Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com
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Hate and terror
Re Quebec City Shooting Was Act Of Terror Against Canada, Trudeau Says (online, Jan. 30): The mosque shooting in Quebec has left me shocked and speechless. Innocent people were taken away from this world in the midst of prayers. I cannot bear to think what the families are going through. I am a Muslim and regularly go to my local mosque for prayers. That could have easily been me in the victims' place.
It is heart-wrenching to see this kind of act take place in Canada, a nation where pluralism and religious tolerance are so strong.
The perpetrator of this attack will not succeed in dividing us: Diversity is indeed our strength; we will stay united.
Fasih Malik, Calgary
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It's stunning that Quebec officials would claim that Muslims are at home in Quebec. Liberal and Parti Québécois governments have each proposed denying services to peaceful, taxpaying Muslims if they wear the "wrong" clothes. A judge refused to hear a woman's case involving an impounded car because she wore a harmless hijab in the courtroom. Quebec officials, who helped create a climate of intolerance, should spare us the crocodile tears now.
Derek Smith, Toronto
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Crimes committed against people because of their religion are referred to as hate crimes. It is puzzling why so many people, beginning with the PM, have referred to the shootings at a Quebec mosque as a terrorist attack.
Jeff Spooner, Kinburn, Ont.
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A brave telling
Re The Son Also Rises (Focus, Jan. 28): Warmest congratulations to The Globe and Mail's Erin Anderssen and to Kenneth Irving for the honest recounting of his struggle with depression.
It's only by talking about this destructive disease that those who suffer might be helped. Members of our family, on both sides, have been hunted by the Black Dog. Some did not escape his relentless pursuit. We grieve still and always for our loved ones. More stories, carefully told, will go a long way to saving others. Thank you so very much for what Ms. Anderssen and Mr. Irving have done.
Susan Turner, Sutton, Que.
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One of the great truths is that each of us only gets one trip through this world. Kenneth Irving's statement that "I wouldn't want anyone to go through a dark period in life, but there is a lot that can be learned from it" is clearly one of life's great truths. I am so glad that he was able to step back from the abyss. I take my hat off to him for the bravery to tell his story.
Bob Erwin, Ottawa
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Clash of values
Re Executive Order Spurs Chaos, Protests (Jan. 30): The hypocrisy of Donald Trump and the Republican Party is mind numbing. Between 2005 and 2015, the number of Americans killed on U.S. soil by Islamic terrorists was well under 100. During that same period of time, the number of Americans killed by other Americans with guns approached 300,000.
If Mr. Trump and the Republican Party were really interested in saving American lives, they might consider initiating "extreme vetting" of gun owners.
John Clifford, London, Ont.
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Like many Canadians, I am deeply troubled by President Donald Trump's recent executive order regarding refugee claimants from Syria and visitors from certain predominantly Muslim countries.
Our country has a moral duty to protect those in need, regardless of ethnicity or religious beliefs. Canada should accept all refugee claimants from Syria who have already been vetted and cleared to enter the United States and who are now indefinitely barred by Mr. Trump's executive order.
Accepting these refugees into our Canadian family poses no threat to our security; not accepting them is a threat to our values.
Edward Lucas, Plaisance, Que.
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Tolling fairness
Toronto Mayor John Tory ought to quietly thank Premier Kathleen Wynne for nixing his road toll plan (Wynne's Bad Trip – editorial, Jan. 30). While it was clearly not her intention, the intervention will save the city the bundle of money needed to install and operate a tolling system that will be out of date by the time it is operational. There is no rational reason why Toronto – or any major city for that matter – would toll one road and not others within its borders. The smart thing to do in Ontario and across the continent is to toll all road use – a user-pay system where drivers who drive the most pay the most.
What is needed is a law requiring every vehicle to be equipped with a transponder that records and reports road use. For example, a driver who drives 50,000 kilometres per year would pay $500 per year to use Ontario roads at a rate of a cent per kilometre. That's a bargain. It's also the fairest and most equitable way to allocate the costs of road infrastructure because it is user-based. And it would encourage a greater use of public transit.
Auto insurers are moving to "per kilometre" based rates. Smart governments ought not to be far behind.
Greg Sorbara, Richmond Hill, Ont.
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Toronto Mayor John Tory complains that the province's veto of Toronto's decision to introduce tolls treats him like "a little boy … in short pants."
Perhaps it is time for Mr. Tory to put on his big-boy pants, assess the reasoned case for raising municipal taxes beyond the rate of inflation and not be so reluctant to raise property taxes in Toronto – particularly in view of property taxes paid by residents of nearby municipalities.
Vernon Lediett, Guelph, Ont.
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No double taxation
Re It's Time To Stop Giving Dividends Special Tax Treatment (Report on Business, Jan. 28): A "loophole" is a tax result that legislators did not intend. The dividend tax credit was deliberately designed to eliminate the double taxation that would occur simply by operating a business through a corporation instead of some other business entity.
If the author extended his proposition to its logical conclusion, he should have estimated the "cost to the government" of not taxing income earned inside pension plans and RRSPs and proposed taxing income earned in them as well.
Finally, the "1 per cent" work very hard, take risks, create many jobs, add to Canadian know-how, stimulate the Canadian economy, and are entitled to every dollar they make. Canada and its government benefit with them.
John Wipprecht, CPA, CA, North Bay, Ont.
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Hmm …
Re At 35, Federer's Talent And Authenticity Are Still The Envy Of The Field (Sports, Jan. 30): What a beautiful game. But, given the amazing inventions that have appeared over the past few decades (smart phones, the Internet, tablets etc.), why can we not develop a simple thing like underwear that does not need tugging into place after every point?
Tony Crossley, Victoria