News

The hole in the HST doughnut

So the Ontario Liberals are trying to buy our votes with coffee and doughnuts (Ontario Strikes Populist Note To Soften The HST Blow – Nov. 13). Well, we won’t be fooled by the likes of Dwight Dunkin’.

Robert Graham, Claremont, Ont.

The 11/11 mandate

As a soldier, I found Rick Salutin’s Remembrance Day column astonishingly mean-spirited (Think 11/11, Then Think Rebranding – Nov. 13). I do not refer to his evident dislike of the military: I respect his right to that opinion and I acknowledge merit in his guns-or-butter argument. I can even ignore his suggestion that we secretly love war.

What bothers me is his suggestion that our men and women in uniform are cynical self-promoters who would sully Remembrance Day for ignoble ends. The folks I know in the military are “heart on their sleeve” idealists. They believe there is honour in service to others and to our country. They take pride in enduring hardship and danger for high ideals, although they are improbably modest as individuals.

For these people, who value duty and sacrifice so highly, Remembrance Day is perhaps the most sacred day in the calendar. I struggle to understand how anyone could imagine otherwise.

Major Ray Farrell, Ottawa

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Michael Valpy’s Remembrance Day article was right to the point (Why Is Nov. 11th Blooming? – front page, Nov. 11). Canadians are devoting more energy and time to learning about our military history and the contributions of veterans. The new Canadian War Museum, for instance, has welcomed more than two million people since it opened in 2005. Visitors typically stay longer than two hours, inevitably expressing powerful emotional and intellectual reactions to our exhibitions.

Raymond Moriyama’s architectural creation has become part of the national iconic landscape. It contrasts with the equally effective building designed by Douglas Cardinal for the Museum of Civilization. These two museums, managed as a single cultural institution, are by far the most visited and extensive public spaces devoted to exploring themes of Canada’s history.

The War Museum shows how a public institution with a clear mandate can shape perceptions and attitudes. Worth remembering next year on Nov. 11 (if not before).

Victor Rabinovitch, president and CEO, Canadian Museum of Civilization Corp., Gatineau, Que.

Where the sun don’t shine

The Arctic may be an unlikely place for the Cold War to heat up again as Rob Huebert argues (Time To Join The Texan And St. Nick – Nov. 13), but Canada should stick to its established strategy. When the Russians planted their flag on the Arctic sea floor two years ago, they did exactly what we wanted them to do: They stuck it where the sun never shines!

Hugh Millar, North Vancouver

The Khadr case

It’s a bad day for democracy when anyone, politicians or otherwise, regards themselves as being above the law. Regardless of how one feels about Omar Khadr, the fact that the federal government would even consider ignoring a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada is cause for concern (Courts Can’t Order Khadr’s Return, Lawyer Argues – online, Nov. 13). In a parliamentary system where the prime minister effectively holds both the legislative and executive power, the protection afforded by the judiciary is truly invaluable.

Michael Jansz, Oakville, Ont.

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I don’t remember the number of times the Harper government has gone to court to resist efforts to bring back Omar Khadr to this country (Unappealing Appeal – editorial, Nov. 13), but I do recall Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Bob Kotyk, Toronto

Why health-care costs are up

Good thing the Americans are keeping Major Nidal Malik Hasan alive at a hospital in San Antonio even though he could be executed if convicted of the Fort Hood shootings (Fort Hood Suspect Could Face Death Penalty – Nov. 13). Exactly how much does the treatment for gunshot wounds followed by execution cost? No wonder there’s such a dire need for health-care reform.

Kate Soles, Victoria

Charred heritage site

The owner of Slickity Jim’s Chat ’n’ Chew, one of the Vancouver restaurants destroyed by fire this week (Mount Pleasant Blaze Leaves ‘An Open Sore’ In Vancouver – B.C. and online editions, Nov. 13), is quoted as saying: “There are a lot of memories that are gone.” Not so. The memories are the only thing left.

Beverly Fox, Victoria

Blackface brawl

As a half black, half white, half Jewish, half Catholic male born in Canada with a Jamaican father, I’m really amazed we’ve come so far that we cry over such silly things as a good-humoured party costume (Apology Sought After U Of T Students Cause Uproar With Blackface For Halloween – Nov. 11). What’s going to happen to the reveller who dresses as a hobo – will he be criticized for offending homeless people?

What type of humour doesn’t poke fun at someone or some group? I think the Jamaican bobsled team would be honoured to be the subject of such a parody. When will the overly sensitive stop trying to make us milquetoasts? I hope the University of Toronto’s Black Students’ Association doesn’t find my old 1960s Beatle wig – it might think it resembles an Afro and make my white half apologize.

Robert McNaught, Innisfail, Alta.

The tide of change

Those Mad Men of Ottawa, the Harper Conservatives, would like to take us back to the 1950s when men were tough, the Maple Leafs won games and everyone loved the Queen (The New Canada: A Question Of Emphasis – front page, Nov. 13). I was a boy back then and do not recall anyone suggesting that a career in the army would be a fine choice.

Despite our new military vigour, it is hard to imagine that immigrants will flock to Canada to become soldiers in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. Given the general indifference to the recent royal tour, there is little chance there will be a renaissance of affection for the monarchy, as immigrants replace births as the main source of our population growth.

King Canute, who died on Nov. 12, 1035, was famous for proving to his fawning supporters that he was not all-powerful by showing that he could not turn back the tide. Centuries later, people in power still have not learned this lesson.

Jim Reynolds, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

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Since when does any particular political party get to decide what is Canadian? Can we now expect our national culture to change every time a new party is elected? This would mean that, with every new election, those who supported the losing parties and their values would become un-Canadian.

A nation’s culture is the result of a decision made by the people. The Tories’ belief that they have the ability to determine the “real” Canada shows a profound lack of humility.

Sascha Maicher, Ottawa

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Now that I’m nearing retirement age, I’m glad to learn it’s no longer necessary for new Canadians to understand the need to protect Canada’s environment. Has my life’s work paid off?

John Bennett, executive director, Sierra Club Canada Foundation, Ottawa

The Soviet system did it

The “great man” theory of history is intoxicating. It gives us heroes to admire and anti-heroes to despise. More important, it plays to our need to feel in control of life’s events. Unfortunately, these “great” people are usually just flag-bearers riding on the forces of history. So Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev played their roles (It Was Reagan, Not Gorbachev – letter, Nov. 13), but it was the sheer weight of the unsustainable Soviet system that brought the Berlin Wall crashing to the ground.

Greg Hart, Calgary

The man from Ireland

Letter writer Nigel Harris (The Devil In The Irish – Nov. 13) doesn’t think TV critic John Doyle, hailing from Tipperary, has the credentials to comment on the British monarchy. Maybe he’ll approve of mine. I was born and raised in southern England and was subjected to a typical working class indoctrination.

The monarchy is the insidious tip of an oppressive structure that thrives on celebrating hierarchy and privilege. It produces an uneducated underclass that has no future except as docile workers besotted with the pomp and glamour of royalty. (Too bad the Harper government is trying to peddle this outdated model in its “new” citizenship guide.)

Diana Smith, Vancouver

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Nigel Harris conveniently overlooks the fact that John Doyle is the product of a society that endured 800 years of occupation by the English. He knows of what he speaks.

Peter A. Murphy, Brampton, Ont.

Don’t try this at home

Re Stores Pull Strollers From Shelves (Life, Nov. 12): Well, I see another of those idiotic labels coming up that everyone will laugh at and wonder: “Could anyone be that stupid?” Do not fold stroller with child inside!

Patrick MacKinnon, Victoria