Email to Mr. Harper, 20081128

Dear Mr. Prime Minister, I write to you on behalf of the Seniors' Action and Liaison Team (SALT), a social action group in Edmonton committed to advancing the civil society in Alberta, Canada and beyond. I wish to say to you that we are most committed to retaining and improving the public finance of all the major political parties at the Federal level in our country. In our view, having private finance of political parties is the major weakness of our democracy. Canadians need viable political parties across the political spectrum and their party structures and our elections should be fully and exclusively financed by our taxation system. To do otherwise is to allow private self interest to trump the public good. That is not acceptable to us and should not be acceptable to any thinking Canadian who values democracy. Such weakening of democratic governance institutions in Canada at this time of ever increasing ecological and economic crises is unconscionable. Sincerely, Dr. Brian Staples, SALT Chair, Copies to significant others.