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Monumentally wronged
As chairman of the Vimy Foundation, I will not go into the pros and cons of the Never Forgotten National Memorial, but I must protest the usurpation of the term "Mother Canada" for this project (Let Mother Canada Take A Stand – June 25).
The term "Mother Canada" has traditionally been associated with the Canada Bereaved statue featured prominently on the Vimy National Memorial Monument in France. The Never Forgotten project openly derives inspiration for its central statue from the Canada Bereaved statue at Vimy, but now it has taken it one step further and actually taken the nickname of the Canada Bereaved statue, "Mother Canada," for its own proposed statue.
When the Vimy Foundation raised concerns with the organizers of the Never Forgotten project about the confusion that would come about if the two statues, very different in both scale and expression, were to bear the same unofficial names, we were informed – by their lawyers, mind you – that their project had secured the trademark to the title "Mother Canada" and so we should basically back off.
At the Vimy Foundation, it was never an issue of legality for us, it was a question of respect for the one and only marvellous Canada Bereaved statue at Vimy. To try to add lustre and legitimacy to the Never Forgotten project by taking from Vimy is disrespectful (but, of course, perfectly legal!).
Christopher Sweeney, chairman, Vimy Foundation
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Where is the impetus for monuments all over the place coming from? A monstrosity to communist victims in Ottawa, a "Mother Canada" overlooking the Atlantic from Cape Breton, and LAV III vehicles available for placement in a park near you have all been in the news in recent weeks.
Speaking as a former Nova Scotian, the son of a naval commander and as an art historian, I object to all of it. This isn't who we are as Canadians, including who we are as monument builders: Vimy and the National War Memorial being outstanding examples of our capacities.
There are many thoughtful and beautiful ways to honour military veterans. These recent offerings are not them by a long shot.
Robert Swain, Kingston
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My grandfather won the Military Medal and bar at Vimy Ridge, a place I have visited and found incredibly moving. That monument is a wonderful tribute to the Canadians who fought and died there.
My father and his younger brother both served in the Second World War; my uncle lost his life when his Lancaster was shot down in 1944. I am also the mother of a serving soldier.
When Vimy was erected, stone memorials were seen as the right way to honour those who died in their country's service. I think we have moved on to a different way of thinking.
We already have a beautiful cenotaph in Ottawa, as well as innumerable small, quiet and dignified memorials across the country. Perhaps a more fitting way to honour those who served and died would be to provide better care for those who survive but still suffer. I'm sure our troops would welcome that more than a grandiose monument.
Lynn Bowering, Kingston
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An era's lessons
Re The Key Harris Lesson: Do What You Said You Would Do (June 25): Let's revisit just a few of former Ontario premier Mike Harris's broken promises that Tim Hudak skips over.
There are the small ones. The Common Sense Revolution promised "workfare" to replace welfare. Except for a few snow-shovellers, the Progressive Conservatives failed to deliver on this hopelessly impractical policy.
There are bigger broken promises, too. Sell the LCBO? Never happened. Eliminate the deficit and pay down the debt in the government's first term? The PCs pushed up the debt.
Then there's the fudging. The promise not to touch a penny of health-care funding, which was only delivered – if really at all – by forcing hospital boards to do the dirty work. One lesson we could actually learn from Mr. Hudak's article is that acolytes make lousy historians.
Jason Ellis, Vancouver
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On the attack
Of course HarperPAC is closing up shop (HarperPAC Shutting Down Less Than A Week After Launch – online, June 26). Why pay for propaganda when you can force Canadian taxpayers to foot the bill with Action Plan ads on our TV screens seemingly 24/7?
Ken DeLuca, Arnprior, Ont.
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One of the latest Conservative attack ads flashes images of Islamic State prisoners about to be killed in horrific ways. I wonder how relatives of the victims feel about having these images of their loved ones exploited by Canada's Conservative Party.
Should we allow this government to exploit the last moments of these people's lives for a perceived political advantage? Surely Canadians would disagree.
Alice Smart, Dundas, Ont.
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Dépanneur 7-Eleven
So the word "dépanneur" has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary (Vive Le Dépanneur! – editorial, June 26). Things are about to get even more complicated for retailers and lawmakers in Quebec as the French word for convenience store is now an accepted English word.
The Liberal government recently indicated its intention to force retailers operating in the province under an English trademark to add a French descriptor or slogan (e.g. Café Starbucks). What would the language watchdog tell 7-Eleven if it chose to add the now very English word "dépanneur" to its name?
Eric Blais, Toronto
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Eat Canadian
Re Ottawa Plans Compensation For Farmers (June 26): Not just farmers will suffer from Canada's joining the Pacific Rim trade pact. What about consumers who already have to choose carefully to avoid canned food from China? Now those of us who prefer to buy Canadian will have to spend even more time trying to decipher labels on milk, dairy and poultry to ensure they, too, don't originate half way around the world.
And when can we expect clearer, more exact labelling on all foodstuffs? Do the Conservatives still consider that the Canadian public would just find that too confusing? Are we sufficiently mature yet to cope with that information?
Liz Harrison, Stella, Ont.
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$15 an hour
Re Maxing Out On The Minimum Wage (editorial, June 25): One wonders who authors The Globe's editorials these days. George W. Bush? John Baird between jobs?
The suggestion that a three-year transition in the minimum wage for Alberta from $10.20 to $15 an hour represents a policy of madness suggests an editorial board out of touch with reality.
The issue is not the increase or the speed with which it will come. The issue is rather straightforward: Is $10.20 a living wage in 2015? If so, let's begin a three-month trial – starting with Globe editorialists.
Stewart Lamont, Tangier, N.S.