When politicians or government do things people disagree with, many of us shrug our shoulders and say or think "but what can I do?"

The answer: letter writing. When one person sends an email, or postage-free letter via regular mail, to their Member of Parliament (MP), its duly noted and perhaps even acted upon. When 10 or 100 or 1,000 people do the same, the MP's staff make sure that political staff and even the MP are notified. A rising tide of public opinion can and often does move an MP's own opinion, and when enough MP's change opinion, government must as well.

MP's are frequently elected on slim margins, and in this minority parliament, you can bet that most MP's have not forgotten that getting re-elected is something they all have to face in the not too distant future.

Making letter writing easy: Another independent group with a focus on democracy in Canada has developed a very handy tool which makes it easy to send your thoughts to one MP, or to three hundred and eight! The Demos, stemming from the greek word demokratia, provides on their Letters and Contact page a useful letter-writing tool that makes it easy to send a note to government leaders, or even to all MP's of a particular party or province.

Help improve Canada's democracy - write letters to government, and the press - whenever you are moved by an issue. Do it often! Let them know that you aren't willing to look the other way while our votes are disrespected and devalued by those who claim to represent us.