First of all, I would like to thank this soldier – both for what he is doing for all of us in Afghanistan, putting himself in danger tto keep us and our kids are safe, and for taking time to write to Dalton McGuinty’s EA and asking for an explanation of how ‘freedom of speech and assembly’ became ‘privileges’.
Now, to explain…
There has been a series of recent protests against Dalton McGuinty, the Premier of Ontario, organized by two Ottawa taxpayers, Debbie Jodoin and Shirley Mosley. Ms. Jodoin is so upset with Mr. McGuinty’s policies, she has decided to seek a nomination for the Conservative Party to run against Mr. McGuinty, in his riding, during next year’s Provincial election.
The protests have attracted some attention – and Mr. McGuinty’s ‘office’ began subtle intimidation tactics against the demonstration organizers, especially Ms. Jodoin. This culminated in a letter Mr. McGuinty’s Exacutive Assistant, John Fraser, had written and emailed to Ms. Jodoin.
Not only did Mr. Fraser see fit to email it to Ms. Jodoin at work, he also emailed it to each and every one of her co-workers – and her boss. In the email, Mr. Fraser admonishes Ms. Jodoin not to forget to obey the laws…. Yeah, employer’s just LOVE to get emails addressed to their employees which imply that without a ‘friendly reminder’ from the office of the Premier, this employee could not be counted on to obey the law of the land!
If the intimidation were not enough, Mr. Fraser’s letter (officially sent as coming from the Premier’s office) also included the following phrase:
“I think we can agree that free speech and the right to assemble are both a privilege and a cornerstone of our democracy.”
With Ms. Jodoin’s permission, I posted the full letter, along with the context (Mr. Fraser thought it necessary to come up to Ms. Jodoin just prior to the demonstration and ensure she agrees to follow the laws – the Ottawa Police were there in force, and even brought along a paddy-vagon…you know, just in case!)
Well, a few other blogs picked up on this, thanks to a great deal to MooseAnd Squirrel, BlazingCatfur and all the rest of the bloggers who picked up the story. The story made it around the world. Yesterday, BlazingCatfur posted a letter which a soldier, serving in Afghanistan as a member of Canadian Armed Forces, had sent to Mr. Fraser in response to the Jodoin letter.
He writes:
“One can not even imagine the sheer delight, as I try in many ways to convey to my troops that free speech and the right to assemble are a privilege.”
Read the full letter here.
And, if I ever have the honour to shake this person’s hand, the beverages will be on me!
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