Dear editor,
It was with some surprise that I read about the "enemy list" the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had given new cabinet members.
In case you have forgotten, Canada is a democratic country. People who disagree with the Conservatives are not enemies; they are citizens who have a different opinion.
Government workers who offer opinions different from the opinions of the PMO are not enemies. They are doing their job on behalf of all Canadians.
Government workers are not the employees of the Conservative Party or the PMO. Government workers are paid by the government of Canada.
That money comes from all taxpayers. They therefore have the obligation to give advice that best benefits Canada, not the Conservative Party.
Adding media members to the "enemies" list smacks of repressive regimes such as Russia, China and Iran.
In a democratic country, the media must be free to do their work. Part of that work is to ask questions, challenge politicians and their representatives, dig into what the government/politicians are doing.
If the Conservatives don't like how the media, especially Robert Fife, does its job, then it might be best if they found another line of work.
Politicians need to be accountable to the citizens/voters/taxpayers of Canada.
This type of accountability is frequently the role of the media. Not all citizens can go to Ottawa and participate in a media scrum.
The PMO and the Conservative Party may not be happy about Robert Fife and the work he did on the Duffy debacle, but he did his job as part of the media.
No member of the media ought to be added to an "enemy list" because they "dared" to question the majority party in power.
Of course I am simply a citizen/taxpayer/voter who disagrees with the Conservative Party and the PMO on many things. When do I make the "enemies list?"
E.A. Foster,
Comox