PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2004.12.15
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A5
BYLINE: Glen McGregor
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
ILLUSTRATION: Colour Photo: Liberal MP Paul Steckle, centre rear, with
hisfamily members in a photo taken for this year's Christmas card. No
one has complained about the card, his executive assistant says.
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MP's Christmas card takes shot at gun registry: Steckle's family holding
rifles
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Liberal MP Paul Steckle is sending out an unusual holiday greeting to
his constituents this year: a colour photo of his family dressed in
camouflage and carrying rifles.
Mr. Steckle's Christmas card shows the Ontario MP posing against of
backdrop of corn stalks with his wife, his two sons and their wives, and
his six grandchildren. Mr. Steckle's sons hold long guns, and two of the
young children sit on all-terrain vehicles. Another child holds a quiver
of arrows.
"Warm thoughts go our (sic) to all of you, no matter what the season,"
reads the inscription on the inside of the card. Mr. Steckle's card
dispenses with the neutral "Happy Holidays" greeting that many use in
their seasonal cards to include non-Christians. Instead, he wishes
recipients a "Merry Christmas" and quotes a Bible verse, "Glory to God
in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men."
Mr. Steckle, one of the most conservative of the Liberal caucus,
represents the rural Ontario riding of Huron-Bruce and has been fiercely
opposed to the federal long-gun registry. He was one of two Liberal MPs
who, faced with the threat of expulsion from caucus, abstained on a key
vote for funding for the registry.
Mr. Steckle's executive assistant said the cards are intended only to
reflect the MP's interest.
"Mr. Steckle and his family are hunters, and that's really all it was,"
said Greg McClinchey. "It's not unusual, if you look at the cards that
come in, to not have a Christmas theme."
No one has complained about the cards, he said.
The cards were printed using Mr. Steckle's House of Commons office
budget and sent out using the MP's postal frank.
While most MPs mail out cards with pictures of their families, some have
used the annual greeting for more provocative images. Two years ago,
independent MP Jean-Guy Carignan sent out 2,000 cards with a
black-and-white photo of him and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Former Liberal MP Dennis Mills last year sent out a card that shows him
kneeling before Pope John Paul II -- an image selected to capitalize on
opposition to gay marriage, some opponents suggested. | 