Rebecca Finch, Dufferin-Caledon Liberal candidate in the last federal election, is encouraging residents of the riding to write to MP David Tilson to let him know how they feel about attack ads the Conservatives are said to be planning on interim Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.

"While companies like Setex are permanently closing their doors and putting hundreds of people out of work all over the riding, our Conservative Members of Parliament who are making six figures and their staff, who are also paid by taxpayer money, are wasting their time poring through Mr. Ignatieff's vast history of writing and commentary looking for six to 10 words they can string together and endlessly repeat to try and smear his reputation in anticipation of yet another engineered election and one more attempt to get Stephen Harper a majority government," Ms. Finch said in a press release.

In response to suggestions the Conservatives are paying for such attack ads out of their own pocket, she said, "Their' money - all parties' money - is our money. Parties get their money from the generous donations of supporters, and moreover, from the very funding the Tories threatened to cut off in last fall's contentious economic statement. On top of it, the money they spend is partially credited back to them, the tax receipts donors get is refunded with all Canadians' tax dollars, not just supporters, and it should be the object of every politician to spend that money wisely and with the people's best interests in mind."

She suggested residents also write to the local papers "from a non-partisan perspective, to let them know how the people of Dufferin-Caledon feel, not how members of various parties feel about this.

"Perhaps we will discover through such a letter writing campaign that people actually do condone this sort of action on the part of the Tories. However, what I have gathered in talking to citizens in Dufferin-Caledon is that people are more concerned about their livelihoods, their jobs, and their families' welfare, than they are about endlessly acting out upon petty partisan grudges."