The Globe and Mail

Cost of cancelling

Re Deadlock Yields A Kingmaker – Oct. 3: Rob Ford became mayor of Toronto and promptly cancelled pre-existing transit plans. Did he, however, announce the cost of broken contracts, redesigning, and lost time? It appears to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. It is good that our democracy allows for the these changes, but the full cost was never highlighted.

If elected, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and Conservative Leader Tim Hudak have both promised to cancel existing contracts, with Bombardier and Samsung respectively. In the interest of responsible and transparent politics they should be clear on the costs and delays. I would not cancel a mobile phone contract without knowing the consequences. Why are these enormous contracts any different?

Blair O’Connor, Toronto

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Who’s redneck?

Re Alberta Steps Into The Present (Oct. 3): Talk about a patronizing headline. It is good that us redneck Albertans have finally seen a way to choose a female premier, as well as a visible minority leader of the opposition and a Muslim mayor of our largest city. Maybe Ontario could join us rednecks in the present?

Duane Bratt, PhD,chair, department of policy studies, Mount Royal University, Calgary

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Inflammatory

There is an important line separating legitimate opinion that enhances the public discourse, from inflammatory rhetoric that interferes with constructive dialogue. In publishing Gerald Caplan’s latest missive (With Friends Like This, Israel Needs No Enemies – online, Sept. 30), The Globe has seen its respected news platform exploited by a protagonist who altogether seeks to demonize and vilify the Jewish state of Israel.

Mr. Caplan described the Israeli government as being composed of a bunch of “ethnic cleansers” and “Taliban-like religious fundamentalists,” he then equates the Israel Defence Forces collectively with them too.

Mr. Caplan’s efforts to malign observant Israelis, whom he has left unnamed, as being equivalent to the Taliban (a terrorist group responsible for the death of thousands of innocent civilians and which imposes violent sharia law against women) are abhorrent. As the IDF is a mirror of the whole of Israeli society, his claim that it reflects “hate-filled extremists” has cast aspersions on all Israelis, men and women, secular and observant, young and old, and Arabs and Jews. In making these statements, Mr. Caplan should be widely condemned and admonished.

Mike Fegelman, executive director, HonestReporting Canada, Toronto

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Continue with McGuinty

I compliment The Globe and Mail for its common sense analysis in recommending what is best for Ontario in these fragile economic times (Prosperity In Question – editorial, Oct. 3). There is no doubt in my mind that the McGuinty Liberals made some serious ideologically driven mistakes, particularly in power generation. If Dalton McGuinty hadn’t already realized this, then the relentless personal attack ads, financed by contributions from conservatives like myself, would have made it very clear.

I am a strong believer in people learning from their mistakes, and rather than turning the reins of government over to a new, perhaps ideologically driven but not well defined, group, I feel comfortable continuing with a chastened but more experienced government.

Peter Riediger, Oakville, Ont.

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Insite: Wise ruling

As a sociologist and a lawyer I applaud the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Vancouver Insite case (Supreme Court Backs Insite Drug Clinic – Oct. 1). The Harper government has made it clear that it is willing to ignore scientific evidence that some of its policies potentially do significant harm to poor and vulnerable people and will do nothing but increase our declining crime rates. Maybe now the government will re-examine its “dumb on crime” bill. My faith both in the rule of law and the democratic process has been restored by the court’s decision – wisdom has triumphed over ideology.

William K. Greenaway, PhD, LLB, Guelph, Ont.

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Violence continues

Doug Saunders (In Most Places Around The Globe, Violence Has Stopped Making Sense – Oct. 1) seems to be prematurely celebrating the end of violence. He is correct to state that there has been a decline in the number of wars between states in recent history and that dramatic shifts in our ways of life have led to improvement of the human condition for many.

However, violence has not declined on the sensational scale that he suggests – and in many cases it is much more intense and deadly today. Wars are more asymmetrical, private military units use massive force against resistance groups, and there are rising deaths from terrorism, broadly defined. The result is that casualties of war have become primarily civilians, euphemistically labelled “collateral damage.”

And despite the decline in such wars, military spending has exponentially increased under the umbrella of national security. This seems to me nothing to celebrate. The confusion comes in how one chooses to define violent conflict, but what is certain is that intrastate war (the UN currently has 16 peacekeeping operations across the world), human rights abuses, poverty, unemployment, and gender violence continue. We must hold our celebrations.

Kevin Kester, Hannam University, Daejeon, South Korea

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Fly this

At first blush, the National Flag of Canada Act sounds like a patriotic idea (Flag And Queen In Moderation – Oct. 3). Who could be against a law that protects the right to fly the Canadian flag?

I saluted the flag many times during my 26 years of service in the Canadian Forces. I now practise condominium law and I can predict, with certainty, that Bill C-288 will cause a flap.

The problem is not with the bill’s laudable intention, but with its execution. It does not limit its scope to property owned by the person who intends to fly the flag. Feuding neighbours might erect flagpoles on their neighbour’s property, claiming their right to do so. Or they might erect dozens of flags in their front yard in sheer spite.

Bill C-288 as currently drafted will conflict with the Condominium Act. It is very common for condominium boards to require unit owners to remove satellite dishes and antennae that have been attached to the exterior of condos.

Owners are never happy about having to take stuff down. What about attaching a Canadian flag to a satellite dish or a TV antenna? This would turn the flag into a bargaining chip, threatening those opposing flying the flag with a two-year jail term.

Raymond H. Mikkola, lieutenant-colonel (retired), Mississauga, Ont.