This series consists almost exclusively of correspondence from constituents, consisting of inquiries, requests, complaints and commentary on government policies and programs. Some of this correspondence deals with issues local in nature, but the preponderant mass deals with issues of national significance. It is important to note that the correspondence comes not only from Cullen's Sarnia-Lambton constituents, but from across the country, from corporate entities as well as from individuals, and from significant industrial and commercial concerns (such as Great Lakes Industrial Supplies, Maple Leaf Mills, Petrosar, Polysar and Dow Chemical, the latter three being important chemical industry giants in Cullen's own riding). Cullen's responses are not machine-generated form letters; they bear directly on the issues raised in the correspondence, and more often than not are very fulsome in explaining government policies, actions and programs.
This correspondence also reflects Cullen's activities in a series of parliamentary offices which he held (parliamentary secretary to ministers of: national defence; mines, energy and resources; and finance), and his portfolio activities when he served as Minister of National Revenue and then Employment (Manpower) and Immigration. Thus the correspondence speaks to parliamentary or ministerial responsibility, reflecting a great level of detail in explaining and justifying government policy to Canadians.
This series is especially rich in discussion and commentary under the following rubrics: Manpower and Immigration; National Health and Welfare; Environment; Veterans Affairs; Education; Energy, Mines and Resources; Finance; National Revenue; Transportation; Unemployment Insurance; External Affairs; Old Age Security; Industry, Trade and Commerce; Immigration Assistance; Marine Transportation; and Wage and Price Controls. Other important issues of the decade of the 1970s, such as abortion, national unity, language policy and Indian policy (the Camp Ipperwash affair of 1971) are also reflected in this correspondence.
