Resident 'troubled' by McKenna decision to remove contact form and email from website and disable comments

News 100 blueBy Staff

April 28th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Communicating with our elected officials should be a very simple process: write a letter, send an email or make a phone call.

That wasn’t the experience Tamara De Dominicis had when she wanted to let Burlington MPP Jane McKenna know how she felt about a vote McKenna cast in the Legislature yesterday.

We want to share that letter with you. All kinds of information in that letter we were not aware of.

Dear Ms. McKenna,

I am writing to you today because I am deeply troubled by your choice to vote against paid sick days for our Ontario workers. Covid aside, no person should have to choose between their health, the health of their coworkers and other points of contact, and their financial security. In this time of a global pandemic, surely it is more important than ever to protect both the individual workers and to stop the spread of illness.

McKenna at the door

MPP Jane McKenna pauses at the door to a public meeting on transit matter – decides not to walk into the room.

If we assume minimum wage earners like those who staff our grocery stores and warehouses, delivering goods that are essential to our daily needs, make approximately $2430 a month (calculated at minimum wage being $14 /hour and a 40 hour work week with a 15% tax deduction for an under $48 535 tax bracket), let us then examine monthly bills.

Assuming rent in Burlington for a one-bedroom costs a minimum $1800, groceries average $200, basic internet is $50, a basic phone plan is $50, and gas is on average $150 monthly, total bills amount to $ 2450 (you’ll note that this is $20 less than their paycheque). Missing a single day of work takes away $97 (after tax).

What kind of choice would you have this person make if they lost out on monies earned from a single day of work? Should they skip groceries? Rent? Internet, and deny their children access to online education?

With the stay at home order, the provincial government introduced a legal requirement to stay home from work if you are feeling ill. This forces sick workers to face a moral conundrum of choosing between following rules laid out by the government for the safety of its people or being able to provide for themselves and their families.

If your government cannot commit to paid sick days in general, surely we can come kind of compromise. You could introduce a temporary bill for paid sick days during the course of the pandemic.

Finally, I am also troubled by your decision to remove your contact form and email from your website and disable comments and messaging from your Instagram account. You are an elected official whose responsibility it is to represent your people. Please listen to our needs and represent us in parliament.

Eagerly awaiting your swift reply in this urgent matter,

Tamara De Dominicis

Ms McKenna isn’t the only elected official that limits where negative comments can be placed.  Burlington’s Mayor and the Regional Chair are both reported to remove comments that do not support them.  Poor practice.

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11 comments to Resident ‘troubled’ by McKenna decision to remove contact form and email from website and disable comments

  • Susan Corrigan

    Politicians that have partners that are developers should be more transparent. Those said developers think it’s acceptable to stalk, criminally tresspass & harass a tenant in a protected class because I’m against super high condos on the waterfront. This is how they treat people that they think have no money.

    Edited: Statements were made that cannot be supported with facts.

  • Eve St Cair

    Liberal MP Pam Damoff is the worse MP IN THIS AREA Blocking her constituents who disagree is not open and transparent
    Jane McKenna will win again by a landslide looking at the competition

  • Abby

    https://www.janemckennampp.ca/connect

    The contact form is still up. I used it to complain about the chicken little thing and got a call back like right away. I used it again today to complain about this vote.

  • Lynn Crosby

    Jane McKenna is taking a beating on Twitter after her disgusting display in the legislature last week. The video is being widely circulated by citizens and journalists and medical professionals etc. Of course she long ago closed her twitter account to the general public so she can continue to close her eyes and plug her ears and only converse with her fellow MPPs or anyone who agrees with her.
    Here’s her email address: jane.mckenna@pc.ola.org

    Watch us chicken littles vote her out in 2022.

  • Steve W

    Excellent letter.

    Re contacting your mpp see https://www.ola.org/en/get-involved/contact-mpp. Google is your friend

  • perryb

    Well she thinks people who are concerned about the virus are “Chicken Littles”, so what else could she do?

  • Sharon

    Jane McKenna is a worse MPP I have ever dealt with!!
    She doesn’t give a damn about Burlington only the big paycheque. Enjoy it Jane it ends in 6 months!!

  • Steve Holman

    You want to get an eyeful, check out Karina Gould’s Twitter feed. Everything she posts receives an avalanche of insulting, nasty and objectionable replies. Regarding the decision to vote against paid sick days, the reason why is far more interesting than the vote itself. I suspect it is a very complex matter under the covers. Removing the contact form from her website is probably a good idea as I can just imagine the pile of poo that would be deposited on that app every day.

  • Phillip Wooster

    And it doesn’t end there–Karina Gould–Minister of Democratic Institutions, removed me from her FB page during the 2019 election. I guess her idea of democracy doesn’t include freedom of expression.

    • perryb

      People seem not to understand that Facebook is a personal bulletin board for the owner to communicate with their “friends” (remember that term?). If you were “unfriended” that’s fair game —set up your own and pile up poo to your heart’s content.

      • Phillip Wooster

        In a truly personal sense, I would agree with your observation. However, Gould’s FB page is set up not in her personal capacity but as the MP for Burlington. I seem to recollect that that she is responsible to the constituents in her riding, or at least that’s the theory. However, I did use the word “responsible”–a word which is likely not in the Liberal lexicon. She certainly uses the site as an excellent retail politician to promote herself and her ideology. I happen to believe that a constituent in a democracy has not only the right but an obligation to be critical (both positive and negative) of the ideas that she is promoting when she represents us. Of course, the reality is that while Gould like to advertise herself as “representing Burlington in Ottawa”, the truth is that Gould really represents Trudeau in Burlington.