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A Canadian is …
Fifty years ago, the national conversation often turned on the question of "What is a Canadian?"
I'd like to offer my thanks to Leonora Shiell for her recent sunny letter extolling Canada's world awareness, a pillar of our identity (Canada's Soul, June 21).
My northern high school tribe used to spend every available weekend in a canoe, stretching the river as far into the unknown as possible. We were off the grid in ways unimaginable in today's world of cellphones.
After three days paddling, we would arrive home and immediately dive into the newspapers to see what had happened during our absence. That was an early version of who we are now.
The tools have changed, but the national culture soldiers on.
A Canadian has a passion to know what's happening in the world. It is who we are.
Hugh McKechnie, Newmarket, Ont.
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As a Canadian-born Muslim, I have grown to love this country. To me, being a Canadian means to be multicultural, respectful, kind and accepting of others. With all the xenophobia in the world today, it is a Canadian's duty more than ever to try to make this country free of such hate.
Recently, a 38-year-old woman allegedly spat on, punched and pulled the hair and hijab of a Muslim shopping at a supermarket with her four-month-old son in London, Ont. (Police Arrest Suspect After Muslim Woman Attacked In London, Ont. – online, June 22).
Canada is one of the greatest places in the world; reports of incidents such as the one in London are saddening. The true characteristic of being a Canadian is what was displayed a few years ago in Cold Lake, Alta., where dozens of volunteers came out to help clean up vandalism at a mosque in that community. This is what being a true Canadian is, this is what being a human is.
Osama Sobhi, Calgary
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It's life. And death
Re The Right Challenge (editorial, June 29): As a 43-year-old working wife and mother who lives with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), I am alarmed by Julia Lamb's characterization of what she believes is her future.
Thousands of Canadians live with SMA. And while we do face progressive muscle weakness, it is generally slow and can be managed through medical expertise and community support.
It is troubling when a 25-year-old is so concerned with dying, especially since Ms. Lamb – who has filed a constitutional challenge on whether the right to a medically assisted death should belong only to those who are already dying – is not terminally ill.
The majority of us with SMA are living into a healthy old age, having surpassed our doctor's expectations.
I suspect Ms. Lamb may, too.
I hope she will look to all the possibilities in front of her, not just a death that is a long way off.
Ing Wong-Ward, Toronto
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I plan to create an advanced directive stating that I am of sound mind (my medical record will verify it) and that, should I develop Alzheimer's, my family, at my request, will assist in my death when I no longer recognize them and I can no longer care for my physical needs (Death's Ownership – letters, June 24).
This document will be notarized to give it legal standing.
My family have reluctantly agreed to follow my wishes. My intent is to spare them long years of sad, exhausting, expensive care and to assure myself that I will never be in a nursing home.
It is my hope that, in the near future, this will be acceptable under the "assisted dying" law.
Audrey Young, retired RN, 15-year hospice volunteer; Apsley, Ont.
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Boris's Brexit
Re Why Johnson Announced His Own Brexit From The British Prime Minister Race (online, June 30): Is there a single word to describe Boris Johnson's decision now not to run for the job of British PM? "Gutless" comes to mind.
Gordon S. Findlay, Toronto
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Boris Johnson forgot the first rule that everyone in his nation of shopkeepers understands: You Brexit, you fix it.
John Roy, Toronto
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(Not) in the mail?
For patients who rely on medical marijuana to relieve pain and treat chronic conditions, accessibility is critical. Under the current rules, medical marijuana is available exclusively by mail (Canada Post Disruption Looms – June 30).
Even if the current dispute is settled without a work stoppage, labour disruptions at Canada Post are not an anomaly. So why is Canada Post the only option for patients, who should not be left in the lurch as a result of a one-channel distribution system that is untenable and unnecessary.
More than 40,000 pharmacists in urban, rural and remote communities could dispense and manage medical marijuana, through a network of community pharmacies purpose-built to securely handle controlled substances. No health-care provider is more accessible, or more educated to counsel patients about risks and drug interactions.
A mail-service disruption forces patients to go without treatment, or seek out illicit dispensaries where the product's safety is unknown. Changing the rules to allow pharmacist dispensing and management of medical marijuana is a simple solution to make safe products accessible to patients who need them most.
Phil Emberley, Canadian Pharmacists Association
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Ask a Leafs fan
Re Big-Name Action Shakes Hockey World (Sports, June 30): After a decade of tanking early, finishing low and drafting high under Kevin Lowe's reign of error, the Edmonton Oilers had become little more than a museum of first-round picks. Some great individuals, but hardly a winning troupe.
GM Peter Chiarelli and the management team have decided it's time to start building a more complete, competitive team for the future. Edmonton fans will have to learn to be patient. A genuine commitment to rebuilding won't produce results overnight. Just ask any Leafs fan!
Eoin Kenny, Edmonton
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Three Amigo politics
One would have expected Barack Obama to explain to his spellbound Canadian audience the real reason why he fought so hard, despite NAFTA provisions, to shut down the Keystone XL pipeline project while allowing similar projects in the U.S.
In his remarks, he mentioned Alberta, Canada's wealth generator. He did not say a word about why he felt compelled to contribute in a major way to land-locking that province's export energy. Not very neighbourly behaviour.
Stephen Berbekar, Kelowna, B.C.
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How ironic that Canada and Mexico agreed to reopen trade in Canadian beef at the same time they want to reduce methane emissions into the atmosphere. After all, cattle are among the world's top producers of methane gas. It's clearly a case of talking out of one end and blowing out the other.
Nicholas Read, Vancouver