Inside the PQ's tent
Re Péladeau The Sovereigntist (March 11): When Pauline Marois invited Pierre Karl Péladeau to join the Parti Québécois, she apparently forgot the story of the camel and the tent. She may find PKP to be a rather large and pushy camel.
Robert Laker, Mississauga
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PQ Leader Pauline Marois has said the rest of Canada doesn't care if Quebec separates. This is a grave insult to all Canadians: No Canadian anywhere (exempting those intent on separation) wishes division of this great country.
Quebec, in union with the other provinces and territories, is part of a federation unique and envied in this world. Any faults Canada has, it makes up for tenfold in democratic rights, prosperity and opportunity. The very fact that a separatist movement exists in Canada is proof this country is home to tolerance and peaceful co-existence within its borders.
The PQ is intent on taking the Quebec populace to the polls yet again for a sovereignty referendum. They want their voters to feel marginalized, abandoned by other Canadians. This is how the PQ wins followers – it seduces them into believing they don't belong in their own country.
Sentiments expressing apathy in letters to the editor are fodder for the PQ. Let's not give the separatists any advantage.
Elise Weagant, Brockville, Ont.
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Orwell's election act
Re Slow It Down, Mr. Poilievre (editorials, March 10, 11): In the fictional state of Oceania in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, the Ministry of Peace is devoted to perpetual war, the Ministry of Truth spreads propaganda, the Ministry of Plenty maintains a state of poverty and the Ministry of Love is responsible for torture.
Who would have thought such "Orwellisms" would be realized in the Canada of 2014, with the Harper government's Minister of State for Democratic Reform pushing through Parliament the Fair Elections Act, which would have the effect of harming our democracy by making elections less fair?
Stanley Greenspoon, North Vancouver
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The role of chief electoral officer needs to be enhanced – not diminished – so that he/she can function as a fully-empowered guardian angel of democratic rights. God knows, we need more angels and fewer demons to oversee this unheavenly Parliament of ours.
Chris Pibus, Dundas, Ont.
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What profs do
Re Professors Need To Teach More (March 11): Students, parents, politicians, donors and yes, even journalists, need look no further than the mirror to see why such disproportionate emphasis is placed on research in Canadian universities.
These key groups are obsessed by rankings and headlines, and both are driven almost exclusively by research accomplishments.
When people start paying equal attention to teaching performance, maybe we will see some change, assuming we figure out how to measure such performance accurately. Doing so will, of course, require further research.
Teri Jane Bryant, associate professor, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary
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With universities leaning on contract faculty far more, increasing class size to hitherto-ridiculed proportions, and then tying most professional performance indicators to research – not teaching – of course full-time profs are teaching less than they used to. None of this has to do with whether or not faculty unions like or dislike the word "productivity," but with the realities of the modern Canadian university environment.
Adam Green, Ottawa
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Why donate taxes?
Re Board Donated Thousands To Charity Set Up By Chair (March 11): Never mind conflict of interest. The big question is: Why did the Toronto District School Board donate to charity?
Jorgen Christensen, Kingston
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Fair and impartial
Re Toews Likely To Get Next Supreme Court Nod (March 8): Justice Minister Peter MacKay's appointment of recently retired federal cabinet minister Vic Toews to Manitoba's top trial court should be of grave concern to Canadians. How will Mr. Toews, as a trial judge, decide cases that challenge the mandatory minimum sentence legislation he championed as justice minister, or any other legislation his government passed?
Is it reasonable to expect Mr. Toews – vociferous supporter of Stephen Harper's tough-on-crime agenda, and critic of what he terms the Supreme Court's "activist" approach to Charter interpretation and application – to set aside his views and make impartial and fair decisions as a judge?
Canadians and the judicial system are at risk by having a trial judge who has such well-known preconceived opinions, especially if he is indeed in line for an appointment next year to Canada's Supreme Court.
Judy Hunter, Chelsea, Que.
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We congratulate Vic Toews on his appointment as a judge of the Manitoba Queens Bench. We are confident that he will park his politics at the courtroom door, as all judges must, and that once he takes the oath, he will apply the law with wisdom, compassion and fairness. He can no longer be a spokesperson for a rigid law and order agenda.
We are aware that the Prime Minister has stated publicly on more than one occasion that he wants a certain type of judge to reflect his government's policy.
In Canada, judges are not puppets of the state. We expect that Justice Toews agrees.
William Trudell, chair, Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers
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Sugar shocked
Re Sugar Shock (March 10): My grandmother's 1929 recipe book calls for two to four tablespoons of sugar to make 12 normal-sized muffins, or roughly ½ to 1 teaspoon of sugar per muffin.
Today's recipes? A cup of sugar for six large muffins, meaning seven to eight teaspoons of sugar per muffin. Who are we kidding? That isn't a breakfast muffin, that's a cupcake. This continual increase in sweetness in our diet means we now see very sweet items as the norm.
Some sweeteners have a lower glycemic index (GI); if the oatmeal in this article was less refined (which of course means not instant), the GI would change too. Putting pressure on food producers to reduce sugar and change the type of sugars and carbs in their products to less refined, lower-GI foods would go a long way to helping us all.
Pamela Pastachak, Hamilton
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The week after the World Health Organization released new guidelines on the recommended daily intake of sugar, a leading confectioner launches its largest-ever campaign to promote its best-selling candy bar (Nestlé Urges Workaholics To Take A Break – And How About A Kit Kat ? – Report on Business, March 10).
Nestlé's mobile app, the Break Assist, will generate excuses to get away to indulge that range from "semi-plausible" to "ridiculous."
That sounds about right.
Mark Foss, Montreal