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Closed-door policy
Just when I was feeling proud to be Canadian again, our new Liberal government determines that unaccompanied Syrian males are not welcome in Canada.
It is disturbing that the government can be so openly prejudiced against an entire gender. This would never be tolerated if the gender in question were female.
Unattached Syrian males are brothers, sons, grandsons, nephews and uncles, not terrorists. But I guess as a society, men in general are the acceptable prejudice.
Shame on Canada. The Canadian refugee policy will now result in more candidates for IS: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
It took me a long time to peel off my new Canadian flag from my new luggage.
Trish Johnston, social worker, Dundas, Ont.
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How exactly is a single, Syrian gay male at a refugee camp expected to prove to a Canadian field officer that he is properly a member of the LGBTQ community?
Why should this even be a consideration at all?
Martin Marino, Ancaster, Ont.
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With all the discussion about the decision to exclude single male Syrian refugees and to include women and children, little is being said about the fact that one of the Paris suicide bombers was female, or that IS has been recruiting teens and preteens on social media.
Manuel Matas, Winnipeg
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A Paris of light
I just returned from an Opera Atelier tour to Paris, booked before the attacks. The city was sad but as beautiful and full of light as ever, something those murderers can't take away.
Even when it rained, like the day I visited the Place de la République, the greyness blended with the mood there. The monument was strewn with flowers and candles. Pictures of the murdered. Notes from the bereaved. People spoke in whispers. Cried. Hugged. A whole city in mourning and shock.
At times, I felt perhaps it was wrong for me to be there. That I was an outsider trespassing on their sorrow. But there was an overwhelming appreciation from the French just for my being there. I was thanked constantly for coming.
There were fewer tourists, and an understandable melancholy but the French were out in full force visiting museums and art galleries, gathering at cafés, going about their lives. It was the one time when it was good to see the lineups at the Musée d'Orsay and Jeu de Paume. As you'd expect, there was a strong military presence and constant searching of bags, even at my hotel, where I was known. Soldiers and police were there to protect us, but it was scary seeing so many with such powerful weapons. Every bang, a door slamming or sudden noise, made people jump.
There was fear and sadness for sure, but lots of love, too.
I'm happy I went.
Carol Sherman, Toronto
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(Yoga) words matter
Re Is Yoga Culturally Oppressive? That's A Stretch (Nov. 26): As a volunteer translator for a student association at the University of Ottawa, I have been irked by several comments surrounding the controversy of the suspended yoga classes on my campus.
Margaret Wente's column was just the latest I have read that poked fun at the student federation being unable to to rename the class "mindful stretching" because it couldn't be translated into French.
We live in a country with two official languages (not counting all the other languages spoken); U of O is a bilingual university. I am proud to attend a university that represents and promotes the use of both of Canada's official languages.
From first-hand experience, coming up with a creative and informative name for an event that works in both French and English isn't always easy. But it is necessary.
This shouldn't be something to laugh over: It should be the norm.
Marguerite Gollish, Ottawa
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'Rush to judgment'
Re Judge Taken Off All Cases Over Comments At Rape Trial (Nov. 25): When Toronto lawyer Frank Addario urges the legal community "not to rush to judgment," to exercise care when criticizing judges, and even wants to remind us that his client, Justice Robin Camp, was accused of bias without a chance to defend himself, as no one was there to speak on his behalf, he makes it sound like it is a good fight.
And in principle, it is: All of us have a right to defend ourselves when accused of something.
However, when during a trial, a judge asks a victim who testifies she has been raped about her inability to keep her knees together, Mr. Addario must forgive those of us who think there is no equal, decent, fair way to defend such words.
Michelle Torres, Toronto
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Next up?
Re Pope Francis Receives Eager Greeting In Kenya (Nov. 26): You report that the Pope "arrived at a time when public confidence in the Kenyan government is plummeting, the economy is ailing, ethnic tensions are rising and corruption appears to have spiralled out of control. Many Kenyans are hoping that Francis can lift their spirits."
Speaking of lifting spirits … could he come to Ontario next?
Richard Gretsinger, Ridgeville, Ont.