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
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A global crisis
Contrary to your editorial's conclusion that "there is no simple solution to the crisis" in Europe, the solution lies at the UN and the Security Council (A Migrant Crisis, A Moral Crisis, editorial, Sept. 3).
A decision by the world body to stop the war in Syria would stop the migration. A decision that would send, say, 200,000 world troops into the country to deal with both President Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State fighters would stop the migration. A decision to finance the rebuilding of Syria would have refugees wanting to return their country.
This should be the world's strategy when dealing with countries that mistreat their people to the point of genocide or vast migration to avoid death, starvation and cruelty. We need to step up to a global system of legal human rights, backed by authority and the power to intervene.
Jim Houston, Oakville, Ont.
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At 82, I have seen a lot. Nothing so heartbreaking, however, as the front-page photo of a drowned three-year-old refugee. As a current undecided voter, I'd be happy to vote for the first party to pledge to unreservedly accept these refugees into Canada.
In the 1970s, some 60,000 Vietnamese "boat people" were aided by Canada in their search for better lives. Time to reach out again.
Charles McGregor, Oshawa, Ont.
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Blaming Europe for mishandling the refugee crisis is not right or fair. This is a global issue. This is a moment when the United Nations and its agencies should be front and centre. If the UN can't take leadership during this crisis, the world's countries might as well all stop supporting it.
Hope Smith, Calgary
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No one denies the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Europe, but where are the Arab League and the approximately 50 Muslim-majority countries? Why aren't they stepping in to provide assistance and offer a safe haven to Muslim refugees?
It is estimated that Germany will receive 800,000 asylum seekers this year alone. Why must the onus fall on Europe (or the West) to solve this problem?
David Roth, Toronto
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If the front-page picture of the drowned boy doesn't evoke moral outrage about this migrant crisis, then nothing will. The same edition of the paper also reported on the average price of Vancouver homes ($1.47-million), generous pay allowances for suspended Ontario police officers, and, of course, the carefully crafted messages of our political leaders which say nothing.
I truly hope that this crisis serves as a wake-up call to Canadians, and our political leaders, that we focus on the wrong issues so much of the time. This election is a tremendous opportunity for our leaders to show how minor reallocations of Canada's great wealth can greatly increase our help to these poorest of the poor.
Bob Nosal, Ancaster, Ont.
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The horrible situation of the refugees in Europe is certainly front-page worthy. But it is beyond appalling that you published the photo of a drowned three-year-old on the front page.
If this had been a Canadian child the photo would never have been published out of respect for the family, and because of its horrific nature. Do Syrian families in such terrible plight not deserve the same respect?
Laura Stein, Toronto
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The powerful and tragic image of the dead child should make our bloated, consumer-obsessed, self-indulged Western society hang its head in shame.
Mary Jarratt, Saint John
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Our federal election is not about the Duffy shenanigans, the economy, or even about jobs, important though all those things are. It's about the so-called European problem, which is really not just Europe's problem to solve. It's about the thousands of terrified and weary men, women and children fleeing Syria.
Surely Canada can take 20,000 of these desperate people, now. Many of the adults are well-trained, so it makes economic sense. Moreover, it's the right thing to do. Just ask ordinary voters like me.
Grace Deutsch, Toronto
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Electioneering
We can't meet our local Conservative candidates at an all-candidates meeting, we can't go to a Stephen Harper campaign event without being "vetted," no Conservative has knocked on the door of anyone I know (For Tories, Staying Mum A Matter Of Course, Sept. 3). Why would anyone want to vote for a party that thinks the only way to win is to stay within a bubble that is impervious to voters? That's not the way democracy works, that's the way Putin works.
Katrin Horowitz, Victoria
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How refreshing was John Doyle's take on the election campaign (We Got The Election Campaign We Deserve: Bland, Life & Arts, Sept. 2). It has been stultifying, with the one ray of hope being Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in the first leaders' debate, the only one who seemed to be prepared with facts and intelligent questions. The electorate seems to be bored to tears with childish attack ads and empty promises, just wishing for it to be over. Is it any wonder Canadians are disengaged and can't be bothered to vote?
Heidi Reid, Vancouver
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Straight talk on sex
To Konrad Yakabuski's piece about who should teach kids about "the birds and the bees" – that's just the point (Wynne Right To Shun The Zealots, Sept. 3). When I was about 12, I thought that a girl could get pregnant if a boy held her around the waist.
How is a young person to understand anything about the sexual act and the body parts involved if a parent or other authority figure talks about the birds and the bees? I guess birds and bees are boys and flowers are girls? I don't know. I just know that things could be a lot simpler if we didn't use such euphemisms, and that having everything spelled out in school is probably okay.
Cassandra King, Clementsport, N.S.
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Police suspensions
Re Ontario Moves To Allow Chiefs To Dock Suspended Officers' Pay, Sept. 3: Distasteful as we may find it, why are suspended police officers not treated in the same manner as the rest of us, i.e. innocent until proven guilty?
Hank Bangild, Port Colborne, Ont.
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Top of the class
Re Return Of The Penguins (Facts & Arguments, Sept. 20): This essay brought back memories of my career as a teacher/librarian in elementary schools. My joy, as for writer Christina Heyding, came from the "penguins," the young children adapting to a new environment and trying their best to meet new expectations, such as sitting on chairs. I had a frequent saying: "Anyone can teach kindergarten or Grade 1 ... for 15 minutes. After that, you have to be good!" This teacher is obviously good. Her school is fortunate to have her, and her school board is wise in placing its best teachers with its youngest children.
Marge Kelley, Halifax