Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com
...................................................................................................
Self, self, self
Padlock tourism defacing magical bridges in Paris, naked selfies in a sacred space in yet another foreign country (Don't Lock It Down – editorial, June 8; Foreign Hikers Blamed For Earthquake – June 8).
Should such intrusions be telling us that we have truly entered a global culture of narcissism?
Alex Fancy, Sackville, N.B.
.........
Travelling abroad is supposed to broaden horizons and open young minds to the wonders of the diverse world around us. Unfortunately, these two young Canadians disgraced themselves and all Canadians with their vain attempt for the ultimate selfie, part of a group posing naked on a sacred Malaysian mountain, indifferent to cultural sensitivities (Foreign Hikers Blamed For Earthquake – June 8).
There are Canadians in real peril around the world. Foreign Affairs should focus on them and leave these two to the Malaysian justice system.
Matthew A. Rotenberg, Beaconsfield, Que.
.........
Carding constraints
I think we can take it as given that the "civic" and "community" leaders who are expressing their opposition to carding are sufficiently well off that they don't live in the high-crime areas where police do most of their carding (Tory Seeks Permanent End To Carding – June 8).
Perhaps we should do something that is constantly talked about but seldom done: Empower the low-income people who experience community crime first-hand. Let's listen to what they have to say about the number of young toughs loitering in the lobby, the gangs passing baggies back and forth.
Getting stopped and questioned by cops is a pain – they loved me and my friends when I was at university – but you learn to either deflect it (or embrace it, if you want to radicalize yourself).
But ask a single mother in a high-crime area whether she wants her son carded by the cops, beaten up by bullies for his pocket money or lured into dealing, and you might get a different view of carding.
David Weatherston, Toronto
.........
Criticizing Toronto Mayor John Tory for changing his mind on carding seems so destructive just when we are daring to believe council may again become a place for thoughtful debate and the changing of one's mind (Flip On Carding Doesn't Inspire Confidence – June 8).
I can't help contrasting Mr. Tory's respect for democratic to-and-fro with the dismissive stonewalling of Stephen Harper. Can you imagine the PM changing his mind on the census, or Iran, or Ukraine, or the gun registry, or scientific research, or …?
Bob Neighbour, Toronto
.........
Senate ledgers
Yes to all of Campbell Clark's proposals on Senate spending (First Step To Senate Reform Is To Cut Spending – June 8). Most important is to stop funding senators for party hack work.
Take away the prestige, too. Abolish joint Senate-Commons committees and delegations. While the Senate continues to exist, it should be limited to dealing with House business.
Call it the "second chamber," instead of the "upper house." (Americans think Canadian senators are more important than MPs because their senators are more powerful than Congress members.)
Hold the Speech from the Throne in the House of Commons, with the Governor-General taking over the Speaker's chair for the occasion. (At present, MPs walk in humbly and stand behind a bar in the Senate chamber.)
More of a challenge: Adopt a bill prohibiting the Senate from defeating House bills. The U.K. did this in 1911, by limiting the House of Lords to a delay of one month on money bills, two years on other public bills. Two years is too long: Make it a two-month maximum delay here.
If senators refused to pass such a bill, they might lose what little public support they still have.
Lynn McDonald, former NDP MP, Toronto
.........
No less Canadian
As one of the applicants in Frank v. Canada, I applaud The Globe for criticizing Bill C-50, rightly pointing out the bureaucratic hurdles it would impose on Canadian voters attempting to exercise their franchise.
I am, however, once again dismayed to see the editorial board's stance against long-term expat voting rights (Vote Away! – editorial, June 5).
The Charter clearly states that "Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of the members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein." It does not say "every resident," and it does not say "every citizen residing within the territorial boundaries of Canada." It says "every citizen."
Canadians who have gone abroad for education, careers, family obligations, or adventure are not any less Canadian.
We live in a globalized world, in which Canada can only benefit from stronger engagement with its citizens abroad. Protecting our Charter-given right to vote would be a great step to encourage that engagement within the expat communities abroad.
Jamie Duong, Ithaca, N.Y.
.........
94 recommendations
I strongly disagree with your reference to increased CBC funding (one of the 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission) as a "distraction," and your mocking of the NDP and Liberals for not reading the recommendations closely enough because they embraced all 94, including increased CBC funding (From Apology to Action – editorial, June 6).
This shows your lack of knowledge of indigenous peoples and where they reside in this vast country. I am a retired RCMP officer and have worked in numerous remote, northern indigenous communities. CBC Radio and television was our only source of news and entertainment. That is exactly why increased funding to this severely underfunded establishment is one of the 94 recommendations.
Janet Lenover, Waterdown, Ont.
.........
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's silence on the recommendations by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission? What did Canadians expect – he told us he doesn't do sociology.
Tony Falsetto, Ottawa
.........
Toilette of choice
A "vajacial"? Really? It's not even about the vagina, it involves the vulva, the outer part of female pelvic anatomy (Keeping Up Appearances – Style, June 6). Thus the proper term would be vulvacial, arguably an improvement over vajacial. However, men will soon be demanding equal rights: What are we going to call that? The crotchacial? Even worse!
Better yet, in the interests of polygendrous political correctness that is the current issue du jour, let's simply choose a gender-inclusive term, the pubacial, to spare us the need to create safe spaces for those traumatized by hearing sexist terms applied to their pelvic toilette of choice.
Brian Cornelson, Calgary