotional purposes; or
- Solicit donations or contributions.
Promoting the "service" provided by Garth Turner counts, I guess. But addressed admail must be delivered to a named person, not a generic "occupant".
That means Massimo Pacetti had to be provided with the name "Smith" living at that address, a Canadian household he would normally have no reason to contact since he is a Quebec-based opposition MP, and in particular, a household that had not initiated a discussion with Pacetti that would have given him the name and address information.
My correspondent in Calgary says that the phrase "the Smith Residence" is one he sees on commercial flyers only.
So I have to wonder if Garth Turner or his supporters are purchasing mailing lists from commercial operations targeting the areas where he will be presenting, then feeding those lists to Liberal MP Massimo Pacetti who then uses his franking privileges as a member of parliament to send mail free of charge from Quebec to Alberta.
Or maybe this was just one rogue (and mysterious) piece of mail sent to the Smith residence and nowhere else.
And we don't even know if Garth Turner had anything to do with this.
Even if he did, I don't think anyone has done anything wrong here. It just seems to a weird path for this bit of partisan Liberal advertising to go, especially since the Liberal Party is not supposed to be involved in the Lost Tory Tour:
Who is sponsoring this tour?
MP Turner is traveling to communities in response to local invitations, from local Liberal MPs, candidates, or readers of his blog. There is no sponsoring or umbrella group.
Is the Liberal Party behind this?
No, but the office of the party president and the leader have assisted with some details, such as coordinating local meeting notices.
How have events such as Town Halls been organized?
All events, including public meetings, stakeholder group meetings, speeches, mainstreeting and a motorcycle run, have been organized by local citizens and community groups.
Who is paying for this?
MP Turner and his wife Dorothy are using flights allocated in his existing office budget. Local volunteers are providing ground transportation. Most hotel rooms have been donated. Other costs will be paid personally by Turner. The goal is zero public cost.
Pacetti is not a local Liberal. Franking mail is not zero cost. And if more than one Liberal MP has been franking mail for Garth Turner, and this was organized (you handle this list, I'll handle that list, he'll handle another list), then it would be hard to say the Liberal Party isn't behind this, at least a little bit.
Well, it was just one mail from one Quebec Liberal MP on behalf of another Ontario Liberal MP to one resident in Alberta, so we'll keep it in perspective. Unless, of course, other people in Calgary and in other cities got "householders" as well?
Addendum: OK, so there is a pattern. From my Garth the General post, a comment that I regret to have missed reading, brought to our attention by reader muttrus:
I received an invitation to the Garth Turner Public Meeting in Abbotsford. I am a Conservative member, so it is obvious Turner used his list of Conservative member to try to pack his meetings because he knows he won't get enough Liberals interested. On top of that, the invitation were mailed from John McCallum's office! I guess Turner doesn't have much of a budget with the Liberals.
I hadn't even considered that Garth Turner might be using Conservative Party data lists to drive the advertising campaign targeting households in western cities but originating out a network of eastern Liberal Party MPs offices using free mailing privileges. An interesting interpretation of the limited data we have. I wonder if more people can come forward with similar mailings.
Asked and answered? I went back to the Garth Turner post in which he spends his time calling me a loser. There was this response near the end of the comment trail:
John McCalum was one of 15 MPs from across the country who diverted local riding communications to support my tour effort. This was done so costs would be contained within existing MP budgets, with no new money spent letting people in these four provinces know of the Town Halls.
Fifteen MPs for sixteen meetings in thirteen cities? Let's try to build up a matching list:
- Liberal MP XXX using his or her mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to LaBroquerie, Manitoba
- Liberal MP XXX using his or her mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Liberal MP XXX using his or her mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Regina, Saskatchewan
- Liberal MP XXX using his or her mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Duncan, BC
- Liberal MP XXX using his or her mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Victoria, BC
- Liberal MP XXX using his or her mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Surrey, BC
- Liberal MP XXX using his or her mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Vancouver, BC
- John McCallum using his mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Abbotsford, BC
- Liberal MP XXX using his or her mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Kelowna, BC
- Garth Turner using his mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Edmonton, Alberta
- Liberal MP XXX using his or her mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Red Deer, Alberta
- Massimo Pacetti using his mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Calgary Alberta
- Liberal MP XXX using his or her mailing privileges to send an unknown number of addressed admails to Lethbridge, Alberta
Kept within existing MP budgets? But I thought the Liberal Party wasn't helping out with this? Coordinating local meeting notices means sending addressed admails based on mass mailing lists from one end of the country to the other? And isn't that taxpayer money?
This sounds more and more like an official Liberal Party function. I just don't understand all the secrecy.
Garth Turner also denies that Conservative Party lists were used. As my correspondent suggests, only commercial flyers used that style of addressee at his house. I wonder how much those lists cost for those 15 cities, and who was footing the bill for those too.
The 10-Percent Solution: Legislative assistants might have helped send the advertisements to these people. But the descriptions don't seem right. Could this be a householder?
Householders inform constituents about federal issues that affect their everyday life, such as health care and employment. They are sent to each household in the MP’s riding. LAs may help write and design Householders before they are printed and mailed to constituents.
Or a 10-percenter?
As its name suggests, 10-percenters are printed communications sent to 10-percent of the constituents in a MP’s riding. These communications represent the views of MPs and their political party, and they tend to be more partisan and targeted in their message than Householders. LAs may help select or write articles for the 10-percenters and collaborate with the Constituency Assistant to determine where to send them in the riding.
Definitely more like a 10-percenter.
The problem, of course, is that neither John McCallum nor Massimo Pacetti are sending mail into their own ridings. Maybe that's not really a restriction, and the Consistuency Assistants for the many ridings involved (larger cities like Edmonton and Vancouver would cover many separate ridings) might have created the 10-percent lists for each of their ridings, sent them to the Legislative Assistants of McCallum, Pacetti, and the other 13 Liberal MPs, who then collated the data, stuffed the envelopes, and used their franking privileges to turn around and send the advertising for free to 10-percent of the households in each of the locations on the tour.
That's a lot of paper for an MP like Garth Turner who is so worried about the environment. And a lot of work by Liberal Party folks. And a lot of free mail from Canada Post.
But then a 10-percenter is supposed to paid for out of the House of Commons budget assigned to MPs for this sort of thing, which then begs the question about exactly how this tour is not Liberal and not taxpayer funded.
Karen Redman would not be amused: Liberal Karen Redman, MP for Kitchener, is quite clear when she says 10-percenters targeting unheld ridings for any business unrelated to that MP and that riding is a misuse of House funds:
All parties have significantly increased their output of ten percenters. They've also adopted a centralized strategy for distribution. Specifically, these seem to focus on redistribution in unheld ridings. But rather than focusing on members' own parliamentary initiatives or those of their parties, these ten percenters have been used for negative and often personal attacks. We've seen the deplorable examples of blatant abuse of the House of Commons privileges.
It's neither appropriate nor valuable, I feel, for members of Parliament to circulate material of this nature. Clearly, what we do with our party funds under the banner of partisan politics supported by those who choose to support the parties is a totally different matter. This is something to do with the use of taxpayers' dollars and our role as members of Parliament.
Ten percenters are not an appropriate venue for electioneering, and by eliminating partisan logos on ten percenters and householders we can take a big step to ensure that they can continue to be used to put forward policy discussions as well as bring updates to parliamentary affairs.
Throughout this minority Parliament, we've seen a significant increase, as I've said, in the ten percenters in unheld ridings. Ten percenters, as everyone around this table realizes, are unlimited, and a continued increase in the distribution of ten percenters in unheld ridings will become--and I would say have become--a significant expense to the House budget.
Mr. Hill made a comment that the Board of Internal Economy has dealt with that, and I would absolutely concur with him. As a matter of fact, I think I've done my best to push this matter to the fore. But the reality is that the statistics we receive and the documentation we receive in the Board of Internal Economy is in camera. I think this issue needs to have an open and transparent discussion so that Canadians and other parliamentarians will be able to see the exponential increase in this cost to the House.
The ability to send material into ridings held by a member of another party leads to aggressive mail strategies and electioneering-style messaging. Ten percenters are a tool for MPs to communicate to their own constituents, as I said--and I would defend that--but anything further than that is an unnecessary financial burden on the House, and I would say it's a misuse.
Now all parties do this. Redman was upset because the Conservatives were using 10-percenters to hit the Liberal about the Sponsorship Scandal inside of Liberal ridings. She probably has a point. But she also emphatic when she says that sending out aggressive and election-style 10-percenters from one riding to another via some sort of centralized operations centre is a drain on the House of Commons budget, a burden on taxpayers, and an abuse of the 10-percenter system.
If Garth Turner and is merry band of MPs, including John McCallum and Massimo Pacetti, were using the taxpayer-funded 10-percenter system to try to fill the chairs for his appearances, I wonder what Karen Redman would say.
And what about this Garth Turner tour not being a burden on the taxpayers?
Update: I think I've been on the wrong track with the mail. Here's my new idea on the nature of this mail. Thanks to Garth Turner for explaining the ethical considerations.
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Comments
Give me a break Steve, you are talking about the Lieberals and a Queerbec one at that. Any involvement with Turner has to be a scam of Canadian taxpayers.
Posted by: Pissedoff at September 5, 2007 12:37 PM
Well, I think the last comment on the post Garth The General was interesting. It was from a Conservative who received an inviation to Garth's town hall meeting in Abbotsford mailed from John McCallum's office.
Posted by: muttsrus at September 5, 2007 12:42 PM
"Franking mail is not zero cost."
You really are scratching for something, anything. I guess that's what happens when you get sued and lose.
Posted by: not Garth Turner at September 5, 2007 12:44 PM
Andrew Coyne recently described Canadian Politics as stupid. Steve, your investigations show why. It's not enough to be good, you have to be seen to being good to be good. Perception is reality and all that.
If alcohol induces honesty, then at least Canadians got the truth was from Sir John A. And that was probably the last time we got the truth.
Cheers
Posted by: Phil in Ottawa at September 5, 2007 01:00 PM
Your next Canada Post price increase brought to you by Garth
Posted by: mungman at September 5, 2007 01:05 PM
What I want to know is this:
1. If an MP doesn't use his allotment of travel vouchers in a given year, is the cost of them lost or is there a savings to the taxpayer.
2. Same as above but regarding MP office budgets.
The reasons I ask these is because Garth continually says "no additional (or new) costs to the tax payers" for his tour. But he's getting people like McCallum and other Liberal MPs to use their "unused" budgets to help pay for the tour. Now if normal procedure is that unspent budgets are a savings to the taxpayers, then Garth is indeed adding "additional costs" to the taxpayer. Because people like McCallum didn't spend all they were entitled to it should go back to the pool of general revenue and not paying for a partisan Liberal tour.
Also, if an MP lives close to Ottawa, why do they get the same travel vouchers as someone who lives in Northern BC or Nunavut or PEI? I've never understood that. The travel points are to allow MPs to get between their riding and Ottawa. If you live close enough to Ottawa that you don't need the points you shouldn't be allowed to save them up for personal use.
Posted by: Reid at September 5, 2007 01:11 PM
I received a mailing promoting Garth's "non partisan" Lost Tory tour in Edmonton.
It was addressed to the "blank" residence which is the same way any mailings from the Conservative Party is addressed to us.
It was sent postage free in a Garth Turner House of Commons issued white envelope.
I was under the impression that MP consituency budgets from the House of Commons was to be used for the member's OWN constituency and for non partisan information.
Partisan promotional materials and party political propaganda (which I would say Garth's is) would be paid for by the respective parties - not the taxpayers.
Is this a huge loophole the slippery Liberals have found in order to continue to use taxpayer money for Liberal politics?
Posted by: Lorraine at September 5, 2007 01:49 PM
Actually, the rules are quite broad when it comes to franked mail. It can go to anywhere in Canada, not just to your own constituency. Now the complication comes into how the lists are created. I'm starting to think that this was a 10-percenter, a partisan party mass mailing from an MP to 10-percent of the households in his riding based on lists created by the constituency assistant, and paid for by the House of Commons. Can a 10-percenter be used to cover mail from McCallum or Pacetti sent to BC or Alberta? My guess is probably. But then a 10-percenter is supposed to paid for out of the HoC budget for this sort of thing, which then begs the question about exactly how this tour is not Liberal and not taxpayer funded.
Posted by: Steve Janke at September 5, 2007 01:55 PM
And it looks like Garth Turner was covering Edmonton...add it to my list.
Posted by: Steve Janke at September 5, 2007 01:58 PM
Well, according to CTV yesterday,
"Finance critic John McCallum and House leader Ralph Goodale met with more than 30 senior executives of some of Canada's largest energy trusts in Calgary" to discuss income trusts. Quite handy that it coincides with Garth's western tour.
Posted by: muttsrus at September 5, 2007 02:27 PM
Ah, the hell with the whole Garthology tour, it's just the little boy out and about trying to boost his ego, feel important as a member of a party drinking at Last Chance Saloon.
If he's going on the cheap, flying economy, paying his own expenses why is he acting like some key member of Parliament and taking his wife along? If the Liberals are so skint for bucks, one would think even donated stuff, freebies would be given where it would help their chances. Garth is helping the Conservatives with this tour.
Posted by: Libby at September 5, 2007 02:34 PM
Another few thoughts on this:
The Income Trust special interest lobby groups are actively promoting Garth's tour; helping fund it; helping organize it (Garth claims these are just good old regular non partisan members of the concerned public), especially CAITI whose vitriol about ITs is almost verbatum to Garth's flyers and Blog.
So, my question, is an elected member of Parliament (Garth)and taxpayer funds being used by a special interest lobby group to promote their Income Trust agenda?
Is this ethical?
Posted by: Lorraine at September 5, 2007 02:58 PM
Next thought: Garth and the Liberal Party are saving themselves 55 cents per addressed mail and deferring that cost to Canada Post and the taxpayer.
Let us assume there were just 1,000 pieces of mail (which I'm guessing is low balling) from each of the 15 Liberal constituency budgets.
That is 15,000 total for a cost to the taxpayer of nearly $8,000 for a taxpayer funded Liberal Party special lobby group propaganda tour.
Any body else think this stinks?
Posted by: Lorraine at September 5, 2007 03:02 PM
Before you get bent out of shape, perhaps you should rap the knuckles of Conservative MP's doing the same thing. It's like a virus these days. I.E. Del Mastro sending mailings from Peterborough to Halton, etc.
We should be getting on this case for ALL parties.
Posted by: Sara at September 5, 2007 03:05 PM
The LPC : Bringing Quebec political sleaze/corruption to your doorstep.
See on the 12th Garth...me and most of the western conservatives in the audience will have the ripest Tomatos we can find to "share" with you. ;-)
Posted by: WL Mackenzie Redux at September 5, 2007 03:30 PM
Interesting the Dion Liberals are using a proxy to conduct election candy tours of Alberta. Dion's last tour bought more boos than booze.
The fact that a scuzz bag like Turner would even feel safe coming out to Alberta where floor crossing is akin to pedophilia speaks to the arrogance and ignorance of the LPC.
Interesting also is the vote bribing of the oil patch with the trust fund candy....I hope when we send Garth's bruised ego back to his Liberal masters that he tells them the CEOs of big oil DO NOT represent the grass roots Alberta voter...who has has far more ethical motivations than some corporate whore they can buy with sleazy promises...they will find the Alberta voter is hard to buy and has an inherent disgust of liberals and Liberal sleaze.
Garth will also be meeting some of his ex constituents who had to relocate here after his party's policies downsized the Oakville auto pact industries....hope they show up to remind Garth what hot-air politics are worth.
Posted by: Western Trust at September 5, 2007 03:49 PM
Sara, I said explicitly all parties do it (use 10-percenters to mail into other ridings with attack ads and other electioneering-style missives). I also said Karen Redman, a Liberal, probably has a point that this is not what the tool was meant for, no matter who is doing it. But when the Liberals or the Conservatives or the NDP do it in general, they admit they are using HoC funds (and argue that they are not breaking the rules despite Redman's opinion). On the other hand, Garth Turner in particular is saying he is not costing the taxpayer any money, but if his mailings are 10-percenters, then that claim might deserve some extra scrutiny, if you buy into Redman's view of these things.
Posted by: Steve Janke at September 5, 2007 03:51 PM
I think that oil execs will snap back to reality after they are reminded that the Libs are the party of the National Energy Program, Income Trusts are nothing in the light of that.
Posted by: mungman at September 5, 2007 04:26 PM
"Before you get bent out of shape, perhaps you should rap the knuckles of Conservative MP's doing the same thing. It's like a virus these days. I.E. Del Mastro sending mailings from Peterborough to Halton, etc.
We should be getting on this case for ALL parties.
Posted by: Sara at September 5, 2007 03:05 PM"
Sara, I remember Garth Whining and crying on his blog when that happened (I personally never got one, nor have I heard of anyone else getting one). "Oh, woe is me, the cons are picking on me". He whines when he's at the receiving end of it, but turns around and does the exact same thing.
This is another example of Garth Turner having one set of rules for himself and another set for everyone else.
Rule for Garth Turner: "Garth is always right"
Rule for everyone else: "see above"
Posted by: Sentinel at September 5, 2007 04:31 PM
We get mailings from both the NDP and CPC. We live in a Liberal riding.
Relax
Posted by: at September 5, 2007 05:52 PM
I deliver for Canada Post. These mailings caught my attention as they were from the libs and the mailing list is severely out of date.A customer opened one and showed me the contents which were on Garth's behalf,from Pacetti, as described earlier.What a waste of money,at least half were addressed to previous tenants or home-owners.I was wondering how this sham compares to the libs taking the conservatives to court over thier advertising during the last election? Is this what you expected from the libs? Would you buy a used car from Garth?
Posted by: postie at September 5, 2007 07:04 PM
I have received two pieces of mail from Jack Layton, no postage affixed, and I live in a Conservative-held riding in BC. What gives?
Posted by: The Rat at September 5, 2007 07:28 PM
The point is not that mailings were made, but that the Garth said no tax-payer money was being spent and that this was not a Liberal Party venture, both statements appear to be bald-faced lies.
(I am as relaxed as I get. Chill babe.)
Posted by: at September 5, 2007 07:29 PM
So how does this compare to the "scandal" that is going on now over the Conservatives election ads? The Conservatives were using donated money,the libs are using tax funds. Business as usual,righteous indignation as usual.Would you buy a used car from Garth?
Posted by: wallyj at September 5, 2007 08:07 PM
Well done and keep after this one. The targeting of constituents both politically and demographically utilizing taxpayer resources could be an evolving story.
The Lost Conservative Tour may well prove to be The Lost Conservative Membership List Manipulation Tour.
Correlation is all that is required to prove the hypothesis. Or this is a concerned MP's valiant attempt to include every sort of Canadian in the democratic process.
Probabilities vs. possibilities. Interesting.
Syncro
Posted by: Syncrodox at September 5, 2007 08:08 PM
I read the rules re: franking privileges on the parl.gc.ca website, and one thing immediately leapt to my attention: there doesn't seem to be a limit on how many mail items an MP can send out using his/her franking privilege.
That being the case, one wonders why Garth didn't just send these invites out all by himself, rather than involving a horde of Liberal accomplices? As mentioned by others, it still might not be "right" to use franking to send out partisan material, but it mightn't be so prominent on conservative radar if at least the invites to come and hear Garth came from Garth. It's that invites to hear Garth speak in Alberta are coming from an MP in Quebec that's raising eyebrows.
Oh, and Phil from Ottawa - I'm not far from Barrhaven; drop me an e-mail sometime if you want to grab a Timmy's...
Posted by: Tom at September 5, 2007 10:34 PM
I thought these "franking" mailers were also called 10 percenters because MPs can send postage free materials to 10% of their riding households. I'm not sure how many times per year they can do this.
So as I see it if a riding has 60,000 households an MP can send 6,000 flyers on the taxpayer's dime.
Usually I think this is done as unaddressed mail through a targetted postal code drop.
Not sure if ADDRESSED mail counts??
And, using House of Commons envelopes?
The letter I got in Edmonton did not come from Garth's Halton constituency office. It came from the House of Commons address.
In Alberta - NO political party business is allowed to be conducted in an MLA's taxpayer funded constituency office.
We could not even sell a party membership or have ANY PC Party political brochures, etc. in the MLA constituency office and the taxpayer paid for office staff were FORBIDDEN to do party work.
They could volunteer after hours in another location.
Is it the same for Federal MP constituency offices?
Posted by: Lorraine at September 5, 2007 11:00 PM
Question: Where did Garth Turner get his mailing lists?
My Edmonton mail from Garth had a code in the mailing address which was not a label but a laser print on the House of Commons envelope and printed as part of the address.
Does anyone know what this code could possibly mean? The source of his list?
A07D86Y12H2
I am quite certain that I would not have ever given permission for a hate mongering Liberal from Halton Ontario to have access to my personal name and address.
Posted by: Lorraine at September 5, 2007 11:23 PM
We're told that most hotels for the Turners tour are donated! Are they trying to tell me that most hotels where the Turners are staying are Liberal! Come on. They're mainly American chains who couldn't care less about Garth Turner. The man has illusions of grandeur!
Posted by: Louise Fribance at September 5, 2007 11:37 PM
The more I read about this, the more I think Garth is achieving what he wanted: Everyone talks about him. Garth wants to be leader of any party who will take him. Let's ignore him and he'll have fail.
Posted by: Louise Fribance at September 5, 2007 11:50 PM
If anything is "donated" to a politician even in kind things like hotels and meals, etc. would these not have to be reported as political donations?
And, elections canada rules that ALL donations must come from from individuals only - not groups or businesses and cannot exceed $1100 per individual in a calendar year?
Posted by: Lorraine at September 5, 2007 11:54 PM
I have received two pieces of mail from Jack Layton, no postage affixed, and I live in a Conservative-held riding in BC. What gives?
Rat, do you by chance belong to a union?
I live in a Liberal stronghold in Ontario, yet I routinely get mail -addressed to me- from Jack Layton -even though I positively loathe the NDP. I suspect he is getting my name from the union to which I have to belong if I want to work where I work.
Said union constantly shills for the NDP -to the extent of sending us letters just before federal elections, urging us to vote NDP (in '04, the letter arrived one day after the election. LOL).
Posted by: up north at September 6, 2007 10:49 AM
Agree with Louise, we're feeding Garth's salacious ego, he's really a person of little importance, although the more he scoots about, the more he helps the Conservatives.
Wonder if the people of Halton are giving him the cold shoulder so he's trying to get his ego stroking from those less familiar with his antics?
Talk about abuse of free mailing, we live far from Toronto and we got mailings from Joe Fontana,it would take at least four and a half hours drive to go vote for him, now that's a stretch!
Posted by: Libby at September 6, 2007 11:56 AM
As for the donations, yeah, that might be a problem, but then Garth Turner says this is a not a Liberal Party tour.
Now that we know that 15 Liberal MPs are spending taxpayer money on franked mail to promote the tour then you have to wonder if those donations are now fair game for limits and such.
And for mass mailings into ridings, all the parties do it, and all complain that it is not what these tools were made for. Generally, 10 percenters generate little in the way of interest because of their low cost. But when an MP uses franked mail to get around the 10% limit, red lights go off because of the sheer expense.
Posted by: Steve Janke at September 6, 2007 11:57 AM
 
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