Open Letter to the media and the public - Vote against Harper and Vote Liberal

What can I do? Join a Protest

Category: Other

When: 03:00 PM October 13, 2008 to 06:00 PM October 16, 2008

Open Letter to the media and the public - Vote against Harper

In the midst of our mid-term exams, and a crucial Federal election campaign, we are taking the time to grade the leading parties on an issue that is particularly important to us. We are three graduates from Dawson College who were heavily involved in the Dawson Student Union and the Dawson Relief and Response Centre, a primarily student-based initiative set up in the minutes after the first shots were fired at the college and aimed at providing immediate physical and psychological help to students, staff and their families. The events of September 13, 2006 have had a profound impact on the way we look at gun control and helped us shape our understanding of it. We are surprised to notice how little place this issue has had in this Federal election campaign for the media.

As it has been evident in our country’s history, there has always been a place for the freedom to exercise activities that allow us to express our individuality. With this in mind, certain expressions of beliefs are oftentimes used as a context to block legislation that is based on reason and factual information. Such is the policy of the current Conservative government with regards to gun control, as it hides behind the completely false excuse that assault riffles such as the Beretta Cx4 Storm chosen by Kimveer Gill to attack the Dawson College student body and staff are intended for hunting.

Over the past two years, we have had the chance to meet various provincial and municipal government officials, Liberal MPs Marlene Jennings and Lucienne Robillard and local leaders who have opened their minds and their hearts to our tragic experience, and who have offered us their support in the mere hours and days following the event. All members of the National Liberal Caucus personally donated money directly to the Anastasia Rebecca De Sousa Memorial Fund, many have purchased tickets to events organized as fundraisers (e.g. Denis Coderre and Pablo Rodriguez), and party leader Stéphane Dion has rightly pledged to ban military assault weapons from civilian use.

Through all of this overwhelming support from our community, we have never heard word from the Conservative government that would suggest that Prime Minister Stephen Harper was taking steps towards such a ban. He never visited Dawson himself, and delegated Stockwell Day to listen to the Dawson gun control coalition two years ago, and since then, the Conservatives have been extremely quiet on the gun control issue, and have done nothing to better the Canadian gun control.

We would think that Mr. Harper would truly have cared, seeing as the picture on his website is that of his family, and that his young children are often featured next to him in the media. We would truly believe that he would be concerned about controlling the availability and distribution of military grade weapons on the streets of Canada.

The last two years have been a true disappointment, from the lack of sympathy showed by Mr. Harper, to the lack of interest in protecting the interests and lives of Canadians. We see no real reason to support such a failed policy and such a disconnected government and urge voters to cast their votes against such policies and attitudes by not voting Conservative on October 14, 2008.

Our opinions on this issue are clearly stated in this letter, and we do not wish to be contacted for further interviews. If need be, please contact Mr. George Stamatis, the Head-coordinator of the Dawson Relief and Response Centre at (514)754-9297 or at stamatgeorge@gmail.com.

Jonathan B.-Mailhot
VP External Affairs (Dawson Student Union) 2006-2007

Moussa Noun
VP Finance (Dawson Student Union) 2004-2005
Executive Secretary (Dawson Student Union) 2005-2006

Marie Vigouroux
President (Dawson Student Union) 2006-2007

Contact information: stamatgeorge@gmail.com

Source: Dawson

by stamatgeorge