from:		DEAR PM
to:		pm@pm.gc.ca
date:		Tue, May 12, 2015 at 11:19 PM
subject:		Le NPD rétablirait l'aide internationale pour l'avortement; Conservative opponent in Justin Trudeau’s riding resigns after admitting he was just in it as an art project

Dear Stephen,

What an eventful day! The morning started with very early and repeated phone calls from       and            as the CBC online story launched and caught fire. I met            at a café where I tried to explain the “messing with” quote and to convince him we could weather this media storm together, but to no avail. He presented me with the resignation papers and I signed; that bit of news didn’t take long to get out.           wanted me to remove all my social media accounts but now that I've been let go, what would be the point of that? Later in the  afternoon I locked myself in the bathroom just to calm my nerves. 

I was going to use this letter as a platform to issue some sort of statement, but looking at it now, all point-form and wordy, it doesn’t make any sense. Do you really want to hear (yet again) how I believe our first-past-the-post system isn’t a true reflection of the electorate? To hear how I wanted to test the limits of free speech and explore the possibilities of voicing independent views within the confines of an electoral system that privileges dominant party ideologies? We see how far that got me. I’ve brought up artistic precedents with you in the past – Coluche, the Yes Men – but have you heard about theJanez Jansa collective in Slovenia? Three artists all changed their name to Janez Jansa, after a right-wing politician. Now that's dedication!

I will reiterate that I believe making art is an inherently political act - sometimes more political than we realize. Though my candidacy with the Conservative Party was short-lived I remain hopeful that this experience provides fresh insights into the nature of, and the relationship between, the personal and the political in this, the age of social media. I hope the dialogue continues.

-chris

PS Do you realize that this is the first time in 15 years of Dear PM that I am actually in the the headlines I use as subjects in my daily letters? I find that very strange!