From: di238@freenet.carleton.ca (Terry
Cottam)
To: letters@thecitizen.southam.ca
Subject: Final Letter to the Editor
Date: Tue, 20 May
Ottawa LETS
c/o Centretown Community Health Centre
340 MacLaren Street
Ottawa ON K2P 0M7
20 May 1997
Ottawa Citizen
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor:
We would like to bring your attention
to the disturbing candidacy
of John Turmel in the riding of Ottawa
West. Mr. Turmel is running on a
platform promoting the Local Employment
and Trading System (LETS). However,
as members and managers of Ottawa LETS
and HomemakerLETS, we would like to
make it very clear that we in NO way support
his candidacy. Mr. Turmel is
not a member of any LETS in our area.
In fact, he is considered a
thorn in the side of the whole global
LETS movement.
We urge Mr. Turmel to cease immediately
his unsolicited, aggressive
promotion of LETS at all-candidates meetings.
In particular, we ask
him to publicly apologize to the students
at the all-candidates
meeting on May 15th at J.S. Woodsworth
high school, where he
advocated LETS as a solution to teenage
suicide.
LETS does not need this kind of "hard
sell." It is totally against
our values of caring and community.
Unlike Mr. Turmel, we do not
claim LETS is a panacea for all our social
ills. What LETS does
offer is a credible alternative to cash
that is much needed during
these hard times, as our social agency
partners will attest.
There are now some 1,000 LETSystems worldwide,
with government
support in several countries. Mr. Turmel
is eager to promote this.
What he doesn't say is that LETS supporters
everywhere complain
about his incessant self-promotional postings
all over the
internet.
Here in Ottawa, his combative public persona
is making a mockery of
our democratic process, not to mention
discouraging prospective
LETS members. As committed supporters
of the LETS concept, we
believe enough is enough!
Sincerely,
Bethany Sutton, Terry Cottam, Katie Davidman,
Joeli Reardon --
Ottawa LETS Council (Tel. 236-LETS; "go
LETS" on Freenet)
John Hollingsworth, Administrator, HomemakerLETS
Russell McOrmond, founder, ott.community.lets
Usenet newsgroup