Tory MP: repeal section 13, "weed out corruption", fight "tirelessly" for freedom

John Cummins is the Conservative MP for the B.C. riding of Delta-Richmond East. On May 18, he received this letter from a constituent. Some excerpts:

I have always voted Conservative federally. Always... But, unless I see concrete evidence before the next election that the Conservative Government is taking concrete steps to rectify the many problems endemic to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, I will not be voting Conservative in the next election. I will be encouraging others to follow my lead.

...It takes a lot to get me out of my chair, and I have never written a letter to my MP or MLA before...

The [CHRC] is corrupt and it is a direct threat to our fundamental freedoms. I cannot think of a more deadly combination...

The Government's submissions in the Lemire case are a disgrace and an embarrassment... Please note that the right not to be offended is NOT enshrined in our Bill of Rights. It is more important than the current price of gas or whether our troops should be in or out of Aghanistan. In fact, when you think about it, it is why our soldiers are fighting in Afghanistan...

It's really a great letter. Again, you can read the whole thing here.

Two days later, Cummins replied -- not just to his constituent, but with a forceful and principled letter to the Prime Minister's office, too. You can see a copy of that letter here. Its text (I've bolded some great lines):

Dear Prime Minister:

I am writing on behalf of [name redacted] who wrote (copy enclosed) regarding his concerns with the Canadian Human Rights Commission...

In his letter to me, [name] states, "the CHRC is corrupt and a direct threat to our fundamental freedoms." He states that he wants to see the corruption weeded out, Section 13(1) repealed and to see the CHRC returned to its original, limited mandate. You should know that I am in full support of [name]'s request regarding the CHRC. Canadian soldiers have given their lives fighting for the freedom of speech and freedom of the press. These rights should be passionately and tirelessly protected.

I am asking that you respond to [name]'s concerns as expressed in his letter to me.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

Yours truly,

John Cummins, M.P.

Delta - Richmond East

Those are two great letters, by two Canadians who care very deeply about freedom.

Please take a moment to send Cummins an e-mail of encouragement. Just click here.

And if you haven't yet written to your own MP asking for his or her views on the CHRC, please do so now. You can find your MP's contact information here (by name) and here (by postal code). If you get a reply, please send it to me by e-mail. We're racking up quite a tally of MPs from both the Conservative and Liberal parties. I'm impressed with the bi-partisan nature of this campaign, which is exactly how it ought to be. Freedom of speech is bigger than partisan politics, and I'm glad our Parliamentarians understand that -- in fact, the word Parliament itself comes from the Old French word "to talk".