The power
Hope, thy name is Peter Milliken (Parliament Has The Power – front page, April 28).
Jim Sinclair, North Bay, Ont.
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How does one compromise with contempt?
Noel Begin, Calgary
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Is it not the ultimate irony that we have men and women dying in Afghanistan to preserve our democratic principles while our governing party tries to destroy them?
Keith Phinney, Halifax
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Peter Milliken for Prime Minister.
Bryan Waller, Calgary
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Your editorial A Way Out Of A Needless Impasse (April 28) demonstrates a lack of understanding of some of the most important elements of what makes a democracy a democracy. Montesquieu's philosophy of checks and balances is the most fundamental right on which all other constitutional freedoms and liberties are based. Without these elements, we have no democracy. A refusal by Stephen Harper to obey the basic law of the land could be construed as treason.
David Sommer Rovins, Sainte-Adèle, Que.
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There’s something refreshingly honest about the way Ukrainian parliamentarians work out their differences (Meanwhile, In Ukraine’s Parliament – April 28), with everything being so transparent and each side’s position being so clear. Who needs parliamentary committees, backroom deals, studies by retired judges and rulings by the Speaker of the House? Get with it, MPs. Roll up your sleeves!
Marty Cutler, Toronto
And the glory?
Re Canada’s Abortion Politics Worries World Aid Groups (April 28): The Harper government has never been known for its sense of humour, but why else would it give Bev Oda the title of Minister of International Co-operation, then send her to this week’s G8 talks in Halifax as the diva of discord? Forget that, if Canada gets its way, health care for millions of women and children in the developing world will suffer. Forget that Canada is looking like a backwater of ideological ignorance. Stephen Harper has made a funny. Smile and wave.
Steve Pitt, Toronto
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Since women have been getting pregnant, there’ve been abortions. Medicinal herbs, cotton root bark, knitting needles and coat hangers. The reality of a woman’s life is that, if she’s pregnant and doesn’t want to be, she’ll risk her life to terminate. Access to a safe, legal abortion is a critical component to maternal health in developing countries. What an international embarrassment for Canada.
Nancy Watt, Dundas, Ont.
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Stephen Harper says that “Canadians want to see their foreign aid money used for things that will help save the lives of women and children in ways that unite the Canadian people.” How can blocking the international consensus to fund an initiative to improve women's health in developing countries (including safe abortions) unite the Canadian people?
Jeannie House, St. John's
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Letter writers Eleanor Moore and Diane Goudie (Vicious Circle – April 28) insist, quite rightly, that it’s not for us in Canada to decide whether a woman living somewhere else should choose to have an abortion. But that's not the issue. The question is: Should Canadian taxpayers pay for it?
Iain Clayre, Edmonton
The Khadr affair
According to your article Plea-Bargain Talks Held In Khadr Case (April 28), lawyers have been negotiating an arrangement that could lead to Omar Khadr’s release and repatriation. “But agreement from the Canadian government would be critical to any final deal, Mr. Khadr’s lawyers said.” The government – through a majority vote in Parliament on March 23, 2009 – has already decided that Mr. Khadr should be released and repatriated, so no further “agreement” is necessary.
The Senate earlier passed a similar motion for Mr. Khadr’s release and repatriation. Those decisions of the House and the Senate endorsed the June, 2008, recommendation of the standing committee on foreign affairs “that the Government of Canada demand Khadr’s release from U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay … as soon as practical.”
Mr. Khadr’s right to enter Canada is protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Subsection 6(1) guarantees that “every citizen of Canada has the right to enter … Canada.” The legal duty of the government, as defined by the Federal Court in the Abdelrazik case, is clear: “Where a citizen is outside Canada, the Government of Canada has a positive obligation to issue an emergency passport to that citizen to permit him or her to enter Canada.”
In January, the Supreme Court confirmed that Canada has violated Mr. Khadr’s rights and that those violations are contributing to his imprisonment. The court held that the decision to request his release was a discretionary matter: Issuing the documents that would allow Mr. Khadr to return to Canada is not a discretionary matter.
Gail Davidson, executive director, Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, Vancouver
Case at bar
Your editorial Desirable, Not Compulsory (April 28) on the appointment of “bilingual” Supreme Court justices misses the point. Whether or not a form of symbolic bilingualism should be imposed on our top court is not the issue. We choose nine qualified jurists who decide cases in both the common law and the civil law traditions, in a country where both versions of any act of Parliament have equal force and effect.
Can we not expect of these nine jurists an in-depth understanding of more than only half of our country’s legal sources of law? They don’t need to intervene in hearings in fluent French – they need to be able to read and understand French. The passive knowledge of a language is always greater than the active ability to speak or write it. That passive knowledge is sufficient for judges who write in a collegial setting, and it’s not an impossible standard for someone who has pursued a higher education.
Marie-Claire Perrault, Ottawa
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It makes just as much sense to require all Supreme Court justices to be fluently bilingual as it would be to require all MPs to be fluently bilingual.
David G. McCaskill, Mississauga, Ont.
Life is like an artichoke
Chef Massimo Capra (Choke Lovers Get To The Heart Of It – Life, April 28) says that, in his Toronto restaurant, “we deep-fry artichokes in what is known as Roman style.” But artichokes prepared as Carciofi alla Romana (in the Roman style) are braised and will be quite soft when served. Carciofi alla Giudia (in the Jewish style) are deep-fried in olive oil, so will be quite crisp when served.
I believe that the confusion (if it’s not completely mine) comes from the fact that Carciofi alla Giudia was first prepared by Roman Jews. Its origins go as far back as the Roman Empire, and it's the most famous dish of Italian Jewish cooking.
Moses Shuldiner, Toronto
Where there’s smoke …
Your editorial Singling Out Sufferers (April 28) hits the nail on the head. The sanctimonious Wellness Brigade are out in force yet again. Getting the brain to work better has to be the priority for the seriously mentally ill. And nicotine appears to help relieve symptoms. It’s heartless to see those who’re obviously struggling with serious mental illness forced outside for all to see. Where’s the compassion through understanding and privacy?
As Dorothy Parker once said to Samuel Goldwyn when he was berating her for not giving him a script with a happy ending, “I know this will come as a shock to you, Mr. Goldwyn, but in all history, which has held billions and billions of human beings, not a single one ever had a happy ending.”
Patricia Forsdyke, Kingston, Ont.
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Most persons with mental illness can and want to quit smoking. This Centre for Addiction and Mental Health policy will not restrict them but, rather, set them free. The ethical justification for CAMH’s outdoor smoking bans is sound, and similar policies have been successfully integrated in other jurisdictions. It’s supported by Canadian and international law, and doesn’t violate patients’ Charter rights. This policy, however, does incur a special duty to CAMH to support its residents with the necessary treatment to ensure safety and comfort.
Charl Els, addiction psychiatrist, Edmonton
Speaking of the CBC
Re Beating Up CBC Is Like Beating Up A Sick Puppy (Review, April 28): Interesting update. I used to watch the CBC before they improved it.
Jon Swanson, North Saanich, B.C.
Only in Toronto?
I feel for the gentleman who found no Good Samaritan among fellow Toronto subway passengers (The Unkindness Of Strangers – April 27). The other day, I tripped and fell on the sidewalk right in front of a man. He neither stopped nor looked back. A young woman following him helped me to my feet. She said, “That's Toronto. I’m from Montreal.”
Norah Smith, Toronto
When silence is loud
As Lorna Dueck suggests (Along With The Ashes, Blessed Silence – April 28), "silence” is one of the rich assets Canada offers its citizens.
When I was cycling through the northern Rockies en route to Tuktoyaktuk, I met two cyclists from Switzerland. They told me how beautiful the Rockies were and how much they were enjoying their trip. I asked them what it was like to cycle through the Swiss Alps. Given the high population density, they said, there were people everywhere in the Alps.
These Swiss citizens loved the fact that they could cycle through the Rockies and not see another human being. They cherished the Canadian silence. If Canada isn't heaven, it must be right next door.
Chris Robertson, Stoney Creek, Ont.
