Letter in today's Times Transcript

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/1399785

Will Mr. Moore fire his staffer?

To The Editor:

As the New Democratic Party candidate for Fundy Royal, I wish to correct errors in Conservative candidate Rob Moore's statements in the article 'Accusations fly in Fundy Royal,' published Tuesday, April 19, specifically regarding the attempted theft of a ballot box by one of his ministerial staffers.

Mr. Moore states that the Fundy Royal NDP media release of April 15 is "factually inaccurate" and that there was a claim that "there was a stolen ballot box."

I am not sure which release Mr. Moore is reading, because ours clearly states that his assistant, Mr. Michael Sona, attempted to take a ballot box - a fact confirmed by eye-witnesses in several media outlets, including the Globe and Mail and Macleans magazine.

That Mr. Moore, and his boss Mr. Harper are trying to deny this fact comes as no surprise to anyone who has seen the way this Conservative government operates.

This government is, after all, the first in Canadian history to be found in contempt of Parliament.

Despite Mr. Moore's protestations, this election was precipitated by the lack of respect his government has for our democratic system; a system that generations of Canadians have fought and died to defend.

This latest ballot box incident further demonstrates the contempt that this Conservative government has for democracy and for each and every voter across this country.

My question to Mr. Moore is a simple one: Do you condone the actions of your staffer in his attempt disenfranchise youth and disrupt the voting process, or, will you terminate his employment on behalf of all Canadians?

Darryl Pitre,

NDP Candidate,

Fundy Royal

We've moved our site!!!!

We're now at www.FundyRoyalNDP.ca.

NDP’s Pitre to Cabinet Minister Moore: “Fire your ballot-stealing staffer now”

RIVERVIEW – Fundy Royal New Democrat candidate Darryl Pitre demanded Friday that Conservative candidate Rob Moore immediately fire his Special Assistant, Michael Sona, the man who led a Conservative attack on an Elections Canada polling station at the University of Guelph on Thursday.

“I don’t know what country Mr. Moore thinks this is, but last I checked, party staffers don’t attack polling stations in this country. This isn’t Libya.” Pitre said. “The sacredness of the ballot box is something generations of Canadians have fought and died for.”

“If this punk Sona wants to steal ballot boxes, he should be locked up; and his boss, Mr. Moore should be sent to the EI office,” Pitre said.

Sona, an Ontario resident and former student at the University of Guelph, works as Mr. Moore’s Special Assistant responsible for Communications in the Department of Small Business and Tourism. Yesterday, he was reported to have tried to steal ballot box while he and other Conservative activists attempted to stop students from voting.

Pitre said, “I’ve got one question for Mr. Moore: Will you fire Mr. Sona, or do the people of Fundy Royal need to fire you first? I will be personally delivering a letter to Mr. Moore asking him this question, and I look forward to his response.”

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For more information contact:

Darryl Pitre Campaign office: (506) 832-0004
darrylpitrendp@gmail.com

We are now on Facebook, visit our page and become a 'fan' !

http://www.facebook.com/DarrylPitreNDP

Darryl Pitre nominated as the NDP Candidate for Fundy Royal

On Sunday, February 27, 2011, Darryl Pitre was nominated as the NDP candidate for Fundy Royal.

Rob Moir has been nominated as the candidate for the Saint John riding.

Darryl's nomination speech can bee seen on YouTube!

A Media Opportunity

Here's a copy of a letter to the editor I submitted to the Irving big-three papers and the Kings County Record. It is a reply to a seemingly innocuous Telegraph (a friend calls it the Tele-graft) Journal piece. Keep up the struggle.

Saturday’s Telegraph Journal mentions that the NDP’s polling numbers have increased significantly despite the fact that “most people could neither name nor recognize” party leader Roger Duguay (‘Poll has Liberal party trailing Tory rivals’; A2).

The print media in this province could easily rectify this democratic deficiency.

First, provide a profile of Mr. Duguay as he has received minimal media coverage. Second, provide Mr. Duguay and each of the party leaders with a monthly column in which they can explore issues they feel should be important to the public.

If we, as citizens of New Brunswick, are to perform our civic duty and participate in choosing good governments, we need to know where all the parties stand on a variety of issues. Moreover, we need to know our potential leaders. Print media can go a long way to strengthening our democracy by enhancing the public’s ability to make informed choices.

I hope the big three provincial English-language dailies see fit to contribute positively to the democratic process by giving all party leaders a forum for discussion.

Paying More Taxes

Sorry folks. Keeping up with work, e-mails, and 2 blogs (join my Social and Environmental Justice Book Club at http://sejbooks.blogspot.com/) keeps me busy. Add a family into the mix, and not everything gets done. I saw Richard Smol's interesting post on the CBC website on "Why I should pay more taxes."

I too recognize the importance of paying taxes to build a functioning civil society. That's why I get so upset when neo-liberal ideologues like the Fraser Institute use the media to spread the notion of "Tax Freedom Day." Here are a few alternative names we could use:

Freedom from Public Healthcare Day

Freedom from Police Force Day

Freedom from Clean Water Day

Freedom from Environmental Regulation and Enforcement Day

Crumbling Bridges Day

Taxes pay for stuff we all use. Blame our governments for investing tax dollars unwisely, ask them to to account for their investments, but don't buy into the simplistic notion that "taxes are bad."

MP Rob Moore Fights Against Fundy Park Expansion

Hi all;

Sorry to be away for so long.  Catching up on work and my family life.

I saw that Mr. Moore decided to do the un-environmental thing and block expansion of Fundy National Park (http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/front/article/672405).  As this Times & Transcript editorial points out, another anti-environmental move to (perhaps) protect some narrow special interest groups similar to his stance on the removal of the Petitcodiac Causeway (http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/673885).

Anyway, here's a letter I sent in as a response.

Keep up the struggle.

-Rob

As a Fundy Royal constituent, I am all for westward expansion of Fundy National Park.  The boundaries of the park would then contain a complete watershed and, as a province, we would secure a large undeveloped coastal area; something unique on the eastern seaboard.

The expansion of Fundy National Park is a wise move from an ecological standpoint.  From a business perspective, an expanded park further secures one anchor of the Fundy Trail and provides a wonderful opportunity for low-environmental impact tourism (a growing niche market).  Combine the two arguments, and you have a strong long-run economic argument for expansion.

I don’t know exactly who Mr. Rob Moore is listening to, but, from the conversations I have had, I have a very hard time believing that he’s listening to most of us.