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
...........................................................................................................................
Niqab 'we' politics
We as Canadians have often been exasperated with governments of countries where women are subjected to a "dress code," where inordinate state resources are spent on "policing" what women wear. These governments have better things to do, we exclaimed!
We surmised that perhaps these governments are trying to deflect attention from the "real" problems facing their countries. Or could it be that they would rather focus on issues that divide their land, rather than hold themselves accountable to their citizens?
Stephen Harper has spent more than $250,000 of taxpayers' funds to wage a legal battle over face coverings. I wonder what Mr. Harper's reasons are for policing women's dress code?
Dilshad (Dilly) Mohamed, Ottawa
.........
Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe supports using the notwithstanding clause to ban niqabs at citizenship ceremonies. Finally, an issue on which Mr. Duceppe and I are in total agreement!
Marc Storjohann, Mississauga
.........
Beware the smug-majority "we" that is confident that the other "they" have something wrong with their culture. Canada decided to stop making right-versus-wrong judgments about other cultures with the multiculturalism policy.
I don't understand the niqab, but so what? A bit of face-covering doesn't stand in the way of sincerity. Lots of us would rather chat with niqab-wearing Zunera Ishaq than bare-faced Paul Calandra any day.
Robert Czerny, Ottawa
.........
Any reasonable person can draw the conclusion the Conservatives do not have a strong legal case for their niqab policy (Bureaucrats Warned Tories On Legal Risks Of Niqab Policy – Sept. 23). Perhaps they've been influenced by the loud noises against the veil that have been coming from Europe.
Countries like France and Belgium, which introduced laws making it illegal to cover the face in public places, have a strong tradition in secularism. The veil has been one of the rare issues that unites the left and right in Europe. However, the Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms are rooted in a different history and tradition. This is what the Conservatives don't understand – or if they do, they are trying to change it.
Ali Orang, Richmond Hill, Ont.
.........
Count me among those who consider it a sign of disrespect not to show my face to the country that is accepting me as a citizen. For us, respect for country and gender equality are non-negotiable.
Helen Nguyen, Vancouver
.........
Daycare divisions
The NDP's national daycare program is doomed from the start. Canadians will be investing billions of dollars in it for years before it happens, and it will only come about if provincial governments agree to pay their portion.
Most important, it is detrimental for children. It is a disservice to our society to tempt parents to go out to earn money, when they could stay at home, at least part-time, to do the most important job there is.
Recent research has found that children in government daycare in Quebec were less healthy, tended to be more aggressive and not bond with their parents as well as children who are brought up at home (Study Sees Link Between Child-Care System, Crime – Sept. 22).
The Conservatives' plan to give back money to all parents, regardless of their choice of child care, is fair and helps parents to stay at home, or have a family member take care of a child, which is far more beneficial to the children in our society.
Pamela Emmerson, Calgary
.........
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair's new "government child-care centres" will be competing with existing daycare centres. Of course, parents who choose to care for their child at home will not receive this subsidy either.
This is an encroachment on existing daycare businesses and an extreme tax on both those who are either caring for their children at home or taking them to private child care elsewhere.
Judy Jamieson, Halifax
.........
Bugged by VW
We've heard at length about the fines that will be imposed on VW, the class action lawsuits, the multimillion dollar severance pay.
The government will fill its coffers, lawyers will line their pockets, VW executives will get new employment. What about the VW consumer who drank the VW Kool-Aid that we purchased environmentally friendly cars? Cars that cost more than gas cars.
We should be given the option of returning our cars for a refund – just as we could do if we bought a defective sweater.
Trish Johnston, George Mantik; Dundas, Ont.
.........
It wasn't so long ago, in Ontario at least, when the emissions test for a car involved putting a hose attachment over the car's exhaust pipe and actually measuring the emissions. But that was too simple for the DMV, and the system was "improved" by computerizing it. Now the engine's computer is plugged into an emissions-measuring computer – which leads in turn to VW's stunt of installing a piece of software to alter the emissions reading during tests.
Isn't technology wonderful?
Jack Kirchhoff, Toronto
.........
Untruth's comforts
Re We're A Country Confronted By Untruths (Sept. 24): One need only travel to realize what the rest of the world thinks of Canadians and Canada in general – i.e. not much – unless you're trying to immigrate here or buy up our natural resources. It is only Canadians who think we are good global citizens, closely involved in world events. We are not. We are known abroad as a country with bad winters, friendly people and good hockey players. That's about it.
David Roth, Toronto
.........
Milkweed love
Yes, lawns preserve moisture, but to do so they demand frequent watering, mowing and feeding (Lawn Love – letters, Sept. 25). Most maintenance is done with gas-powered equipment, sometimes by several workers cutting and blowing clippings with the attendant stress-inducing noise, allergens, dust and pollution.
Is it really worth it when one could enjoy tranquility and the beauty of native plants while helping sustain valuable pollinators and water?
How many monarchs and giant swallowtails do lawns attract?
A letter writer contends that neighbours may consider natural plantings weeds. Does she think Globe readers have such low self-esteem, they are inhibited from forgoing thirsty lawns for native plants because they fear what neighbours may think?
Some Torontonians have even begun growing common milkweeds to attract monarch butterflies. Our climate is changing and our gardens must adapt.
Harold Smith, North American Native Plant Society; Toronto
.........
Hmm …
Re The Meaning Of Yogi's Meaning (editorial, Sept. 25): I liked him more than any other man I never met.
Jack Dalgleish, Toronto