Mother angered by MPs' 'disgusting' treatment of her daughter at meeting on domestic violence

The mother of a witness who stormed out of a House of Commons committee in tears berated Liberal, New Democrat and Conservative politicians for a «disgusting» partisan display in a letter that she plans to share with MPs.

«I taught six- to eight-year-olds for 31 years and I have never seen such self-serving, abusive, poorly behaved people in my life,» Carolyn Alexander said in Friday's letter.

«You are not children. You are the voted-in leaders that can effect positive change on the lives of all Canadians. Do that!»

Alexander's daughter Cait, a survivor of domestic violence, gave harrowing testimony on Wednesday at an emergency meeting in Ottawa that was called to discuss violence against women in light of several high-profile cases this summer.

The meeting quickly derailed after Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld took issue with the hastily organized summer meeting and brought a motion to debate abortion rights. That led the meeting to dissolve into a fracas of procedural chaos and political bickering that had little to do with violence against women.

Carolyn Alexander accused Vandenbeld of purposely destroying the meeting and silencing victims.

«Why? Because you weren't given enough time to have your own victims testify?» she wrote.

«You used Cait as a victim to score points for your political gain, to make it look like the Conservatives were using Cait.»

Alexander's daughter demanded an apology from Vandenbeld, but the MP fell short of that late Wednesday, and instead said she deeply regrets the «distress that this meeting caused the witnesses.»

In her letter, Alexander also chided the Conservatives, and asked if the purpose of the meeting was a political ploy at the expense of her daughter to show how the Liberals and NDP would