A Canadian government Member of Parliament’s question to his constituents about terrorism is itself raising questions about the “loaded” nature of the question.
In a mailout to constituents in his riding of Elmwood-Transcona, in the prairie city of Winnipeg, under the headline “What do you think?” Conservative MP Lawrence Toet asks people to check one of two options:
- I agree with my MP Lawrence Toet! We must take additional action to protect Canada from terrorism.
- I disagree. Terrorists are victims too.
“It’s a loaded question,” Curtis Brown, one of those who received the mailout on Monday, told CBC News.
“What it’s really about is identifying potential supporters and also people who are hostile towards you.”
Brown, who is the vice-president of Probe Research, a public opinion research firm, posted a photo of the question on Twitter, with the comment “Someone in @lawrencetoetMP‘s office (or the CRG) needs to go to survey question-writing school”.
As yet there hasn’t been any comment fromToet. CBC News has left messages with Toet’s Winnipeg office for an interview.
More information:
CBC News – Terrorism mailout from Conservative MP Lawrence Toet called ‘preposterous’ – here
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