Credibility on 'terror'
When a letter to the editor began with a statement that war had been declared on Canada by the jihadi movement because they hate our societal values, I thought I was reading an ironic commentary on Stephen Harper's position (Freedoms Lost – Feb. 5).
But then I realized that the writer was serious, so I got suspicious and skipped to the end to look at the signature. Sure enough, it was from Steven Blaney, a minister in the Harper cabinet.
Ordinary Canadians don't believe that stuff. I don't think that the Conservatives believe it themselves.
Jeff Culbert, London, Ont.
.........
Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney's assertion that the "terrorists" have declared jihad on Canada "simply because they hate our society and the values it represents" recalls George Bush's simplistic "They hate our freedoms" comment in 2001.
It is a gross and misleading oversimplification of the situation. We know where Mr. Bush's policy led. Are we, too, going to be drawn into perpetual war in a theatre of shifting alliances half a world away? It would seem that this is Stephen Harper's plan.
Patrick McDonald, Toronto
.........
The Conservatives are hyping their anti-terror bill as if humanity were on the brink of extinction and we needed Rambo to save us. The hysteria associated with this measure will only reinforce the prevailing perception about Muslims as the fifth column, the other, the enemy from within whom everyone should guard against.
The Muslim minority already face hurdles in day-to-day activities as if they were all to blame, while in fact they, too, are victims of terrorism.
I had hoped to see a sense of true leadership from Stephen Harper to unite Canadians, to try to address the causes of extremism and fanaticism. Creating bills and more bills only generates sensationalism, fosters fear about "the other" and does not tackle the problem at its roots. It's like cutting branches while the actual tree remains.
It plays to the dirty politics of divide and conquer.
Abubakar N. Kasim, Toronto
.........
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is our Al Gore: often right on the issues, always right in your face, seldom right on the money (NDP, Liberals At Odds Over Terror Bill – Feb. 5). Canadians, at this time, are not, as Mr. Mulcair says, looking for "an opposition that will do the job of standing up to Stephen Harper." They want a government that will stand up to terrorism.
It is Justin Trudeau, the perceived policy lightweight, who has produced the most measured, articulate and politically astute reaction to the anti-terrorism bill, calling on the government to "accept that Canadians want greater oversight and accountability" along with the increased power for security agencies.
Howard M. Greenfield, Montreal
.........
Disjointed security
As a retired member of the RCMP who has had lots of dealings with the disjointed security on Parliament Hill, I applaud this move of placing all security under the RCMP umbrella (Mounties To Guard Parliament Hill – Feb. 4).
Since the RCMP is directly involved in intelligence collection on terrorists, the protection of the Prime Minister and visiting heads of state, this makes perfect sense.
I do wonder, with the RCMP already stretched to the breaking point dealing with the rise of homegrown terrorists, as well as other major tasks like organized crime, where the resources required to do this new task will come from. I hope the government will be forthcoming with the money to finance the new undertaking.
Larry Comeau, Ottawa
.........
Vaccination ideology
Legislating mandatory vaccination is a very tricky thing, though an argument might exist for it on some level (One Of The World's Most Infectious Viruses Makes A Comeback – Folio, Feb. 5).
Anti-vaxxers ought to be free to engage in self-destructive behaviours, just as an alcoholic is free to drink, or a smoker has a right to smoke. However, when their misinformed ideology metastasizes enough to break down our herd immunity, then the anti-vaxxer is endangering his neighbour. It becomes akin to drinking and driving or smoking in public spaces.
Nonetheless, forcing people to be vaccinated against their will is not the answer.
Let's just hope that education and truth will prevail, lest we be stuck with the last megaphone to rouse the willfully deaf science-deniers: children dying.
Daniel Joo, MD, Calgary
.........
Lens on Black April
Re Vietnam 'Hurt' By Black April Day Bill (Feb. 5): At least 250,000 of the refugees who fled from Vietnam in April, 1975, after the fall of Saigon died at sea.
It is not surprising that communists would claim to feel "hurt" by the bill to declare April 30 as a day of commemoration. Freedom of speech and the truth have always been a source of intense discomfort for totalitarian regimes.
Andrew Kavchak, Ottawa
.........
Canada's splurge of monument-erection and commemoration seems to have adopted a rather nasty ideological tone of late, more interested in condemning than celebrating.
Whether it is the monument to Victims of Communism or the Black April Day bill to mark the exodus of South Vietnamese after the fall of Saigon, the intent seems more about dredging up the past and keeping ideological and philosophical wounds suppurating for generations to come.
Honour victims of repression, mark and welcome the arrival and subsequent success of Vietnamese in Canada, but leave the divisive and dubiously selective propaganda and politics out of it.
Mike Rapsey, Ottawa
.........
Men. At the top
As I was reading The Women's Mosque Is Indigenous Islam (Feb. 5), it occurred to me that Sheema Khan could have referred to any number of male bastions to make her point – the executive suite, boardrooms, sports organizations, etc. I hope that "North American culture" is also able to evolve to a place where half its population is fairly represented in critical areas of leadership.
Cathy Dixon, Victoria
.........
I can't read Sheema Khan's report on the establishment of the first women's mosque in North America without thinking of the Roman Catholic Church's discriminatory treatment of women.
It's true that Catholic women are not forced to endure physical segregation in churches, but their exclusion from meaningful involvement in their church is total.
While many individual women play active roles in the church, none has actual power, most don't even have a title. Their efforts to change their situation are often met by condescension and scorn.
Meanwhile, Thomas Aquinas is still considered by many to be the Church's greatest theologian and philosopher. He's the saint who taught that women were not created with the same degree of perfection as men and so are unable to reason as well or reflect God as fully.
Imagine … the perfection of men.
Esther Shannon, Vancouver