Canadians are contacting PM Stephen Harper about the war in Afghanistan

Monday, August 7, 2006 

Canadians contact Stephen Harper about the war in Afghanistan, newly released records of telephone calls, letters, and emails to the Prime Minister reveal.

"Callers would like him to resign and run in a byelection," says a report, citing 73 such calls.

In February, most were congratulatory messages for the new prime minister, and other matters.

In April, 1,805 pieces of correspondence and another 422 telephone calls dealt with Afghanistan-related issues.

In May, the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) received 1,453 letters, and emails about Canada's Afghan deployment, more of them calling on the government to pull out and get the troops home. Another 114 telephone callers said the same. A lot of them criticized the government's decision to not lower the flag at the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill to honour fallen soldiers. Almost 200 callers said that the media should not be banned from reporting the return of the bodies of soldiers.

Calgary Northeast conservative MP Art Hanger said, most correspondence from his constituents is supportive of the government's deployment of troops in the war-torn country. "I would have to say there's a fair amount of support for the party's position out here," said Hanger.

Three dozen bureaucrats are employed full time to wade through some 2 million items each year and categorize them by subject.

Sources

• Dean Beeby - Canadian Press. "PM gets Afghan mail" — Toronto Star, August 7, 2006

• "PM deluged with mail about Afghanistan" — Halifax Chronicle-Herald, August 6, 2006

• Canadian Press. "Mission hot topic in letters" — Calgary Sun, August 7, 2006