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A senate, a Senator: no love lost
Your headline Duffy Vindicated (April 22) vastly overstates what happened. Mike Duffy was acquitted of the 31 charges against him. But he is only not guilty of violating the lax rules of the Senate.
One meaning of vindicate from the Oxford Dictionary is "to clear of blame or suspicion." Well, I certainly blame him for taking advantage of the slack Senate expense rules.
Where do we go from here? Is there any will in the Senate for real reform, or will the news cycle head in another direction and this all be forgotten?
In the meantime, Mr. Duffy could look to the example set by the best Senators and bill only modest expenses. He could spend more of his work day trying to do the work of the Senate and less of it engaging in partisan political activities.
John Dungey, Mitchell, Ont.
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I extend my apologies to Mike Duffy for doubting his honour.
D.R. Rennie, Ottawa
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Kudos to lawyer Donald Bayne for his top-notch skills, which helped Mike Duffy walk out of court a free man. But what does the judge's decision really mean? Two things: It means Mr. Duffy didn't break any rules because they weren't there to be broken. It also means the ol' Duffer can now go back to collecting his senatorial entitlements. So the party in the Red Chamber is back on, and everyone can belly up to the trough again. (Now where were we … ?)
Ken Cuthbertson, Kingston
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The finding that Senator Mike Duffy did nothing criminal by the Senate's standards in his expenses is final and absolute proof that the Senate should be dissolved. This judgment appalls the sense of justice of we 99-per-centers, and weakens our faith in the justice system. This week I am writing a sizable cheque to Canada Revenue. To think that some of these dollars will go to fund the Senate makes me ill!
Ian Guthrie, Ottawa
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What is it about our justice system, that the application of the law is hard to argue with from a legal standpoint, but evidently the laws themselves are tainted? Something is amiss.
At least we won't have Jian Ghomeshi showing up in the Senate, although Mike might be back Monday.
Mark Christian Burgess, Cobourg, Ont.
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Prince is dead. Mike Duffy has new life. The NDP governs Alberta and a former bouncer in a student pub runs the country. And some people still believe in a just God?!?
Joe Shlesinger, Toronto
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A Catholic debt unpaid
Re Ottawa Killed Appeal Of Settlement Ruling (April 21): The Canadian Catholic Church missed a chance to begin to heal itself as well as aboriginal Canadians when it ducked out of raising $25-million to help former residential school students.
In the Old Testament, for example, a thief was re-quired to return what was stolen, with a bit more added. With that restitution came a person's restoration to his or her community. In the New Testament, when Zacchaeus, a rich, corrupt tax collector, met Jesus, he exuberantly gave away half his wealth to the poor, and promised to restore four times as much for anything he had taken illicitly from local citizens. No one prodded that restitution; the act flowed freely from Zacchaeus's newfound faith.
The Catholic Church, by paying out that $25-million, may be startled to experience both the Spirit of Jesus – and formerly disillusioned Catholics inhabiting its churches and cathedrals in a new way.
Debbie Faulkner, Calgary
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As a Catholic, I have no problem with contributing to the church's $25-million "best effort" fundraising initiative. But like any voluntary donation I make, I would like some assurances on specifically how the money intended for "healing and reconciliation" will be spent. Perhaps The Globe could provide us with information on that.
Dan Cameron, Regina
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Mexico's ambassador replies
Stephanie Nolan's article, The Unforgotten (Focus, April 16) was a heart-wrenching account of the travails of those whose family members have gone missing in the state of Guerrero, in Mexico.
Mexico's government acknowledges the challenges posed by the fight against criminal and drug trafficking organizations, particularly at the local level. While facing these challenges, we are profoundly committed to the protection of human rights and strengthening the rule of law.
The Mexican government signed a technical assistance agreement with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights that created an Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts, which has assisted national authorities in the ongoing investigations for over a year. By the end of April, the group will present its final report. The state will pay special attention to its recommendations in order to strengthen the actions regarding investigations, searches and attention to victims.
With regard to missing persons, disappearances committed by criminal organizations, and enforced disappearances, President Enrique Peña Nieto recently sent to Mexico's Congress a bill that, if approved, will create a National Search System, a national registry of missing people, a forensic national registry, and a national citizen council that would assist and give opinions to the search system.
The proposed bill – which incorporates the highest international human rights standards and results from a process of wide public consultation – is a clear example of my government's determination to ensure all violations are investigated and sanctioned, and that victims' rights are fully respected.
Agustin Garcia-Lopez Loaeza, Ambassador of Mexico in Canada