How to Write To Government?

Written in 2020:

Many people have told me that they want to write letters themselves, but they don’t know where to start and that it seems very intimidating. But I think that demanding accountability from elected officials should be as accessible as possible so I decided to make this page that will hopefully help you guys write your letters. Feel free to comment any questions you might have.

First of all, write a tiny bit about yourself. I don’t do that in all my letters since I send so many, but it the ones I do I say something like, “My name is Amelia Penney-Crocker, I’m a 15 year old writer from Halifax, Nova Scotia.” And you write something like, “My name is Jane I’m 17 year old high school student from Calgary, Alberta,” or “My name is Bob, I’m a retired construction worker living in Charlottetown.”

Then, make your stance clear. I don’t know how much of the letters to the PMO are read or if they’re skimmed so I’d take the safe root to state your opinion early on so that at least they’ll make a note that someone wrote demanding climate justice today.

You might notice that I said demand instead of ask, that’s because I don’t believe in using diminutive language when discussing this kind of things. You ARE demanding! You are angry, you find it unacceptable, you demand justice. Don’t be affaid to use strong language if you feel strongly.

Most of my letters are a page (font size 11 or 12 on Microsoft Word), but they can be as long or short as you want. Don’t think that if you only have a paragraph that it isn’t worth sending, in fact I’d say it’s better to be shorter than longer. The employees of the Prime Minister don’t really have time to read twenty pages. Tell them what you feel, what you know and what you demand and go on about your day.

If you’re going to write a longer letters (over a paragraph) I would suggest giving it some structure. Introduction and conclusion paragraphs are a good way to ensure that your reader hears you message loud and clear. Something like “I hope you see how important this is to me and that you act of climate change with the severity that it deserves.” Don’t worry if your paragraphs are small, when you’ve said what you wanted to say, you’re done. Also, don’t feel stressed about structuring your letter well if that’s not something you’re good at. You’re thoughts deserve to be heard no matter how they are formatted. The only reason I suggest to have an intro, conclusion and clear paragraphs is it increases the likelihood that your message will be understood.

I usually worry about structure AFTER I’ve written the letter. Getting out your thoughts and feelings first and then going back and organizing them can be a good strategy. They say that you sometimes have to write to find out what you want to write and with letter writing I find that advice particularly relevant. Just start. Write what comes to mind, get all the emotion out, then read it through and start again. If you’re like me, it might be helpful to write your second draft without having your first in front of you. That way you pick out what’s truly important to you.

My main message is not to be discouraged by the grandness of government offices. You have a right to voice your opinions and demand change, so please do. Because nothing will change unless you make it.

Hope this was helpful!