Dear Jack Layton,

As you must be aware, Bill C-6, the "Canada Consumer Product Safety Act", is causing a great deal of concern amongst those Canadians who treasure their access to natural health options. While no-one would argue that consumers do not deserve safe products, it is counter-productive in the extreme to remove freedom and due process for this form of "security". I am sure you are familiar with the oft-repeated phrase: "Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither." Bill C-6 stands as a prime example of just such a dangerous sacrifice.

The main area of concern in the Natural Health Products industry is that despite the fact the bill does not, in its current form, reference Natural Health Products, changing it to do so, once enacted in its current form, is a mere regulatory stroke of the pen which can be made by the Minister of Health, and becomes law after publishing twice in the Gazette. Not fair!

This method of enacting legislation, which is dangerous to our freedoms, is contrary to a policy of accountability and transparency upon which this government (and your own party) campaigned.

If one individual has the power to transform legislation into something that was not debated, not fully aired in the House, and not discussed with Canadians, you can see we are on a slippery slope to a point where one government member can make life-changing alterations on just about anything. This is nothing like democracy. THIS PRACTICE MUST BE STOPPED.

As it stands, Bill C-6 is a bill which deserves to die an immediate and ignominious death: the right of authorities to enter property without warrant, to sieze goods and other material without warrant, and to fine, imprison, or otherwise punish Canadians without a strict adherence to their protections under the law, is a grave miscarriage of legislation, in that it denies justice and due process ON ITS FACE. If the Minister of Health makes regulatory changes to apply the legislation to Natural Health Products, it will instantly criminalize many suppliers and deny Canadians their rights in like manner.

I would offer the opinion that if this loophole in the process of making law is not closed, Canadians can expect a wave of draconian changes affecting their freedoms on any number of issues, not least of which is freedom to choose what we do with our bodies. It seems ludicrous indeed to fight on the one hand for the right of a woman to determine her own reproductive choices, yet on the other to deny millions of Canadians the right of access to products and services which they choose to use in order to maintain and/or restore health.

Jack, after more than 20 years of acquaintance with you, during which time I always regarded you as a champion of freedom, democracy and justice, I am most disappointed with the stance taken by you and your NDP since you have become leader.

It seems to me you have homogenized your approach and now take only cursory, opportunistic shots at this government's increasingly tyrannical reign in Ottawa. I am sorely disappointed in you. Those suspenders of yours used to mean that you were one of the common people. Now, they merely hold up your pants.

I will be disgusted with you if you do not take a stand that protects our freedoms in this nation, because this is NOT how you spoke when campaigning. You used to complain about the lies and skulduggery going on in the Commons and at other levels of government.

Now, instead, you are conforming to the Ottawa type; in fact, I would say that it is a very different Jack Layton who "serves" in Ottawa, versus the Jack Layton who fought for Torontonians years ago on City Council.

Please show me and all Canadians that you are NOT going to allow the erosion of Canadian rights, whether these be in health freedom, or in any other capacity.

Fail to stand up for us, Jack, and you can be assured that the next time you are campaigning along the Danforth, kissing babies and shaking hands, you will have one incensed and unhappy redhead dogging your trail. I was happy when you were elected and dumped that do-nothing, photo-op grabbing Dennis Mills, who wouldn't even show up unless cameras were there to "prove" how "active" he was on behalf of his contituents.

But now, watching this watered-down version of the Jack Layton I observed "growing up" in the political arena, I'm more ticked with you than I was with Dennis, because you promised more, and are now delivering less.

Get your morals together, Jack... C-6 has to go, and that process of "regulatory changes" has to go with it