Dear editor,It seems to me that anyone who has not been paying attention to the actions of the Conservative government or of the opposition parties in the past five years, really shouldn’t be voting in the upcoming federal election.It is ridiculous to base one’s vote solely on what any party promises to do during an election campaign.It is vital that voters look at the record of the Conservative government and then consider what they might do with a majority.  For instance, people would do well to remember even just a few things  that the Conservatives have done during their time in government:• Fired the Veterans Ombudsman when he disagreed with their shameful plan to change veterans’ pensions to a lump sum payment;• Issued pamphlets to their MPs detailing how they could derail the work of Parliamentary committees;• Prorogued Parliament twice to avoid answering Opposition charges that would potentially damage them;• Hosted the G20 conference in Toronto during which 1,000 Canadians were unjustly arrested and detained for hours or days just as in any police state;• Proposed  building “super prisons” based on a rise in unreported crimes;• Constantly talked about “terrorists” in regard to  500 Tamil refugees when there is yet to be any substantiated proof of terrorists in that group;• In 2006 allowed CMHC to insure “sub-prime” type mortgages;• Lobbied hard to kill an international bank tax that would help rein in the speculators who put the global economy in crisis in the first place, and provide a major new source of revenue for governments; • Finally, but far from least, became the first government in history to be found in contempt of Parliament.This is just a handful of shocking Conservative actions with which people should familiarize themselves.  And all this, may I remind you, after being put into office by just over 37 per cent of the 58 per cent of the Canadian electorate who bothered to turn out to vote.What would they do with a majority?Stephen Harvey,Courtenay

Comox Valley Record