You may have seen postcards in your mailbox this summer from various Conservative MPs that criticize Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. These “ten percenters”, as they're known in the trade, are paid for by the Canadian taxpayer. I wrote about one version here earlier this month.
Last week, while travelling with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his 2009 Arctic tour, we saw but a handful of people outside Harper's press events that you would characterize as protesters. In Yellowknife, NWT, last Thursday, there were a half-dozen folks from public sector unions carrying placards protesting Conservative cuts to things like Status of Women Canada. The next day, in Whitehorse, Yukon, there was one lonely pamphleteer outside the hotel where Harper held his final press conference stuffing what I'd call reverse ten percenters into the hands of anyone who would take them. I reproduce them here for you. We have no idea who is behind these as the young pamphleteer preferred to remain anonymous.
Each of the three is set up like the Conservative ten percenters, encouraging you to send the post-card like fliers to an MP in Ottawa which, if you do, won't cost you a penny because postage to MPs is paid for by all taxpayers.
In this first one, (detail left) the pamphleteer appears to object to the Conservative ten percenters and s/he tells Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs as much:
Dear Chuck
We are sick and tired of the excessive amount of fliers and junk mail that you seem to find great pleasure in mailing out. Not only are your efforts a complete waste of paper, we also take offence to the fact that you have adopted the American style of attack ads which have little intellectual substance and which ar offensive. We are certainly more intelligent than attack ads .
Please cease and desist with your non-stop junk mail barrage.
When you are ready to engage in productive political efforts please give us a ring.
A second one, addressed to Stephen Harper, PM, argues that “We believe that the Conservative vision for increasing militarisation is not in tune with Canadian identity.”
A third one, also addressed to “Stephen Harper, PM” features “A Brief Compilation of some of the adverse impacts the Conservatives have had on Canada”.
All of them carry the tag line – The Harper Government: Destroying Canada.
Great idea! Maybe a custom one should be made up for Kenora MP Greg Rickford, who is responsible for this particularly odious 10 percenter. Unbelievably, this thing takes the Conservatives' appalling lack of action on the Attawapiskat toxic school issue and turns it into an attack on the NDP!