April 13, 2011
York Region.com
Open letter to Conservative canadidate Julian Fantino and the Vaughan Conservative Association.
Due to the welcoming of former federal Liberal candidate Tony Genco into the Conservative fold, I can no longer be a member of the Vaughan Conservative Association.
My values do not shift overnight and they cannot be compromised.
So it was with great disappointment I saw my own riding association and representative take advantage of this situation and use it for political gain.
But my hesitancy began with Mr. Fantino’s first vote in Parliament concerning Roxanne’s Law, a private member’s bill that would have made it a crime to coerce a woman to have an abortion.
I was led to believe by supporting our candidate’s election stance of being tough on crime that he would vote to protect women from being coerced into having abortions.
The facts of the Roxanne Fernando case are disturbing. The 24-year-old Winnipeg woman was beaten and left to die by her boyfriend and two male accomplices after she refused to obtain an abortion.
To me, this is a black-andwhite issue that didn’t receive any comment at all by Mr. Fantino after he voted against the crime bill.
Being a social and fiscal Conservative, I am frustrated by the direction the riding and party have taken.
Neither represents those of us who are grassroots former Reformers, fiscally responsible and who have strong religious values.
I feel Mr. Genco’s easy turn to “Conservatism-lite” is representative of the riding association’s direction.
I am neither a fence sitter nor an opportunist. And because of this, I believe the association no longer welcomes those who hold their core values dearly. I will look to someone else with some integrity.
Tracey Kent
Kleinburg