Parliamentary Secretary: we "are in agreement with you" about CHRC

Russ Hiebert is the Conservative Member of Parliament from the gorgeous riding of South Surrey -- White Rock -- Cloverdale. He's also the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Western Economic Diversification.

On May 12, Ward Benedict, one of Hiebert's constituents, wrote this e-mail to him, the Justice Minister and the Prime Minister:

Dear Sirs:

http://ezralevant.com/2008/05/justice-minister-rob-nicholson.html

After reading Mr. Ezra Levants disection of MP Nicholsons Ministries just released legal brief, I am writing to let you know that until the Conservatives step in and get actively involved in eliminating Sec. 13 of the Canadian Human Rights act, I will not be contributing another dollar to the CPC.

I understand that it is a sensitive issue that could easily be spun by the media to reflect poorly on the CPC, but if maintaining the status quo to avoid getting bloodied up a bit is your solution, then we might as well have a Liberal government in power.

When the Conservative Party takes solid and corrective positions on issues like this, I am encouraged and happy to fund the Party. (and have contributed significantly in the past

As I wrote to Mr. Gerstein earlier, I will be sending any dollars I would normally send to the CPC, to Mr. Ezra Levant, Kathy Shaidle and Kate McMillan to assist them with the legal fees they will have to incur to fight the free speech battles they are involved in as a result of bad law and a corrupt CHRC.

For shame sirs, for shame.

Sincerely,

Ward Benedict

To which Hiebert's constituency assistant replied:

Mr. Benedict,

Thank you for your comments. We have discussed this issue many times with Mr. Hiebert and are in agreement with you regarding your opinion on the Human Rights Commission.

I am happy to record your comments, but am not able to comment further on it at this time.

Kathy Jary

Constituency Assistant for RUSS HIEBERT, MP

On the one hand, I'm a little bit disappointed that the letter was signed by Hiebert's assistant, rather than Hiebert himself. On the other hand, the reply was apparently e-mailed back within eighteen minutes. I'll take that as an indication of the office's enthusiasm on the subject.

I'm slightly confused by the letter: it agrees with Ward's tough talk, but declines to comment further. OK; perhaps, as a Parliamentary Secretary for an unrelated ministry, Hiebert knows he ought to refrain from policy freelancing in someone else's portfolio. But if he agrees with Ward's tough talk, that's a pretty serious rebuke of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

I'm glad Hiebert is on board, and it's not too surprising -- he's an exceedingly bright MP who thinks a lot about policy. The fact that he's a lawyer means he's likely very sensitive to the corruption and breaches of natural justice that are rampant at the CHRC. Hiebert is also a member of Parliament's Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee. It would not surprise me one bit if the CHRC's abominable approach to all three of those subjects found itself hauled before Hiebert's committee. In fact, I'd bet on it.

I look forward to Hiebert adding more substantively to his assistant's reply on his behalf. But I accept her comments as the plain truth: I'm sure that Hiebert and his staff have indeed discussed the matter "many times", and that they are "in agreement" with Ward's view that the CHRC is a national shame.

Friends, take a moment to send Hiebert an e-mail of encouragement -- just click here. And, if you have any similar correspondence with your MP that you'd like to share, please e-mail it to me, or if it's via snail mail, please send it to me as a scanned .pdf, or a fax.