Dear Ontario PC Party
October 25, 2023
Dear Ontario PC Party:
Thank you so much for your email regarding my expired membership. Checking my records, it had, in fact, lapsed well over a year ago. Yet somehow it seemed like yesterday. How time flies. Perhaps it was the same with the party as well. I’m sure it was just an administrative oversight that I never got a reminder until now. The party certainly has better things to worry about than little old me. I won’t hold it against them.
I couldn’t agree more that membership in the Ontario PC Party is an investment in the province’s future. The party has done so much for Ontario since being elected. Eliminating that license plate sticker fee was such a monumental game-changer for so many families who have been struggling mightily after Doug Ford egregiously and repeatedly violated our constitutional rights in shutting down large numbers of businesses and laying waste to wide swaths of the economy. Those who have somehow managed to keep their heads above water are surely breathing easier and are incredibly grateful to the party for what little they have left. No longer do they have to choose between eating and paying that license plate sticker fee.
That said, I think even you have to admit that the party really doesn’t need the money from membership dues. I’m sure that what you’re getting from taxpayers more than covers any election and administrative expenses the party incurs. I know that’s a sore point for the party and the executive doesn’t really like talking about it. After all, Ford vigorously campaigned against making taxpayers fund political parties, only to promptly do an about-face. But there are fiscal realities which force our hand sometimes. It happens. I get that. And besides, what politician doesn’t break some of his promises? It’s kind of expected these days. Nobody’s perfect. Even though they don’t like it, I think most voters understand.
And let’s not forget all those kickbacks Ford and the party have been getting. I can’t imagine how much they’ve been raking in from the housing developers and especially the drug companies. While Big Pharma’s contributions have undoubtedly been drying up lately as Ontarians are increasingly jumping off the booster train, there are no shortage of others looking for political favors and are more than willing to pay handsomely for the privilege. OK, it’s not exactly kosher. It’s not something you can openly talk about. But every party does it. So just go with the flow. Taking a bull-headed stance against such a long-accepted practice only hurts the party and all the great good it seeks to do for Ontarians.
As you pointed out, however, membership does allow me the right to attend policy forums and conventions, not to mention network with party members here in my own riding. Perhaps I could even persuade my local candidate to unblock me from his Facebook page. I feel so bad for making comments suggesting the party’s policies closely resemble those of the Liberals and the NDP. I don’t know what I was thinking. I suppose I had it coming, but I do wish he would give me a second chance.
I’ve never actually attended any of the party’s policy forums in the past, though I’m not naive enough to think that a $10 membership fee would be enough to influence Ford and the party. I suspect that the starting price for something as trivial getting a stop sign put up on a provincial highway is probably in somewhere in six figures. Money talks. That’s the way it works in the real world.
I must say I am confused about the party’s policy process. When I was a member, I should have made much more of an effort to get involved and familiarize myself with the inner workings of how policies are shaped. You see, I had understood that the party opposed the sex-ed program which Kathleen Wynne had introduced, yet it still remains on the books, even now in the middle of the party’s second majority term since Wynne’s resounding defeat. I had also understood that one of the party’s core principles was fiscal responsibility, yet provincial spending continues to skyrocket and far exceed that of the Wynne government. Prior to the 2018 election, I had heard from die-hard Liberals who were supporting Ford because Wynne was leaning so far to the left that she was going to tip over. I sure wish someone could clear that up for me.
In the meantime, I’ll take your renewal reminder under advisement. And good luck with the policy conference.
Because I’m sure many other former party members like me are equally confused as to the party’s direction.
--- Original message ---
From: Michael Diamond, President, Ontario PC Party
To: Me
Subject: Renew your Ontario PC Membership Today!
Date: Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Dear Curtis,
Thank you for your loyal support of the Ontario PC Party and our Leader Doug Ford. It is members like you that are the backbone of our organization and our movement.
Membership in our party is an important investment in Ontario’s future. Our PC Party is accomplishing great things for this province, by adding 700,000 new jobs since first being elected, keeping costs down by cutting the gas tax and eliminating the licence plate sticker fee, and building highways and key infrastructure across Ontario.
Membership also allows you to play an important role in shaping our party – from invitations to policy forums and conventions to networking and training opportunities – your membership is a passport to meaningful engagement in the political process.
I’m reaching out, because our records indicate your membership is up for renewal. Please take a couple of minutes to renew your Ontario PC Party membership today.
We have an important year ahead. Renew today, so you can continue to participate fully in our Party, and so you’re eligible to attend our Policy Conference in 2024! Let’s Get It Done.
Sincerely,
Michael Diamond,
President
Ontario PC Party
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