Maurice Vellacott Admits That MPs Have Nothing to do With Ten Percenters

Maurice Vellacott was forced to apologize recently for a ten per center distributed on his behalf to the NDP riding of Peter Stoffer.

However, his explanation provides further argument that this kind of media is not about MPs keeping the public informed, but simply campaign literature sent out by party central.

When Joe Preston was forced to defend one of the horrendous anti-Semitic flyers, he couldn't, simply because he really had no idea where the statements attributed to Michael Ignatieff came from.

Most people know that these are distributed on the MPs behalf by the Conservative party of Canada, usually without their knowledge. I'm sure many of them are as surprised as we are where they end up, or what is in them.

Michael Ignatieff has proposed reforms to the practice, and I think it's a long time coming. They are obviously not used in the manner that they were intended to be used, and the Reformers spent more than 6 million dollars of our money, this year alone, on these useless ads.

Tory apologizes for erroneous flyers but no move to ban them

OTTAWA - A Conservative MP has apologized for misrepresenting an opponent in one of many controversial flyers his party has been mailing - at taxpayers' expense - across the country. The apology came Monday just as a secretive all-party committee was meeting to discuss what, if any, limits should be placed on so-called ten-per centers - one-page flyers that MPs are entitled to mail to households outside their own ridings.

Saskatoon MP Maurice Vellacott apologized "explicitly" and "without reservation" for the flyer sent to New Democrat MP Peter Stoffer's riding about the long gun registry. The flyer asserted that Stoffer had "worked to support the registry" when in fact he has opposed it since its inception 12 years ago .... Vellacott appeared to suggest that the flyer was produced by the Tory party and not by him or his staff, even though it went out under his name."I have received an undertaking from our Conservative resource group that in the future they will proofread more carefully and nuance more appropriately any ten per center mail pieces that are sent out under my name" ...

IS THIS REALLY CONSERVATIVE? IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?