All the mailings sent out "to ridings in every province," be they "Age is no excuse," "Not on our watch," "Toxic" or "Canada's back" include the likeness of a ballot. The words "Check one" followed by an arrow point to Stephen Harper's name, not the other choices offered, Stephane Dion, Jack Layton and, interestingly, Elizabeth May rather than Gilles Duceppe.

Either through ignorance or purposefully, the inaccurate statement that ballots are to be sent to the "return addresses for Conservative MPs" sending them was made by Dykstra. In reality all returns, with name, address, telephone number and e-mail on them, are delivered to "CRG-Government Caucus Services." Once there the information will be entered into the Conservative Party's constituent information Management System for use in the upcoming general election.

Conservative leader Harper said when introducing his Accountability Act, "We must clean up corruption and lift up the veils of secrecy that have allowed it to flourish -- replace the culture of entitlement with a culture of accountability."

Inundating the electorate with information gathering pamphlets is not a legitimate use of Members' of Parliament entitlement to interact with their constituents through franked mailings.

Harper's culture of accountability ought to include providing an accounting of the savings to his party made by having the printing and distributing of information gathering mailings paid for by taxpayers.

This inventive utilization of members' entitlement for tax-paid partisan mailings are as unjustifiable as moving national campaign funds "in and out" of local candidates accounts to build up their war chests.

Unjustifiable, that is, to all except Steven Harper and his supporters.

Joe Hueglin, Niagara Falls