Thanks for nothing
Canada's deficit in leadership and vision at the Durban climate-change conference (China, India Are Winners In The Deal To Delay – front page, Dec. 12) will be recorded as a turning point for the worst act of passing the buck at the expense of the future of our planet's well-being.
So stand up and take a bow, Canada!
Leo J. Deveau, Regina
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I see that, once again, yet another "marathon" climate conference has concluded with virtually nothing to show for it.
Imagine if we avoided all the air travel by all the countries' delegations – we'd actually see a reduction in emissions.
Mary Lapner, Ottawa
Veiled message?
Re No Veils Allowed During Citizenship Oaths, Kenney Says (online, Dec. 12): What better way to discriminate against women who wear the veil they consider part of their faith than to bar them from Canadian citizenship ceremonies. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has taken the state's interference in a citizen's right to practise her faith to a new level. His veiled message is: Choose a Conservative version of Canada, or we will deny you citizenship.
Not a single veiled woman I know has ever refused to remove her veil for legitimate security reasons or identity checks. So once identity has been determined in private, why bar a veiled would-be citizen from the ceremony in a public venue with her veil and dignity intact?
Mr. Kenney also cites unidentified citizenship court judges who told him it's hard to tell if veiled women are taking the oath. You mean those cotton veils are sound barriers? Give them a microphone. Is Mr. Kenney suggesting veiled women can't be trusted to take the oath?
And what will he do with women who were born and raised in Canada who choose to wear the veil? Strip them of their birthright?
Shahina Siddiqui, president/executive director, Islamic Social Services Association Inc.-Canada, Winnipeg
Power of a PM
While Neil Reynolds shows a good grasp of the historical literature on prime ministerial power (Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who's Most Powerful Of All – Dec. 12), he seems to be stuck in the past, unable to see how democratic sensibilities have evolved in this country from Sir John A. Macdonald's era.
Most Canadians would be surprised to learn that "Canada is a monarchy, not a democracy," that "democracy is for elections; governing is something else altogether," and that, while prime ministers have enormous powers to get things done, their reasons for taking actions are "irrelevant."
Mr. Reynolds is correct to note that Macdonald exhibited strong centralizing and authoritarian tendencies. But Canada today is not the country that Macdonald or Laurier knew. Canadians have developed modern beliefs in governmental accountability, responsiveness, transparency and respect for citizens' rights.
It's the clash between 19th-century prime ministerial powers and 21st-century citizen expectations of democracy that is the real story here.
David Johnson, Department of Political Science, Cape Breton University, Sydney, N.S.
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Neil Reynolds's column, in pointing out that Stephen Harper is simply exercising powers that all Canadian prime ministers have been granted by our system of government, is actually a useful reminder that, when you're putting a lot of power into the hands of your country's leader, you should pay particular attention to that person's values, character and ambitions.
Mr. Harper's qualities are surely what The Globe and Mail should have considered before urging Canadians to vote for the Conservatives in the last election.
Mark DeWolf, Halifax
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Neil Reynolds is like an officious cop who tells us to move along past that blood-stained sidewalk because there's nothing to see.
Geoff Rytell, Toronto
The Merkozy front
Brian Milner finds fault in what he perceives to be an overly centralized and dictatorial Franco-German axis in Europe (The Crisis That Threatens To Crack A Continent – Report on Business, Dec. 12). But in criticizing Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting of the minds ("Merkozy"), he's taking a very short-term and narrow view of the "European project" and ignoring its key reason for being.
France and Germany went to war from 1803 to 1815, 1870 to 1871, 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945. Three of those wars were truly "world wars," drawing in dozens of countries from more than just Europe. (The United States would not have invaded Canada in 1812 if Britain had not been engaged on the continent.) Three of those wars left all of Europe broken and impoverished.
The central reason for the creation of the European Union had nothing to do with letting the Greeks live wildly beyond their means. It was intended to align the political and economic interests of Europe's largest and most bellicose neighbours.
Mr. Milner also bemoans the fact that the recent European meetings were "the 15th such crisis summit in less than two years, for those keeping score." Perhaps, but as Winston Churchill once observed, "to jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war."
Chris Bovaird, Toronto
Tempus fugit
You tell us that Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole at 3 p.m. on Dec. 14, 1911 (Canada's North Won Him The South – Dec. 12). Since all 24 time zones meet at each pole, which 3 p.m. are we talking about?
Christopher Kelk, Toronto
Lost in the mail?
According to your article Why Canada Post Needs You To Keep Sending Season's Greetings (Report on Business, Dec. 12), Britain's Royal Mail expects to deliver just "46.5 pieces" of mail a day by 2016.
That sounds ominously like a parcel I once had to collect from a post office in Borneo. I was given the wrapping paper and the string, with a note: "Contents eaten by rats." Plus ça change.
Iain Clayre, Edmonton
Signpost to signage
Your letters concerning odd signs (including The Sign Of More – Dec. 12) bring to mind one posted in a local fitness club: "Thank you for wiping down your equipment." It made me wonder whether I should be wiping down the exercise machines as well.
Ken MacDonald, London, Ont.
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Just north of Canora, Sask., is a favourite, if sobering, sign that reads "Landfill," with an arrow pointing across the road. Also across the road is the cemetery.
Nancy Morrison, West Vancouver
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Your recent letters remind me of a very special claim on a can of mosquito repellent: "Kills mosquitoes for up to four hours."
Graham Hardman, Ottawa
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When I was a child in Montreal, I remember a sign that read: "This elevator does not run on Ascension Day."
Ron McIntosh, Bracebridge, Ont.