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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Terror. Hate. Truths
On Sunday, I sat with my children and told them about the shooting at the Pulse nightclub ('An Act Of Terror And An Act Of Hate' – June 13). I didn't want them to hear about this tragedy through social media. I wanted them to hear it from me and I wanted to have a discussion.
We decided as a family that to honour the victims we would begin zero tolerance of homophobic comments. We will point out to that person in the elevator at work that their remarks are offensive (Orlando Shooting Roils Political Campaign – June 13).
We will not accept the use of "queer" and "gay" as demeaning words and we will let those who use them that way know it.
We will no longer remain silent. It's not enough to be tolerant or accepting of the LGBT community. They need and deserve more.
L.R. Coyle, Toronto
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As I stood quietly with several hundred other people at a vigil in Calgary for the shooting in Orlando, I was struck by the repeated call for prayers. What kind of prayers? I wondered what that means, when I picture God weeping and heartbroken at humanity's hateful actions, one toward another. I am not sure we should be praying for God to do something, rather we should be praying that we do something.
This one isn't on God. This was a hate-filled act, done with guns legally bought, used against a particular community, an act based on ignorance, fear and hate.
I wonder if the prayers that we need, need to have legs, voices, hands, hearts. Legs to walk in solidarity, voices to speak out to make change, hearts and minds to enforce gun control, hands to hold as we do this work so that hate will not have its way.
May we pray, not to change God, but to change us.
Rev. John Pentland, Hillhurst United Church, Calgary
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What happened in Orlando was a hate crime, not an act of terrorism. Terrorists commit violent acts against majorities they perceive as oppressors. Haters commit violent acts against minorities they dislike. To those who say the killer was motivated by IS, I say that the identity of the victims more accurately defines the nature of the act than does the identity of the perpetrator.
Art Brewer, Toronto
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The American Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Unfortunately, the National Rifle Association and its allies believe that making money trumps at least one of these truths. And they appear to be winning.
Doug James, Calgary
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Mr. Hockey's fans
Literally just off the boat, my first job in Toronto was at a car rental agency in an airport hotel (The Greatest. Period – editorial, June 13). A prospective client approached inquiring about a rental. When I asked for his driver's licence, he apologetically said it was in his room. "I'm sorry sir, but I need to see your licence before I rent you a car."
When he left to retrieve it, an aghast colleague came running over, gasping that the client was the great Gordie Howe.
"Who is Gordie Howe? I've never heard of him!"
"Only the greatest hockey player in the world," he replied. Just then, Mr. Howe rejoined us with the required document.
I apologized and he laughed and said, "I guess they don't play hockey in England!" Forty-five years later, I'm still a fan.
Eileen Whitelock, Toronto
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Women on boards
Re Can Women In Power Save The World? (June 11): I agree with Margaret Wente that the academic literature is equivocal about the impact of increased female representation on boards and firm performance.
However, evidence is growing that women bring stronger monitoring to corporate boards. Boards with higher gender diversity have fewer earnings restatements and less securities fraud.
We would all like to live in a world where institutions select leaders based on merit alone, but we know from numerous studies there is a negative bias against women evaluated for positions that are traditionally or predominantly held by men. Biases against women might explain, at least in part, why women hold only 16 per cent of FP500 board seats and 10 per cent of TSX-issuer board seats. In fact, 51 per cent of issuers do not have a single female on their board.
Canada's securities regulators recently adopted a "comply or explain" regime to increase transparency regarding the representation of women on boards and in executive officer positions. Whether these rules result in meaningful change remains to be seen.
While I agree that imposing quotas for government or corporate Canada is not the optimal solution, we do need to challenge institutional inertia and overcome subtle, yet deep, biases that hold women back from full participation in leadership positions.
Christine Wiedman, KPMG Professor of Accounting, School of Accounting and Finance, University of Waterloo
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Carbon toolbox
Re A Taxing Plan? If Only It Were (editorial, June 11): Kudos to The Globe for strongly supporting putting a price on carbon. This is a policy most economists support. But reasonable economists also recognize that not pricing pollution is one of numerous "failures" of the market economy system. The recent financial crisis was a clear demonstration of that.
The responsiveness (or "elasticity") of demand to fuel prices is relatively low. Carbon taxes would need to be very high (more than $200/tonne) and damaging to the economy if we relied on them alone to achieve the necessary reductions.
Carbon taxes can be much more effective if they are combined with other complementary tools, including regulations, R&D, education, investments in alternatives, targeted subsidies and public leadership. A carbon tax is just one of many tools we need to address climate change.
Toby Sanger, Ottawa
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Pedestrian e-roulette
Re A Pedestrian Is Killed In Toronto Every 10 Days (June 11): You report that "Toronto is in the final stages of preparing a road-safety plan, with greater emphasis on vulnerable road users."
What the city is proposing is fine and dandy with me, but while city officials are at it, they might want to consider what Chongqing, China, and Augsburg, Germany, are doing.
Both cities have installed traffic lights embedded in the pavement so that annoying and distracted pedestrians looking down at their phones or texting won't miss them and walk into oncoming traffic.
This could be a win-win for Toronto, for not only could these dim-witted pedestrians be protected from the proverbial culling, but the city could generate an additional source of revenue by charging for ads embedded in city-owned pavements.
David Honigsberg, Toronto