As a constituent in the federal riding of Kootenay-Columbia, I wanted to find out how the values and issues of my newly elected representative and his party aligned with my own.
The obvious solution for that would be to write my representative and ask. It actually started before the federal election, when I asked questions on the then candidate’s Facebook page. None of those questions were answered and I was eventually blocked.
After the election, when that candidate was officially my representative, I thought he would now be obligated to answer questions from a constituent. My first letter was in January. After nine letters with no response, in July I sent a letter to his Cranbrook office, with a list of my unanswered letters and why that was so.
In August, I received an email from his assistant indicating that my representative’s team was looking in to one of my earlier questions regarding carbon pricing. Shortly after, I received a phone call from my representative. But there was no meaningful content or questions answered.
Over the course of my next 11 letters and emails, some to his assistant, I started to offer information that might be useful in the two different roles he had with his Party. Another phone call indicating he would be in Nelson and would like to meet with me – great! The meeting never happened.
Now, quite frustrated, in mid-September and again at the end of September, I sent an email to his assistant asking for the courtesy of a written reply with simple answers to my simple questions.
Now, in to the first week of October and I’m still waiting to hear from my representative.
Ron Robinson
Nelson
