march of the chandleristas.

Guess who's coming to dinner and bringing his friends...

Craig Chandler tells The Canadian Press that he will still run in Calgary-Egmont, while several of his supporters will run in other ridings as a protest against him being ousted.

Dan has a great post about Paul Jackson's credibility stemming from the Chandler Affair...

Also, as a supporter of democracy and freedom, this lovely email found its way into my email inbox yesterday... wow...

Thursday, January 31, 2008
Blackfoot Inn, 5940 Blackfoot Trail SE Calgary, Alberta
Cost: $120 per plate if you act now!
Call 203-3456 to book your seat(s)… seating is limited!

Dear Supporters of Democracy & Freedom,

As you know Craig Chandler won the nomination for the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party on November 17th in a fair and open election. Craig won with an overwhelming margin; the combined total of the other candidates was not even close. On November 20 th, the PC Association of Alberta (PCAA) informed Craig that his nomination would be reviewed by Premier Ed Stelmach, and the (unelected) executive of the PCAA.

On Saturday December 1st , Democracy was Denied, as Premier Stelmach and the PCAA executive decided to ignore the democratic process and give Craig Chandler the boot. What Premier Stelmach has done is a blatant attack on democracy, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion.

It seems that many Albertans are quite disturbed by all of this.

* CTV Calgary conducted a poll and released the numbers on December 4, 2007. The poll question was: " Should the Tory party pay for Craig Chandler's campaign expenses?" A majority of voters said YES.

* The Calgary Herald conducted a poll and released the numbers on December 6, 2007. The poll question was: " Did the Premier do the right thing in rejecting Craig Chandler as a Tory Candidate? " An overwhelming majority (85.6%) said NO.

Our office has been inundated with phone calls and the support from all across Canada has been massive for Craig Chandler, and the media attention has been intense.

Craig has been interviewed by CBC TV, CTV, City TV, Miracle Channel, Calgary Sun, Edmonton Sun, Edmonton Journal, FFWD, Calgary Sun, Calgary Herald, 660 News, QR77, CBC Radio, Metro News, No Apologies Radio, Freedom Radio, Globe & Mail, WMBI Radio (Chicago Illinois) and many other newspapers and radio stations across Canada. Craig will be writing his side of the situation in several guest columns in Calgary, Edmonton and nationally in the days to come.

The Alberta Progressive Conservative Party in one decision has managed to fracture conservative voters and instigated a mass exodus of voters to the Alberta Alliance Party, the Wildrose Party and even the Alberta Liberals. Social conservatives have been clearly told that there is no home for them in the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party and those who believe in democracy have been shown that the wishes of the people are irrelevant. Ed Stelmach is clearly out of touch with Albertans.

If you care about freedom of speech, freedom of religion and democracy, then you need to attend the Democracy Denied Dinner on Thursday, January 31, 2008. This is not just about Craig Chandler, but is about what we want Alberta to be. Come and meet members and candidates from the Alberta Alliance, the Wildrose Party, Independents and many from the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party who are organizing to insure that Ed Stelmach is not supported in his next leadership review.

What: Democracy Denied Dinner
Date: Thursday, January 31, 2008
Time: 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM (Wine & Cheese) - 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM (Dinner)
Where: Black Foot Inn, 5940 Blackfoot Trail SE, Calgary, Alberta
Cost For WIne & Cheese: $60 per person
Cost For Dinner: $120 per person before December 20th and $160 after
Cost For Entire Evening: $160 per person

Many of you have called our office to ask what happened and why democracy has been denied. Aside from Ed Stelmach being a weak leader, the Alberta Progressive Conservative party has become anti-family and intolerant to people of faith.

Here is the short version of what transpired on the Saturday, December 1, the day Democracy Died in Alberta .

After a 2 and 1/2 hour grill session discussing everything from residency, what property Craig owns, what companies he owns, to his faith, the 45 members of the PCAA Executive and the Premier turned their attacks to a letter written by Steve Boissoin that was initially printed in the Red Deer Advocate in 2002, and the Human Rights complaints (Provincial and Federal) that followed publication of this letter.

In relation to the Alberta Human Rights Commission complaint filed by Darren Lund, it was made clear to the party that Craig did not write the letter and the ruling from the Alberta Human Rights Commission placed responsibility with Rev. Stephen Boissoin and Concerned Christians Canada Inc (CCC), not Craig Chandler. Craig was the CEO of the CCC at the time the letter was printed, but left the organization and sold 100% of his shares in the group two years ago. There is no basis in legal precedence to link Craig to this decision; it is merely convenient for the PCAA and the media to do so.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) decision illustrates that the media and others do not fully understand the process of a settlement in the mediation stage of the Commission. In the mediation stage, the complainant and the respondents have an opportunity to sit down face to face and come to a mutual understanding. Craig, representing the Freedom Radio Network (FRN) and the Concerned Christians Canada Inc (CCC), sat down and came to some agreements. The CHRC merely enforces what is agreed to by the participants. Agreements at this stage are made on the condition that no guilt or innocence is assigned to anyone and this is one of the process's most paramount principles.

Although, Craig represented the CCC and the FRN in these negotiations and agreements, the reason this complaint arose is not because of comments that originated with Craig . Craig merely wrote the apology as a former and current executive of the organizations. He was not the author of these comments. The CHRC complaint by Rob Wells almost entirely related to the letter written by Rev. Stephen Boissoin entitled "Homosexual Agenda Wicked" which was printed in the Red Deer Advocate. Stephen Boissoin was also a guest on the FRN, discussed this letter and the letter was posted on the FRN website. This letter made the national news across Canada and inasmuch as the FRN is a news talk radio program, it was important to have the letter posted as reference material.

Nowhere in the settlement can you find any comments attributed to Craig that are anti-gay. In fact gay guests have participated on two shows with no adverse publicity. You can not find one thing taken in its full context in the complaint where anti-gay statements are attributed to Craig.

Despite Craig being tarred and feathered for something he never wrote, it is important to note that freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of religion are under attack relating to the letter itself and this should concern all people, not just people of faith.

Also it is a sad day when a democratically elected candidate is removed. It just clarifies that the PCAA is a top down party that cares not for what the people want.

When Craig ran for the party he felt it had become complacent and arrogant and he thought we could fight for changes from within, we were wrong.

Craig compared the PCAA to a house that had a strong foundation, a lot of character, located in a good neighbourhood, and merely needed a few renovations. However, as we have seen the foundations of the party are rotten and are structurally unsound and the house needs to be demolished and re-built.

If you care about freedom and you care about democracy, you will be at this dinner. If you are concerned about the massive shift to the left of the PCAA under the back-room rule of Ed Stelmach, then you need to vote for another party at election time. We used to be concerned about vote splitting with the PCAA, but now they have revealed to all that there is no difference between the Ed Stelmach Progressives and the Kevin Taft Liberals. As we said in the Reform Party days… "Liberal, Tory same old story".

Sincerely,
Harley Shouldice
Campaign Manager
Committee To Elect Craig Chandler
P: 203-3456
www.craigchandler.ca