The short reason why I joined the Christian Heritage Party was because of the Conservative Government's Long-gun Registry Repeal Bill in the Senate (S-5). Not only did it derail Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz's private member's bill in the House (C-301), it continued long-gun registration through provincial Chief Firearms Officers. This was clearly a betrayal of a long-standing party commitment to Canadian gun owners.

As a result, I resigned as a Director of the BC Southern Interior Conservative Association and as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. In looking around for a more honest, gun-rights friendly, political party, I found the CHP.

The long reason is more complex. Like all Canadians I was shocked and horrified by the events of September 11, 2001. A group of 'extremists', I was told, had launched an attack on America. Despite the organization they came from, Al-Qaeda; the statements of their leader and the writings they left behind, I was told by President Bush, and others, that they had nothing to do with Islam which was a peaceful religion.

Then I saw the Bali attack which killed 202 people on October 12, 2002, 164 of whom were foreign nationals. Once again a mysterious Muslim organization, Jemaah Islamiyah, took responsibility. Then there were the Madrid train bombings in 2004; the London subway bombings in 2005 and the Mumbai attack in 2008. In each case a Muslim group either took responsibility or was found responsible.

Still, like a lot of people, I accepted the argument that these were 'terrorists' who were exceptions and who operated outside civilized norms.

It was only when I read America Alone by Mark Steyn, The Truth About Muhammad by Robert Spencer and Chasing a Mirage by Tarek Fatah that I realized the 'terrorists' involved in these outrages weren't exceptions to Islamic faith and practice, they were fundamentalists. The reason the Islamic world didn't deplore the attacks was that it shared their goal of creating a world-wide Islamic state. Further, I realized that, in addition to the 'hard Jihad' of the terrorists, Islam was also waging a 'soft Jihad' which involved mass immigration to the West followed by demands for changes to Western laws and customs.

None of the major Canadian political parties, faced with this threat to our values, customs, laws and freedoms, appeared willing to admit the problem existed or were ready to act to solve it. None of the major parties stepped out to defend the freedoms inherent in our heritage such as freedoms of speech, religion, and the press, or the equality of all people which is also contained in our historical traditions. Not one of them pointed out that people come to this country to receive the very freedoms that are contained in our heritage. No one, I thought, was defending our Judeo-Christian values.

Fortunately, on this deeply important issue, I was wrong. The Christian Heritage Party is front and centre defending the culture that brought forth the values we treasure today and will need to defend tomorrow.

This made it surprisingly easy for me to apply for a CHP membership philosophically, because I felt, and continue to feel, the Christian Heritage Party is central to Canada's future as a free and independent country.