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Old 01-08-2011, 02:31 PM   #3
onetwo_threefour
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Mahogany, aka halfway to Lethbridge
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The content is true... as far as it goes.

The problem is that there is a very one-sided presentation here. While the stated amendments to the OAS plan are correct, the stated rationale behind the amendments is at least somewhat questionable.

Apparently, there are some immigrant segments who are already entitled to apply after 3 years rather than 10.

It looks as though the actual costs are being vastly overstated in the email and maybe as little as 1/100th of what as suggested, although it may be as much as 1/10th. If it is 1/100th, this apparently represents about 1% of the entire budget of OAS.

There is some pretty overt racialization in the email with terms like "EAST INDIAN" capitalized and underscored in several locations.

The email fails to mention that PC MP Gurmant Grewal had previously proposed a similar amendment.

There are many different aspects to not only the content of this email but also with how the message is being communicated IMO. I think that these chain emails are dangerous because the shock value combined with the lack of fact-checking by the author gets people to have the kind of visceral response that you expressed pylon and I wonder of people have a tendency to pass something like this along because of that gut reaction without looking into it more deeply.

The reason I actually brought this up was because it was my dad who sent this email and it is his comment at the very beginning about writing your MP. My dad has lived in SW Ontario since birth and is normally center/center-left in most regards. I found it surprising that he had such a quick response and strong response based on his politics as I know them. I think a lot of it had to do with the way the email was constructed rather than the policy issue itself.

ETA: BTW, I'm not in any way saying that vote-buying and electioneering plays no part in the proposal, I'm not that naive. However, the complete failure to acknowledge that there is any other side to the argument is what I am looking at.
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Last edited by onetwo_threefour; 01-08-2011 at 02:34 PM.
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