Dear Leader
Kim Jong-il, said Prime Minister Stephen Harper in response to the North Korean leader's death (World Leaders React – Dec. 20), “will be remembered as the leader of a totalitarian regime who violated … basic rights.”
Let's hope these words don't come back to bite him.
Armida Spada-McDougall, Vancouver
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Stephen Harper's statement violates normal canons of protocol in reacting to the death of a leader of a country with which Canada has diplomatic relations. And it shows how out of tune Canada is with those states that are serious policy players in dealing with the transition of power in North Korea and peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Words and nuance matter.
The one-note trumpet of condemnation may be morally satisfying, but it puts us on the sidelines in a chorus of one, irrelevant to the diplomatic and security challenges ahead.
Paul Evans, director, Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia
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I'm appalled by John McCain's reaction: “I can only express satisfaction that the Dear Leader is joining the likes of Gadhafi, bin Laden, Hitler and Stalin in a warm corner of hell.” No wonder so many countries hate the Americans.
On the other hand, our Prime Minister's response was well-versed and a credit to our nation.
Don Ungarian, Edmonton
Hamas at work
Israelis have every reason to be skeptical when Hamas Declares Violence Is No Longer Its ‘Primary Option' (Dec. 20).
Only last week, Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh boldly declared in front of tens of thousands of supporters in Gaza that “armed resistance and armed struggle are the strategic way to liberate the Palestinian land from the sea to the river.”
Hamas has proved time and again that its commitment to a tactical truce – replenishing its strength during the quiet periods – is only a means to return with increased deadliness.
Mike Fegelman, executive director, HonestReporting Canada, Toronto
Health scrum
Health officials desperately seeking funding, hospital administrations overstuffed, union contracts protecting inefficient workers, drug costs escalating, infrastructures crumbling, emergency rooms overburdened, can't find a family doctor or a long-term-care bed – and federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says: “Our public health-care system is a source of pride to all Canadians” (Health Proposal Divides The Provinces – Dec. 20).
And some provinces believe this is sustainable – with a little extra cash!
What's everyone smoking?
Desmond Writer, Halifax
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Jim Flaherty is providing sanity and common sense by linking health-care funding to nominal GDP, and thus government revenue. It simply isn't sustainable to have health-care funding increases outstrip government revenue increases in perpetuity.
Bill England, Vancouver
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Once again, the provinces are whining and pointing fingers instead of recognizing that we can't continue with the existing system. I hope Canadians are as fed up as I am with this pitiful lack of leadership.
Richard Dean, Nelson, B.C.
Follow the Cup
Re In Montreal, No French Behind The Bench (Dec. 19): Perhaps Wilfrid Laurier put it best when he told Henri Bourassa in 1899: “My dear Henri, the province of Quebec does not have opinions, it has only sentiments.”
J.D.M. Stewart, Toronto
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Senator Jacques Demers was functionally illiterate in both official languages when he coached the Montreal Canadiens. His linguistic limitations didn't seem to matter when the Habs won the 1993 Stanley Cup.
Christine A. Featherstone, Toronto
Fixing the RCMP
Re New Top Mountie Delivers Candid, Scathing View Of The Force (front page, Dec. 20): Forty years ago, Bob Paulson and I were in the same class in high school in Lachute, Que. From what I remember of him, Bob was a rather colourful character, though certainly not the most academically diligent student in the class. But he did stand out among his peers as a bit of a natural leader so, in retrospect, perhaps it's not surprising to see he's now Canada's top Mountie.
