It was not necessary for Mr. Harper and his Conservatives to run a series of advertisements to highlight their ignorance of Canada and what it is to be Canadian.

Through his actions and behaviours Stephen Harper has demonstrated that he does not get, does not understand Canada and what it is to be Canadian.

I am of course referring to the Dion does not get BC radio ads.

Having lived the first twenty years of my life in southern Ontario and the last twenty years in Abbotsford BC with stops in Saskatoon and Edmonton in-between I know that the only way to understand a city or province is through years of living there.

This is why we elect local citizens to be our MP’s and represent us in Ottawa; so they can make sure our needs, thoughts and wants are made clear to the party leader, other members of the caucus and to parliament.

Unfortunately parliament appears to have become a dictatorship run out of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Perhaps this tyranny explains why local MP Ed Fast gives you the address of who you need to write to as opposed to forcefully and loudly carrying the flag for Abbotsford and his constituents.

With municipal elections scheduled across BC this fall one would expect all BC MP’s to be demanding Stephen Harper not call an unnecessary election, an election Canadians don’t want, that would interfere with the debate of important local issues and the local election process. All we hear is silence.

With all the federal (and provincial) responsibilities downloaded onto cities without funds to pay for them; with the federal government abandoning issues such as homelessness and affordable housing, leaving the cities to deal with the fallout and costs; with the federal Conservative government insisting on seeing what it wants to see and ignoring reality on so many social issues, the municipal elections are of vital importance to local citizens (and their pocketbooks).

Local elections take place on a fixed schedule. Calling an unneeded federal election that will interfere with these local elections for no better reason than political and personal self-aggrandizement shows disrespect and disdain for the citizens of BC.

It would seem that if anyone does not get BC, does not get Canada and what it means to be Canadian, it is Stephen Harper.