Ten-percenters and the politicians who represent us

As of late we’ve have been hearing a lot about political flyers known as “ten-percenters.” These refer to flyers that Members of Parliament (MPs) are allowed to send to other constituencies, up to a number equivalent to ten percent of the constituents in their own ridings. The costs of producing and mailing them are covered by taxpayers.

MPs often send out notices within their own ridings engaging constituents on issues that are important to them. Ten-percenters are supposed to be a way to pass on information about the work of individual MPs or parties to other ridings. They are a way of introducing alternate perspectives, especially in ridings usually dominated by one particular party. They are also a way of profiling the particular work of an MP to people in areas who may not otherwise know about it.

But some recent reports about ten-percenters have called them anything but constructive. Instead they are being used as blatant attack ads, with the use of strong and often exaggerated phrases or images, if not outright lies. And we’re paying for it.

The complaints about the content of some ten-percenters are coming from both the opposition parties as well as the government. For example, flyers were sent to the office of an opposition MP claiming this particular MP supported the gun registry, when in fact there was no evidence of this. Later an opposition MP sent flyers with images of body bags to several Aboriginal communities criticizing the government’s policy on H1N1.

Other flyers being passed around are the ad hominem leadership critiques that are front and centre on many of the websites of the major parties. These frequently contain only partially true statements or phrases, often taken completely out of context.

The latest ten-percenter controversy received official criticism from the Speaker of the House of Commons. This flyer implied that the official opposition was apathetic or tolerant, if not supportive, of anti-Semitism.

In a minority government, the stakes are high and the political atmosphere is often unstable. MPs and especially party leaders need to be ready at any time to dive into an election campaign. Politicians need to be poised to promote their positions while critiquing those of their opponents.

But does that justify these incessant, often mean-spirited and potentially misleading attack ads coming to our mailboxes? Is that the role of the MPs who are supposed to represent us and our interests?

These recent ten-percenter controversies represent a shift away from the issues themselves to more of a personal and strictly partisan focus. Faithful citizenship cannot be enhanced whenever the real issues take a backseat to personal attacks.

Let us hope recent criticisms of the content of ten-percenters will send a message to all politicians to re-evaluate what goes out in the mail, reconsider their roles as our representatives, and review how they decide to spend our tax-dollars.