Letter to the Editor: Talk is cheap, Tories

Dear Editor:
While out of power, Conservatives hailing from both founding parties worked apart, and then together, ultimately to fashion a single party and a set of policies designed to bring back to Canadians an ethical and accountable government. We said we'd do things better. We'd clean up the mess. We'd treat Canadians with the respect they deserve.

Yet within hours of being elected, by appointing to cabinet David Emerson and the unelected party insider Michael Fortier, Stephen Harper substantially broke four established party policies, one specific campaign promise, over a decade of Conservative policy development, and the trust of many Conservatives and most Canadians.

Our party's principles state that we believe in the democratic process, so it's of no surprise that Conservatives are rightly questioning why Stephen Harper is violating a basic tenet of our party as one of the first official acts of his government.

A "grown-up" government works with the cards it is dealt and strives to earn the trust of the people and a better result in the next election. A "grown-up" leader of the government does not conspire to violate voters' trust in the democratic process.

Conservatives supporting the actions of Stephen Harper, party leader, ought to "grow up," be true to their party and its principles, and speak out against Prime Minister Harper's actions. If they do not, the public will draw the inescapable conclusion: Conservatives talk about principle, ethics, and democratic renewal only when "out of office." And the public will put us back there soon enough.