How to write your MP

Here our our recommendations, but if you are looking for some more guidance you might find this and this helpful.

1. Decide who you are writing to.

Most of our letters in this campaign will be directed at Andy Fillmore since he is the MP who represents the riding where Dal is located, you can find his contact information here. You could also choose to write to Justin Trudeau (the Prime Minister), Bill Morneau (the finance minister – decides where money goes and stuff), Navdeep Bains (the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development), or Kristy Duncan (the Minister of Science… I don’t know why we have two of them, but that’s cool, write them both!)

If you are originally from a place which doesn’t have a university, consider writing to that MP as they might not feel this is an important issue without a bunch of university students in their riding nagging them to increase research funding. Find your MP and their address here.

2. Introduce yourself.

Start with a couple lines telling your MP who you are, and what you are studying. If you are doing research tell them a bit about that.

3. Tell them you are writing about the Naylor Report.

Feel free to borrow language from our campaign materials or come up with your own description of the Naylor report and why it is important.

4. Make it personal.

Research shows that people rely on stories and anecdotes when making decisions, so tell you MP why this affect you in a way that makes it personal. Did you receive a healthcare that was based on research? Are you doing your own research that relies on government funding (do you have a grant from NSERC, SSHRC, or CIHR)? Do you care about evidence based policy? Demonstrate your personal connection to research, and by extension, the Naylor Report.

5. Be clear about what you are asking for.

Do you want to see the full implementation of the Naylor report, or is there a particular recommendation that you would really like them to address? Be clear about what you want. You are absolutely allowed to make requests of your government -- you pay them lots of taxes to make life better for Canadians. Exert your rights!

6. Don’t put a stamp on it!

You don’t need to pay postage on letters going to MPs so long as you are sending them to their office in Ottawa, or their constituency office (more info here, if you’re curious).

Just make sure it’s addressed correctly and pop it in the mailbox!