Mr. Brummet is correct in saying that I imply, “that the Conservatives have a plan to destroy democracy.”

I would be remiss if I did not respond to Tony Brummet’s letter which appeared in the June 11th edition of your paper.

Interestingly, in an edition of the Osoyoos Times which appeared the same day, there was an article paying tribute to Mr. Brummet for his many years of service to Osoyoos and to our province. It is fitting, therefore, that I offer my sincere congratulations to him on recently being honoured for his contribution to the Osoyoos Museum Society with a life-time museum membership. I would also like to thank him for his many years of public service as MLA and cabinet minister.

Now, to the point of his letter. Mr. Brummet mentions a call he received during the provincial campaign. I would like to reassure him that this was a recorded message paid for by the provincial NDP and not from my MP budget. In regard to the mail-outs that I send out to my constituents, there are basically two kinds.

The first is a one-page leaflet usually developed by the party on topics such as Canada Post, affordable housing and pensions. They are similar to the ones sent out by Conservative MPs, except that their materials praise the government and criticize the opposition, whereas ours criticize the Conservative policies and highlight our initiatives.

The second mail-out is my “Householder.”  This goes out roughly three times a year and covers all sorts of topics such as important information for constituents, my current legislative initiatives, recommended books, events attended in my riding and government initiatives.

My staff and I try to make the Householder interesting and informative with a minimum of partisan politicking. We have received extremely positive feedback from many individuals from across my riding.

Mr. Brummet is correct in saying that I imply, “that the Conservatives have a plan to destroy democracy.” I and many constituents in BC Southern Interior firmly believe that an erosion of our democratic process is rapidly taking place under this Harper government.

Alex Atamanenko, MP, Southern Interior