On knowing one's power

The CP answers the question of whether writing a letter to the PM's office can make a difference with an all-too-definitive "no":

Altogether, Prime Minister Paul Martin received more than two million missives from Canadians in the year leading up to the Nov. 29 election call.

And their complaints and concerns bear little resemblance to the issues popping up in the headlines and newscasts of the last seven weeks.

Internal monthly analyses of this tsunami of correspondence, obtained under the Access to Information Act, show that water exports, an Arctic national wildlife refuge and debt relief for developing countries have been uppermost on the minds of correspondents.

Gun control, income trusts and taxes -- favourites of the campaign trail -- are far, far down the list of issues prompting Canadians to sound off directly with the prime minister.

The article doesn't draw the connection directly. But it seems fairly obvious that the issues which were subject to a great deal of letter-writing compared to little media exposure (particularly that of water exports) weren't the subject of meaningful action, while the ones which received media attention (e.g. income trusts) were subject to immediate action even if there was no particular groundswell of letter-writing.

Which means that for Canadians wanting to send a message to their government, a pen and paper won't do much to make a dent in the status quo. Instead, the main tools which may actually make a difference are the media, to the extent that an individual has access to such a platform; and the ballot box, in its ability to register the voters' desire for a government which responds in a different way. And Canadian voters, particularly those who have seen their concerns build up in a pile in Paul Martin's mail room, get their chance next week to send a message that no future Lib government would dare to ignore.