I applaud Brianna Van Der Mark for not living with her boyfriend before marriage (Living Together Isn’t For Me – Facts and Arguments, April 26). Although this choice is not typical for our generation, I, too, believe in the importance of traditional values, especially in regard to marriage. My husband and I look back on our wedding as the happiest day of our lives, because we knew we were truly starting our life together from that moment on. Through dating, we built the foundation; in marriage, we built the home. We had, and still have, growing pains, but as a couple we put in the extra effort to work out the kinks. The option of an easy split no longer applies. We are proud of our decision and, after four years of marriage, we would not have done it any other way. Some things are worth the wait.
Lindsey Kent-Robinson, London, Ont.
Going, going and soon gone
Saskatchewan is well represented by SCN (SCN Goes Dark And No One Notices – April 26). Aside from telling stories, both dramatic and documentary, that reflect Saskatchewan back to itself, SCN acts as a great cultural ambassador to the rest of the country, and the world. Programming that gets trigger funding from SCN is often sold out of province to air nationally and internationally. All this value and exposure for our little province for the paltry sum of $5-million per year.
Vanda Schmocke, Regina
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In a 500-channel-plus universe, SCN’s “4 per cent” of households doesn't sound like too shoddy of a market share. Viewers should check the SCN site one last time to see what Saskatchewan will be missing out on starting next week.
Sadly, it’s so long to SCN; it just wasn’t instantly gratifying enough for the times.
Allen Warren, Regina
Not where the danger lies
Jeffrey Simpson writes that “multiculturalism can be dangerous if diaspora politics twist Canada’s foreign policies to suit ethnic demands” (Don't Let Diaspora Politics Twist Canada’s Foreign Policy – April 24). It is extremism, rather than multiculturalism, that poses the more significant threat to Canadian society, and to Canada’s diplomatic capital around the world.
Canada’s ethnocultural diversity endows it with significant, though often untapped, opportunity to contribute to brokering regional conflicts around the globe and helping to advance the cause of peace. If enough moderate Canadians with community connections to opposing sides of an overseas ethnic conflict tried to come together, in a shared commitment to identifying strategies for ending that conflict in ways that are informed by Canadian values such as tolerance, protection of minority rights, and respect for the rule of law, their combined expertise and influence could greatly enhance Canada’s ability to make a difference in ending that conflict. If Canada ever hopes to recapture its past glory as a state that contributes disproportionately to the cause of peace, judicious use by our government of the knowledge, connections and creativity of our ethnic communities to address entrenched conflicts abroad could prove the best way to do it.
John Monahan, executive director, Mosaic Institute
Energy’s crack cocaine
Coal is the crack cocaine of the energy sector (Ottawa Tells Energy Firms To Start Powering Down Coal-Fired Plants – Report on Business, April 26). It’s cheap, dirty and highly addictive, and unhealthy to the user. While it’s great to read that Canada is trying to kick the habit, we continue to export coal in great quantities. I guess the drug dealer mantra holds true here as well: Dealers don’t use.
John Vissers, Abbotsford, B.C.
‘Canaries in the tar sands’
