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No longer voting Conservative

February 24, 2022   ·   0 Comments

I am very proud of my Great Grandfather Com James Arthurs. He was the Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada for Parry Sound electoral district from 1906 until 1935.

At that time, he was the longest sitting member of parliament in Canadian history. He was then appointed a senator for the Conservative party, representing the Province of Ontario on July 20, 1935 by R.B Bennett.

My Great Grandfather also married a young, local lady from Orangeville Ontario, Elizabeth Priscilla Gillespie.

As far back as I can remember my family has voted conservative and so have I, but now I will not vote for, or support the Conservative Party ever again.

The unanimous Conservative vote against the Emergencies Act was shameful! We need hope and vision, not more division, from our politicians to help unite this country.

One Ontario Conservative MP said that invoking the Act was just a “mad grab at power”. Another Conservative MP said the Prime Minister was “engineering the crisis for political gain”. And he even said the Emergencies Act was the “latest and greater example of attacks on our freedom”.

Did these politicians not listen or watch the news for three weeks? Ottawa, our Capital, was under siege. There were swastikas and other hateful symbols brandished on the streets of Ottawa, illegal trucks idling for weeks, blaring horns, and even protestors placing young children between themselves and police.

Designating no go zones within Canada’s capital, ensuring tow trucks were available to remove vehicles from city streets, and stopping the flow of money and goods keeping anti-government demonstrators fed and fuelled, are clear ways the Emergencies Act, helped end the Ottawa blockades. Conservatives characterized the protests as a matter more appropriately dealt with by Ottawa police. Not an emergency. I watched and listened carefully but not once did the Conservatives come up with a plan to end the blockade. They knew the Ottawa police could not possibly control the protestors or clear the encampments.

If Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, who has announced he is seeking the leadership of the party, and New Conservative Interim Leader Candice Bergen, are examples of the future leadership of the Conservative party, all the more reason I will not vote for the Conservative party.

I believe all Canadians should be able to carry out legitimate and legal protests but they cannot take over our borders, cities, and especially our capital.

Susan Gray

Orangeville

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