Occupation: MP?
Re Soudas Helped Adams In Liberal Move (Feb. 10): It's hard not to be very cynical about MP Eve Adams's defection to the Liberals. After 25 years espousing the Conservative party line, Ms. Adams has become a born-again Liberal.
Can't possibly be because late last month she was told in no uncertain terms that she would not be allowed to run – anywhere – for the Conservatives in the next election? It all reminds me of a quote, usually attributed to Woody Allen: "I have an intense desire to return to the womb. Anybody's."
It seems that so long as she can remain an MP, she doesn't much care whose – or what that may represent.
Ann Sullivan, Peterborough, Ont.
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I agree with the underlying point of your editorial about Eve Adams. There is no doubt in my mind that she is damaged political goods; her liberal embrace by Justin Trudeau must surely draw into question his political acumen as well as her own.
However, I do have difficulty with your use of Ms. Adams's concussion as a framework for the editorial. Your paper has been a leader in reporting the dire side effects of traumatic brain injury, especially among athletes. The fact that many schools and teams now have strict protocols for dealing with concussions is in no small measure due to the leadership The Globe has taken on the issue. Why, then, did you choose to condescendingly frame your editorial about Ms. Adams with sarcastic, dismissive references to her concussion?
By conflating your valid point about her political cynicism with her struggle with traumatic brain injury, you diminish the very real difficulties faced every day by athletes who are struggling with the same problem.
Larry Tayler, Belleville, Ont.
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I'm still laughing at your editorial, which I read aloud to my husband – particularly the last line: "All Canadians banging their head against a wall today are united by the politics of Ottawa." I'd wondered what that thump-thump-thumping noise was.
Francis Huang, Vancouver
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Eve Adams reflected on the values of the Conservative Party, and having witnessed the worst of its behaviour, realized the Liberal Party is a better home for her. She was articulate about how she can help Canada improve with Justin Trudeau more effectively than under Stephen Harper.
We don't fault people for quitting their jobs to move to a better workplace. Ms. Adams has done the political equivalent.
More power to her.
David Schatzky, Toronto
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Citizens, in trouble
The PM must do everything in his power to act on behalf of journalist Mohamed Fahmy (Mr. Harper, Please Pick Up The Phone – editorial, Feb. 10).
As Canadians abroad four years ago, my husband and I found ourselves caught in the beginning of the revolution now known as the Arab Spring, and needing to get out of Egypt quickly. Getting consular help in Cairo was next to impossible and relying on Foreign Affairs in Ottawa crushingly disappointing. Our government must show Canadian citizens that when they are in trouble, the government will not only be accessible but will move Heaven and Earth to bring us home.
Lynn Daigneault, Toronto
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Move the site
Re Monument To Communism Victims Should Be Reconsidered, Ottawa Mayor Says (Feb. 10): Given the avalanche of criticism regarding the government's proposed location for the memorial to commemorate the victims of communism, the new Minister for the National Capital Commission should consider moving the site for the monument away from the Supreme Court and putting it just a little down the road, right next to another proposed memorial which does not appear to be generating controversy: the Holocaust Memorial in front of the Canadian War Museum.
Problem solved. Win-win.
Andrew Kavchak, Ottawa
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Death's failings
To legalize assisted dying without broadening access to palliative care is to treat the symptom without addressing the cause. Effective palliative care, which focuses on comfort when there is no cure, can alleviate "severe and intolerable suffering" in most (not all) cases (A 'Good Death' Starts With Simple Compassion – Feb. 10).
Patients who express the wish to die very often change their minds once effective pain control is administered. Yet, sadly, only 15 per cent of Canadians have access to palliative care, by the Canadian government's own reckoning.
Since dying is an inevitable stage of living, it makes sense to include care of the dying as an important component of public health care.
Palliative care costs a fraction of the aggressive treatment meted out in acute-care beds. Yet, most Canadians still end up dying in acute-care beds in hospitals instead of in greater comfort at home or in a hospice, and provincial health-care budgets remain unwisely skewed toward aggressive treatment even when comfort care is the better and far cheaper option.
Assisted dying may be a legitimate option in some cases, but dying with dignity should also include the option to have one's suffering addressed and to be able to say one's goodbyes in relative comfort. That option is effectively denied to most Canadians.
The palliative-care choice doesn't require a Supreme Court ruling, just government leadership.
David Greer, Victoria
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Close the native gap
Re Indigenous Thought Belongs In Classrooms (Feb. 9): How right Paul Martin is! When a piece of fresh broccoli costs three or four times as much in the North, what makes us think the education of a child costs 30 per cent less?
And then we wonder why we have such poverty and an "aboriginal problem."
Equal funding might not solve all the problems, but it could be a good start.
Jane Sims, Toronto
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Tax those K-Cups
Re Drowning In K-Cups (letters, Feb. 10): With all of the harm caused by the production, use and disposal of plastic, it astounds me that coffee pods were allowed in the first place. Now that they're here, there's plenty that governments can do to discourage their use. A key measure would be to impose excise taxes on their production or sale, which would ultimately raise prices and lower demand.
While it's all well and good to suggest that we avoid K-cups and encourage others to do the same, history shows that people will do what they may. Sometimes, they need a little extra encouragement.
Justin Tanguay, Ottawa
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Hmm …
Re Is Your Smart TV Eavesdropping On You? It's Not The Only One (Report on Business, Feb. 10): Samsung versus CSIS – at least Samsung warns you your TV is recording your every word.
Marty Cutler, Toronto