Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Ont., on June 25, 2021.BLAIR GABLE/Reuters
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Pay back
Re A Call To Canadians: Help Us Find Every Burial Site (June 26): Canada was founded on the expropriated land of Indigenous people. Most of us enjoy a fine standard of living as a result. I am ashamed of my privilege.
Canadians are beginning to comprehend the extent of these injustices. We colonists are not about to leave, but saying, “I didn’t do it,” or, “It’s too late to change history,” just doesn’t cut it.
We should do better. Resolve land claims and self-government issues that have dragged on far too long, largely owing to inadequate funding.
I suggest we “pay the rent” and transfer a fair share of wealth to Indigenous people. Ten per cent of government revenues (tens of billions of dollars a year) would still be a fraction of Canada’s GDP. It would go a long way to allowing Indigenous governments to solve the mess we made.
I want my grandchildren to be proud Canadians.
Andrew Gamble Ottawa
All ages
Re Kids Should Get COVID-19 Shots – Period (June 23): I can understand where anxious parents are coming from, as COVID-19 vaccines are a new medical discovery. So columnist André Picard puts things in perspective with an analogy, comparing getting a vaccine to wearing a helmet on a bicycle. We should always protect children regardless of the chances of harm.
The risk of a serious COVID-19 reaction isn’t worth it. Soon, visits with grandparents and family trips can happen without fear of spreading the virus. For children to truly experience childhood, they should get vaccines.
Vaccines are our only chance at normalcy and we shouldn’t have that delayed.
Rebecca Herlich Grade 10 student, Toronto
Parks problem
Re It’s Not Cruel To Clear Park Encampments (June 26): I believe having the homeless and hard to house plunk down in a community park is a terrible idea, and an unfair decision requiring the neighbourhood to bear the brunt of responsibility for government neglect and policy failures.
Neighbourhood communities are not equipped or skilled to handle the complex range of issues thrust upon them. Camps can quickly become lawless. It can be a public-health risk and disrupt the quality of life for residents who pay for a park and its upkeep.
It doesn’t serve the homeless either to be granted permission, then kicked out when the privilege to camp is revoked. A bad experiment and trauma for both parties.
Helen Mears Salt Spring Island, B.C.
Military behaviour
Re Want More Women In The Military? First Clean It Up (June 26): Anyone trying to understand the thinking and actions of our recent chiefs of defence staff should read The Stone Frigate by Kate Armstrong, the Royal Military College’s first female cadet. She gives readers insight into the sexist mindset that she observed at RMC, and that produced many of our top military leaders.
Mary Lennox The Blue Mountains, Ont.
Political behaviour
Re A Lesson In Responsible Government (Editorial, June 25): My problem with the Trudeau government is that it does not act like a minority government. As the Pearson era shows, they can be extremely productive, provided the governing party is prepared to engage in give and take with others.
Instead, Justin Trudeau acts like he has a majority, trying to bully and bluff to get his way, all the while hoping to soon get back to a majority. Then the Liberals can whip their members into shape.
Time and again, they put forward flawed legislation and refuse or grudgingly accept amendments, leaving a series of wasted opportunities to achieve results that a majority of Canadians would want.
Let’s hope voters will again deprive the Liberals of a majority at the next opportunity.
Erwin Dreessen Ottawa
Leadership lessons
Re We’ve Had Too Many Underqualified Leaders (June 24): Character is another key qualification. Experience is good, but it didn’t save John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from getting trapped in Vietnam. Honesty and openness to new ideas are equally important.
The Canadians who I’ve found most credible in the pandemic are Theresa Tam, Bonnie Henry and Ottawa’s Vera Etches – all women. We need more women running this country.
Jim Shearon Kanata, Ont.
When I graduated after four years with the most advanced degree in early childhood education, we were told that we are the best in our field. When I applied for a job in London, Ont., there was a policy that any first-year teacher of a primary grade must apprentice for one year under an experienced teacher.
I was assigned to a woman who completed two six-week sessions at a normal school. She had been a teacher for more than 50 years. What she taught me was never covered in any texts in my training. Her wisdom was irreplaceable.
I have, ever since that tender age, had the greatest respect for experience in whatever field. There is a constant reminder for Canadians to be inclusive. When did we start to profile seniors for exclusion? Certainly this is the case when we examine government on an age basis.
So much wisdom wasted.
H. A. Lackner Kitchener, Ont.
Re Life Lessons From A Birdwatcher (First Person, June 25): Another life lesson that birdwatching can teach: the value of a good mentor.
I was fortunate to start birdwatching with a group of experienced birders. Most of the time, they could identify a bird before ever raising their binoculars. They made their identification based on location, season, flight, size, silhouette and song, features that are difficult to extract from an average birding book.
I often think that learning “to bird” with only a handbook would present a long, difficult learning curve. In life, as in birding, having a good mentor is invaluable, a lesson I wish I had learned years ago.
Lauralee Morris Brampton, Ont.
Hats off
Re First Female Mayor Of London, Ont., Refused To Don Hat For The Queen (Obituary, June 23): While men are supposed to doff their hats to the Queen as a sign of respect, women apparently are supposed to do the opposite. This is confusing.
Jane Bigelow, however, was not confused in 1973. She was not about to do something just because some courtier said she must. She would have received my vote for mayor.
Incidentally, it would be interesting to know what the Queen thought about all this at the time.
Geoff Rytell Toronto
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