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RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2012 - Los Angeles Kings captian Dustin Brown hoists the Stanley Cup after his team defeated the New Jersey Devils during Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey final in Los Angeles, June 11, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Blake (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT ICE HOCKEY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)MIKE BLAKE/Reuters

A No Hockey League?

There's an economic mess wherever one looks; it's chaos in Europe, U.S. politicos can't seem to find common ground to deal with their crisis (Obama's Year Of Living Urgently – Dec. 7). In this context, one has to wonder: How many NHL players would make $1-million plus a year outside hockey (Stalemate – Sports, Dec. 7). We can all answer that one.

Yes, the owners are trying to beat the players down, but the corporate world is doing that everywhere to its employees. They are cutting salaries and benefits. They are cutting jobs. But those affected aren't sitting on million-dollar bank accounts.

Players need to get real, bite their tongues, be bold, walk in and say: We accept your terms on one condition, a 10-year contract. Then get on with earning their millions. It's either move to Russia and play in the KHL, or give up the game and work for a living, or accept this "bad" contract and go back to earning their millions.

Peter Belliveau, Moncton

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Lack of NHL business has devastated many small businesses, all because wealthy men can't get their game together because they're arguing over money.

Is it the lack of "Canada's game" that led to the degradation of decorum (Speaker Turns Off Microphone In Wake Of Dust-Up – Dec. 7) among the Honourable Members in our House of Commons?

For the good of our country's economy, let alone its sanity, perhaps it's worth taking a shot at legislating hockey as a national "essential service," eh?

Liz Stonard, Port Alberni, B.C.

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'The gunman'

I thought, after 23 years, we had finally made it and the media were referring to the perpetrator in the École Polytechnique Massacre (Dec. 7) as "the gunman." Not so: His name was on The Globe's front page. Isn't that the kind of exposure he was after? Never again, please.

Lenore Bridge, Goderich, Ont.

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L is for local

Prof. Peter Hennessy (C Is For Confusion – letters, Dec. 7) proposes abolishing school boards because the provincial government now has control of the purse and "decides almost everything." The gaping hole is that the current conflict between teachers and the provincial government has reached this stage precisely because the expertise and local perspective of school boards, which set the tone and foster a positive climate in our schools, were disregarded.

Michael Barrett, president, Ontario Public School Boards' Association

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The Toronto District School Board and its trustees have been caught with their pants down ('The Buck Stops With Me,' Embattled TDSB Head Says – Dec. 7), having frittered away millions of taxpayer dollars. The 72-page independent report suggests the board could save $50-million to $100-million by making basic changes to the way it operates, including suggestions a trustee called "just good practice."

Why have the director and trustees not been following "good practice" all along? The board is in a shambles; for the director and trustees to truly take responsibility, they should all step down and let the province appoint an interim management team.

Peter A. Lewis-Watts, Barrie, Ont.

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Mideast irony

It's ironic that your letter writer (No Middle Ground – letters, Dec. 7) can claim that "Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) is not land illegally occupied by Israel, but land whose ownership is disputed," while expecting the Palestinians to not dispute the fact that the whole state of Israel exists on territory that once belonged to the Palestinians.

He then makes the wild claim that the UN "has evolved into a group of non-democratic countries playing politics with demagogues and dictators," ignoring the fact that, perhaps, those countries simply believe in fair play, that a bully should be stopped, that you can't take someone's land and then take more land, and, on top of that, claim that you are the victim.

Ken Olsen, Toronto

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Sensible approach

Multiple studies may produce conflicting results, but patterns are made up of pieces (Food-Cancer Links May Be Misleading, Report Says – Life & Arts, Dec. 7). So what pieces are we better off choosing, and what pieces are we better off avoiding in establishing eating patterns? I understand that scientists must wait until they're sure enough of something to say that there's sufficient evidence to claim it as fact. We'll be dead and gone at the rate that happens.

As a cancer survivor making choices about how to nourish my body, I will accept a lesser burden of proof for now – and choose foods that have some, if limited, evidence of being helpful, while avoiding those that have some, if limited, evidence of doing harm. I think that's a sensible approach to establishing a healthy eating pattern.

Harriet Sugar Miller, Montreal

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Clear on CIDA

Re Clear Benefits, Clumsy Messaging (editorial – Dec. 6): I have been very clear – CIDA does seek co-operative partnerships with the private sector, partnerships that produce the utmost benefit to people who need it most, while maintaining accountability to Canadians. We strive to foster long-term development and spur economic growth in developing countries – ambitious goals that cannot be accomplished without a wide range of actors.

Innovative initiatives, which build on previously existing collaboration with the private sector, will be explored to assist those most in need. If getting from point A of poverty to point B of prosperity is the goal, then any legitimate and ethical effort to get there will not be spared.

Julian Fantino, Minister of International Co-operation

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In defending the Canadian International Development Agency's corporate shift, Julian Fantino says, "I find it very strange that people would not expect Canadian investments to also promote Canadian values, Canadian business, the Canadian economy, benefits for Canada."

He adds: "It helps us maintain a global advantage and at the very same time … we will do what we can to promote mutual benefits." With this redefining of CIDA, the minister should rename it CIPA – Canadian International Promotion Agency.

Rama Singh, Hamilton, Ont.

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Very hard at work

The letter (Clear The Doors – Dec. 7 ) about subway doors reminded me of when I first came to Canada. I'd travel on the GO train to Toronto and listen to the "Stan' clear the doors, please" announcement at every stop. Unfamiliar with the Canadian vernacular, I was very impressed with the Canadian work ethic, as "Stan" seemed always to be on duty.

John Cadiz, Toronto

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