January 23, 2014 - 1:28 PM
OTTAWA - Newly released documents show the Harper government was flooded with angry letters from Canadians after it opposed a Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations.
More than 1,000 letters arrived over several weeks in late 2012 and early 2013 at the offices of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and several other Conservative MPs.
The vast majority — more than 80 per cent — expressed strong opposition to the Conservative government's own vocal attempts to block the Palestinian bid for greater recognition at the UN.
The letters were released under the Access to Information Act.
The writers, whose names were excised before the documents were released, express shame and anger at the move; some describe themselves as longtime Tory voters who intended to vote differently in 2015 as a result.
Many of the letters complained that the government was not representing the balanced and fair-minded views of Canadian citizens on the divisive Middle East issue.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014