RCMP Supt. Dustine Rodier provides testimony at the Mass Casualty Commission inquiry in Truro, N.S. on June 7.Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press
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Indicting the police
Re The Cruelty of Nova Scotia’s Shooting Inquiry (Opinion, June 11): My heart goes out to the survivors and the families of those who were killed or injured in the April, 2020, shooting in Portapique, N.S.
I am appalled at the gall of the RCMP for hiding behind “special accommodations” to protect themselves from the trauma of the event. What about the victims’ families and their trauma? Isn’t it the role of the RCMP to report on this type of event and stand tall and not fade like flowers? What a failure of leadership.
I also take exception to the bland name of the inquiry. Mass Casualty Commission? Come on, call it what it is: Portapique Commission into RCMP Ineptitude.
Cathy Griffin Burnaby, B.C.
Thank you, Robyn Urback, for showing us how vulnerable, tender and incompetent Nova Scotia’s police can be. No wonder they found law enforcement so difficult in April, 2020. It is sad they were not trained to face trauma, or many other workplace stressors of today. Many of these RCMP officers, unable to face cross-examination and public accountability, are clearly in the wrong profession.
Margaret van Dijk Toronto
Notoriety denied
Re Toronto Van Attacker Gets Life in Prison (June 14): As this article states, the perpetrator of the attack was “bent on infamy.” His name has been mentioned in news reports too many times to count on all our toes and fingers. Please never mention this evil one’s name ever again.
Steven Brown Toronto
Power and protest
Re Freeland Accused Of Being Evasive In Panel Appearance On Use Of Emergencies Act (June 15): While Chrystia Freeland attempts to defend the overreach used to end the Ottawa protests in February, does she not realize the damage done to the once-pristine reputation of Canada’s banking sector?
Internationally, our banks will henceforth be seen as something that can now be weaponized by any federal government. The freezing of bank assets, without legal recourse and predicated solely on one’s support for an unpopular political opinion, is not a feature of any global liberal economy. Don’t think that the world’s financial institutions weren’t watching this manoeuvre with extreme interest and concern.
Wayne Gibson Toronto
For weeks our cities were held hostage by protests – especially our capital city. Most people were begging, screaming and demanding the government do something. Finally it did. Many of us felt it took too long. Law enforcement seemed hamstrung by the entire debacle. Now the government is under attack for giving the police the power to restore sanity to our streets. You just can’t win. Can we please move on?
Annabel Kershaw Vancouver
Stopping the virus
Re There’s More COVID-19 In Our Future (Editorial, June 11): The suggestion that vaccination will be enough to protect ourselves and our health care systems from COVID-19 in the fall denies the value of other proven nonpharmaceutical interventions. Mass vaccination campaigns take time. While we all line up to roll up our sleeves the virus will spread quickly, as it has been shown to do in the past. I suggest two further necessary actions. First, the public needs to know what the level of circulating virus is in the community. This alerts us all to take preventative action. The second is to promote the wearing of effective masks once the circulating virus level becomes a concern. What that level of concern is should be determined in advance and made clear to all. This will empower Canadians to protect themselves when the need arises.
Alan Katz senior research scientist, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy
Farewell, Ms. Renzetti
Re After Nearly 30 Years, It’s Time For A New Chapter In My Life (Opinion, June 11): I am truly sad to say goodbye to columnist Elizabeth Renzetti. She tackled serious subjects, many of them about women, with authority, tempered by a light touch.
I am 76 years old and amazed women are fighting the same battles they were when I was in my 20s. When we think we have won one round, the same issue rears its ugly head years later.
One thing has changed: Women today are speaking up more about things which were hidden under the rug. These will be difficult to confront as a society, but in the end it should be done for the good of society.
Again, thanks to Ms. Renzetti.
Alma Javad Burlington, Ont.
Elizabeth Renzetti’s column every Saturday has been one of my life’s true pleasures. I will feel this loss for sure. Thank you for your humour and your passion, Elizabeth. You are this mid-70s man’s favourite feminist.
J.C. Henry Mississauga
Indigenous identity
Re University of Saskatchewan’s Indigenous Identity Check Raises Concerns (June 11): Indigenous identity can and should be verified by documentary means for employment and hiring purposes. That proof will vary depending on whether the applicant identifies as Inuit, Métis or First Nations. As a status Indian registered band member within my community, I am fully willing and able to provide a notarized copy of my federal certificate of Indian status and a document on letterhead from my band council attesting to my band registration if it means securing a dream job or plum university posting. Then it becomes incumbent on the hiring panel to set aside three hours for my interview during which I can hold forth on my cousins, aunts and uncles, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, notable veterans in the family and residential schools survivors, the history of my community, and finally, my clan affiliation through my matrilineal Mohawk lineage.
John Moses, Delaware and Upper Mohawk bands, Six Nations of the Grand River Territory
Coping swimmingly
Re The Colder, the Better (Opinion, June 11): Like author Kathleen McDonnell, I turned to Lake Ontario to swim when the pandemic hit. Last fall, when the weather began to turn, I decided to just keep going. From this year of swimming freezingly, I have learned that there is no better reset than plunging into cold water, even in the dark of a January morning. Any anxieties about the day ahead are gone in an instant, and each time I go in, I am reminded that I can be brave – something to draw from during tough pandemic times.
Madeline Burghardt Toronto
Hans Island
Re Hans Island Settlement Reached: Sources (June 11): Now that Canada has a land border with Denmark can we join the European Union?
Stephen Godfrey Nepean, Ont.
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