Politics of pain
Maybe it's more instructive than ironic that the Conservatives' final choice from submissions for the Victims of Communism memorial in Ottawa seems derived from the very place and time that the planned monument reviles (A Monument On Suffering – Folio, March 19).
Compare it with the National War Memorial or with the humble municipal cenotaphs across Canada, without monumental scale, without a need to bludgeon us with an imperative of remembrance.
Now it's a contest: My pain is louder than yours, my lesson to you ideologically more worthy.
Shea Hoffmitz, Hamilton
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I was fascinated to read that the National Capital Commission was unanimous in expressing opposition to the project's location (on the north side of Confederation Boulevard, home to Parliament and the Supreme Court).
In true Harper style, the NCC has been bypassed and the project handed off to the Department of Canadian Heritage, a body so much more amenable to the PM's desires. Monuments to the Victims of Fascism anyone?
Chris Phillips, Ancaster, Ont.
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If the Harper government wishes to offer the Chinese a permanent site for Arctic research, I suggest the north side of Confederation Boulevard in Ottawa (Chinese Eye Tuktoyaktuk For Arctic Research Outpost – Report on Business, March 19). Should be frosty enough for their experiments.
Naomi Norquay, Toronto
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It seems a little too facile to memorialize victims of a safely far-away government when our own government seemingly turns its back on Canada's victims.
For example, our Plains Indians were subjected to starvation in the 19th century to open the land to European settlement. More recently, generations of Indian children suffered in the residential school system; many of their children and grandchildren remain victims today as the harm cascades through generations.
Today, where is the government's concern about missing or murdered aboriginal women, about ensuring that all remains are identified – a failure to care that goes all way to the top.
Perhaps we should first memorialize the victims of our own governments.
George Haeh, Lethbridge, Alta.
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No to extra-billing
Re An Affordable Step Toward True Universality (March 19): Cherry-picking a system here and there to compare Canada unfavorably is a fun pastime for those keen on privatizing medicare.
This time, Konrad Yakabuski argues we should ape the English system as it allows people to buy private care. But English doctors in the public system are paid salaries and are government employees. Canadian doctors are paid on a fee-for-service basis, and this will not change any time soon. Most likely for the Canadian system, if we allow extra-billing, as Mr. Yakabuski argues, nearly every Canadian will be paying out of pocket for care.
Colleen Flood, University of Ottawa Research Chair in Health Law and Policy
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In the PM's sights
Your editorial about Prime Minister Stephen Harper's statement that rural residents need guns for self-protection had this to say: "If the presence of a working rifle nearby helps a person sleep better, there is no law against that (A Well-Targeted Message From The PM – March 19). Precisely. There is no law against that; there never will be, no matter what party is in government. Mr. Harper's shameless fear-stoking statement certainly was not intended to help anyone sleep better.
Janis Kraulis, Vancouver
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If Stephen Harper wants rural residents to have guns for protection, I'd suggest that he just move to the U.S. Texas would probably be a good choice. We don't need a gun culture in Canada.
Joyce Boon, West Kelowna, B.C.
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Too bad Stephen Harper's good sense about guns and self-protection is so rare among Canadians. For once, I agree with him. And no, I don't have a gun. But I see that having one would make a lot of sense in an isolated setting.
Steve Morris, Winnipeg
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Mideast power play
People may be disappointed in the results of the Israeli election, but at the end of the day Israel remains a vibrant democracy with parties all over the political spectrum (Voting. In Israel – letters, March 19).
Arabs who cannot vote on the West Bank do not vote because the Palestinian Authority has not allowed an election since 2006. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is now in the ninth year of his four-year term. Hamas in Gaza was elected, and with all Islamist parties that gain power through the ballot box, the motto is one man, one vote, one time.
Critics may be disappointed with the new lows we saw in Israeli politics but cannot selectively condemn just Israel for the lack of rights of the Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza.
Martin Gladstone, Toronto
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There is no real pressure on Israel to go to the negotiating table as long as it has the United States to protect it (Another Round Of Netanyahu – For Israelis And The World, March 19). The pro-Israel lobby group in the U.S. guarantees that this security will continue, notwithstanding the wishes of the American administration for a two-state "solution."
We just witnessed a powerless U.S. President fumble and bumble as Benjamin Netanyahu campaigned in Barack Obama's own backyard.
As long as this relationship continues, Israel will win the battles but not the war. How sad for all participants over there.
Davis Enns, Cornwall, Ont.
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'I have no doubts'
As the curator involved in the acquisition of the controversial J.E.H. MacDonald works for the Vancouver Art Gallery, I want to share a few of the reasons why I authenticated these works (Oil Spill – Arts, March 14):
1) In terms of subject matter and location, the paintings are in keeping with other MacDonald works made in the Algoma region. Many of these works are studies for larger paintings found in the National Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ontario;
2) The paint is characteristic of paint handling in other works by MacDonald; the colours are recognizable as his palette;
3) The works are certified on the back as being by J.E.H. MacDonald. All are certified by Thoreau MacDonald, J.E.H. MacDonald's son. Six are also certified by A.J. Casson, a fellow Group of Seven painter. In correspondence with Max Merkur, the original buyer of these works, Mr. Casson recalls authenticating them;
4) I have viewed archival material that recounts the process of the paintings' being buried. While it is a most unusual story, it is a testament to a painter's son believing in his father's work at a time when Group sketches had little market value. In a written statement, Mr. Merkur himself recounts helping Thoreau MacDonald unearth these works.
5.) A leading Canadian art historian, Dennis Reid, examined the works and concurs they are by MacDonald. I have no doubts.
Ian Thom, senior curator – historical, Vancouver Art Gallery