How to communicate with your MP and MLA/MPP

...without sounding like an idiot

If you don’t want to read, listen to my audio version!

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For starters, ANY communication is better than no communication. So if you ever ask,

"Should I email my MP about this?" the answer will always be yes. If something is of concern to you, you should ALWAYS communicate those concerns to your MP. They work for you, even when it sure doesn’t feel like it. You quite literally pay their salary - don't ever forget that.

The most common comments about emailing MPs

• My MP just dismisses me and my concerns

• My MP doesn't reply

• My MP doesn't seem to take me seriously based on his/her response

• I just get auto-replies

There's no denying the fact that our MPs are managing far more emails and calls than they likely ever have. This is the direct result of more people paying attention to politics! Perhaps you have even once made the following assumptions:

• "The government will always do what's best for the people."

• "My MP will always stand up for their constituents."

• "My vote doesn't matter."

• "My voice doesn't matter."

• "They're all the same. Can't trust any of them."

• Or add in any other comment here that devalues our power as citizens

Honestly? I don't blame you. We weren't exactly nourished with political empowerment growing up, our politicians are highly curated and our media outlets certainly don't reflect the truth. So wtf were you supposed to think and believe? I get it. However, that train of thought doesn't help to restore power to the people, after decades of that power slowly transferring to the government to run on auto-pilot to the point of globalist infiltration. In other words, because we turned our eyes, nefarious agendas were able to sneak in the back door.

So while it can be frustrated AF to communicate with your local politicians, we don't have a choice. It's obvious our politicians respond to polls. If they bend too far one way and the polls dip unfavourably, they'll bounce back and recant. If they bend too far another way and the polls tip in their favour, they'll lean even further into it. Unfortunately, this shows that our elected officials respond more to popularity than their own internal governance system (the governance of integrity, that is.) But guess what...that's still on us. We elected them, even if we didn’t bother to vote.

Democracy is a lot of responsibility, isn't it? Democracy requires responsibility, attention, nourishment, time, priority...and respect. Otherwise? We lose it. So when we get frustrated about our MPs not responding the way we want them to, not responding at all, or not representing us in The House of Commons the way we'd like, it's on us. That's what a democracy is .

Democracy is derived from the Greek word Demoskratia.

Demos - The people. Kratia - power, rule.

There are two ways you can look at the responsibility of democracy.

1) Hell yeah! I'm empowered and ready for the long haul. Let's go!

2) F*ck. I don't have time for this.

Truthfully, most of us don't have time. But do we have a choice? When democracy falls, every ability to fight back outside of public revolt, civil war & government overthrow are completely taken from us. The time to fight for democracy is while we still have it. So if you're a number 2, figure out what you need to do in your life to make more time, or make your process more efficient. If you have 30 minutes a week, you can exercise your democratic right. Don't fool yourself otherwise.

Back to communicating with your MPs. I've managed to whittle down the important components of political communication to the following 3 points + plus a bonus point:

• Clarity

• Credibility

• Facts

• Respect

• Bonus points: Solutions

(Never be afraid to present an alternative solution. It not only helps your politician, it also removes you from the "squawk box" category they all most certainly have in their email filing systems. Squawk boxes are people who do nothing but complain and focus on a problem instead of work constructively to help support a solution.

CLARITY

Friend, do you even know what you're concerned about? Specifically speaking. Do you really know or are you just following the tsunami of online panic? Now you know I will always say an email is better than no email. So if you're pressed for time, send the damn incoherent email. It's better than nothing. But if you want to become someone in your community that the politicians make time for, respect, & hear, then make sure you're clear.

• What is the issue you are expressing concern about?

• Why is it of concern to you?

CREDIBILITY

Remember when there was a big curfuffle online about Bills C223 & S233 as though they were being given royal assent 2022 in live time? Unfortunately, a lot of this incorrect information was stemming from members of the freedom community. *sigh* It created a tidal wave of emails into MPs about entirely un-factual information. We shoot ourselves in the foot when we react without thinking or taking 5 minutes to pull up a bill and see what's up ourselves, before firing off an email that will surely put you in the *eye roll* file.

• Is there a bill on the current order of business about your concern?

• If not, should there be a bill put in place to help address your concern?

• If there is a bill, what specific section of it do you find concerning? Is it the wording? Is it loose and leaving too much room for interpretation? Is there something more blatant?

• Are their statements from other politicians you found to be concerning?

Here is a source you can lean into for correct information, instead of something you saw flying around on social media.

Bills in the 44th Parliament

FACTS

Facts go hand in hand with credibility. It's one thing to wave a big red flag and scream "red flag!" it's another level of credibility when you wave the red flag and scream "this right here is exactly why I am waving this red flag!"

• What evidence can you include to support your argument?

• What evidence can you include to discredit what you're pushing back on?

• Have you vetted the sources or are you including a screenshot of a post from an Instagram account titled "f*ck_trudeau_patriots_rise_up" (lol...you know what I mean)

• Hint - Pulling statistics from StatsCan is a pretty boss move - because it's statistics the government gathered themselves. Use other sources like provincial studies, medical, studies, polls, etc.

RESPECT

I think it goes without saying that as humans, we are far more likely to respond to, engage with or give time to people who show us respect. To expect our politicians to feel any different, would then mean you don't see them as human beings. While they may feel a bit robotic, they are still people with beating hearts. I think it also goes without saying that if more people could engage in civil and respectful dialogue, we'd have a lot less issues in our world. Be the example of what unity looks like. Be respectful.

• Acknowledge the likelihood of inundation your MP/MPP/MLA is likely facing with communications

• Have compassion for the work they do, a lot of which does go thankless and unnoticed by the masses - while the hard stuff gets front and center stage along with disparaging headlines.

• Take a deep breath, or even take another day before sending your email - emotional intelligence goes a long way here, especially if you're upset with your MP.

• Remember, they're humans doing a near impossible job that most people wouldn't sign up for.

SOLUTIONS

Bonus points! Friend, there's nothing worse than the person in your inbox, your office, your DMs or your community that does nothing but complain and point out everything that's wrong. It's easy. It's lazy. And, it's entirely unhelpful. So keep this in mind when you're emailing your MPs.

• Do you have an alternative solution?

• Do you have a different angle or perspective that perhaps wasn't originally considered?

• Are there people or organizations you can recommend to help them collect more

  information or have a more well rounded position on things?

• Are there other countries that have ran with a different model or approach to the issue that has worked out better for people overall?

As someone who runs a very engaged platform online, I can safely say that even I respond with more time, thought, care and attention when people messaging me have considered these points. I receive up to hundreds of DMs in a day depending on what I am ranting about. So without proper resources to manage communication it's safe to say people become selective. So if you want to get someone's attention, considering these points goes a long way.

And I'll say it again for the folks in the back. If you're in a pinch, an email that simply states: I do/do not support this motion or bill." is always better than nothing.

In conclusion, as the scales have tipped so far away from the people largely due to public ignorance and decisions not to partake or give attention to our politics, it will take time for the pendulum to start swinging back. Know that this is a long game. This is a marathon. Relentless consistency over time is how the people will win.