Women Say NO to Harper.

Dear Friends,

Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians, and Elizabeth May of the Sierra Club, are circulating the letter below regarding Stephen Harper and his policies. We need signatures from as many Canadian women as possible.
Due to the shortage of time to act before the election, we are hoping to get as many prominent women signed on as possible - to maximize the impact when the letter is released to the media. Because of the focus on the election, we should be able to get good media coverage this time!.
Please, if you can, circulate this letter as far and wide as possible. We need the full name and title/credentials (if applicable) for the signatories.
Many thanks for any assistance you can provide with this important endeavour.

WHY CANADIANS MUST REJECT HARPER:

CANADIAN WOMEN SPEAK OUT

On June 28, 2004, Canadians face a starker choice than in any election in our lifetimes. Dissatisfaction with the years of Liberal government is driving voters toward the "Conservative Party" and its new and telegenic leader, Stephen Harper. With only weeks to go until election day, we fear many members of the public will not have time to adequately assess the sharp and clear differences between the major parties.

In fact, the "Conservative Party" is not a known and trusted alternative.
The Right Honourable Joe Clark, former Prime Minister and a life-long
member of the Progressive Conservative Party, made this clear when he urged the Canadian public to choose Paul Martin over Harper. The Harper agenda scares him. Many leading former Progressive Conservatives feel the same.

The party Harper leads has little in common with the former Progressive Conservative Party. But there is a way that Canadians can learn more aboutHarper's mysterious party: We can look South, to George Bush and the U.S.
Republican Party. Like the Bush Republicans, the Harper Conservatives would take Canada into dangerous territory:
.Bush and Harper favour Canadian involvement in the illegal U.S. attack on Iraq.
.Bush and Harper would take Canada to deficits in order to pour billions into the military. Bush has already taken the U.S. into trillions of dollars of
debt to fund militarism.
.Bush and Harper deny the reality of climate change and the threat to the whole planet, and especially Canada, from our continued reliance on fossil fuels.
.Bush and Harper reject the Kyoto Protocol. Harper has said he would not implement this international treaty which Canada has already ratified.
.Bush and Harper would change the protection of human rights enshrined in our respective Bill of Rights and Charter of Rights. Harper has said he would use the notwithstanding clause to prevent the equal application of the marriage laws as they effect single-sex couples.
.Bush and Harper would challenge a woman's right to choose. Harper has said he would allow the issue of access to legal abortions to be re-opened through an open vote in the House of Commons.
.Bush was responsible for more executions than any other U.S. Governor of recent times. Harper has suggested the prohibition of capital punishment would be re-opened in Canada.
We must not sleep walk into electing a Canadian version of George W. Bush. Challenge Stephen Harper on these positions.
Harper tells Canadians we should "Demand Better." First, Canadians must "Demand the truth" about the new Canadian Republican Party, masquerading as the Conservative Party of Canada.
We do not have much time.


If you would like to add your name as a signatory of this letter, please contact Jillian Skeet by email jillianskeet@telus.net or by phone: 604-324-1135.
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Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich. Sarah Bernhardt