Behind the mask
The identification of Jihadi John as university-educated Mohammed Emwazi, said to come from a well-to-do London family, raises serious questions about Barack Obama's theory that young men are drawn to terrorist organizations because they feel excluded, lack job opportunities and are poverty stricken (Jihadi John: The Man Behind The Mask – Feb. 27).
Osama Bin Laden was wealthy; the 9/11 bombers were well educated and not poor. Although trying to find the root causes of terrorism is a noble goal, we need to accept that recruits are being drawn to these various terrorist groups, such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda, because of their perverted interpretation of Islam and the power it gives them.
Larry Comeau, Ottawa
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Where will it end for those of us cursed with the fine biblical name "John"? It's not enough that it is the common slang moniker for a toilet, the customers of sex workers and the unidentified and usually dead Mr. Doe, it is now to become the nickname for knife-wielding fanatics.
Cut us some slack. What would be wrong with Jihadi Jerry?
John Langford, Victoria
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Terror, scrutinized
Re Tories Agree To Increase Public Scrutiny Of Bill C-51 After NDP Force Their Hand (Feb. 27): Stephen Harper justifies the unseemly haste he is demanding for passing the new anti-terror legislation by constantly repeating that the bill is "strongly supported by Canadians." What he fails to say is that those same polls also show an almost identical number of Canadians want greater oversight of the expanded powers given to CSIS.
But why be surprised? This is the same PM who rails against the unelected Supreme Court for getting in the way of the elected Parliament – yet he refuses to grant oversight ability to those same elected parliamentarians, preferring to keep that power for the unelected judges who will continue to be responsible for oversight under the new bill.
Bruce Speyer, Toronto
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What a fortunate coincidence for the government that stories about young people going to join Islamic State are coming out of our secret agencies and making headlines just at the time that Bill C-51 – the Secret Police Bill a.k.a. Anti-Terror Bill – is under consideration. Were I not so naive and credulous, I might have wondered whether this was more than mere happenstance.
Trevor Hancock, Victoria
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Bear true allegiance
Re Allegiance-To-The-Queen Clause To Live On (Feb. 27): The Supreme Court missed an opportunity to remove a long-standing offensive provision in the citizenship oath of allegiance.
While there may have been some historical romanticism in swearing allegiance to the Queen 50 years ago, it is long past time for this anachronism to go. In today's Canada there is no value or reason to swearing an oath of fealty to someone who has earned this allegiance due to nothing more than an accident of birth, and who has no political standing in the country.
I congratulate those individuals who have had the courage of their convictions to fight this injustice.
Frank Malone, Aurora, Ont.
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We may not always be a constitutional monarchy, but the monarchy is part of the architecture of our nation's history and part of Canada today. The Canadian community is not just about our own interests, but about respecting the values of others. In the end, it isn't about the Queen, it is about the bigger issue of accepting a wider definition of nationhood than just applies to you and celebrating it. Understanding that makes you a Canadian.
Gareth Seltzer, Toronto
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Outlook for the EU
Re The Canary In Europe's Coal Mine (editorial, Feb. 24): If the EU were in as a bad a shape as you suggest, no one would understand why Canada, the U.S. and other key players are so keen to conclude ambitious trade agreements with the European Union.
For the first time since 2007, the economies of all EU member states are expected to grow again in 2015. The range of projected individual growth rates remains broad, but overall EU growth is forecast to be 1.7 per cent in 2015 and 2.1 per cent in 2016, on the back of strengthened domestic and foreign demand, accommodating monetary policy and oil price developments. These figures are comparable to, if not better than, Canada's for those two years. In addition, the EU has just presented an ambitious Investment Plan for Europe worth up to €315-billion ($442-billion Cdn.) in additional investment capital for potential projects of strategic interest to EU countries.
After the difficult policy choices some governments have made, the effects of reforms are emerging on a broader scale. There is still much hard work ahead, but the outlook is far more optimistic than your editorial implies.
Marie-Anne Coninsx, Ambassador of the European Union to Canada
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'Grief porn'
Leah McLaren has succinctly put into words the dangerous direction gratuitous mourning is taking in our society (Do We Suffer From Mourning Sickness? – Life & Arts, Feb. 27).
I cringe as I see teddy bears in spontaneous memorials placed there by people who never knew the family or child who has died.
Those of us who have suffered the premature loss of a child or family member truly know the pain and futility of rain-soaked memorials from unknown entities. Are those who use this "grief porn" to shore up their own feelings of safety for their children going to remember five months down the road, when the shock wears off and the family starts to really feel the hole in their lives?
I doubt it, for I often read that even a mere week after a tragic death, "the family is still feeling the loss!"
Vicki Sainsbury, Oakville, Ont.
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'Yes' should be hard
It may indeed be harder to get to "yes" in terms of resource development (Getting To Yes Has Never Been Tougher – Feb. 27).
My thanks to Jeffrey Simpson for musing about this. It's good that some development is contested, because much about the current process is extremely unsatisfactory. Environmental regulations have been gutted by omnibus bills; National Energy Board hearings have been sharply narrowed in terms of reference; fracking's hazards have been insufficiently studied. And aboriginal people in the Ring of Fire have a right to make demands.
If getting to "yes" is hard, it should be. The days of writing off a river, ignoring First Nations rights and unbridled (and heavily subsidized) fossil fuel development without regard for carbon emissions should be over.
Donna Sinclair, North Bay, Ont.
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Old hat in T.O.
Re What If The Toronto Tunnel Is Just Another Example Of Artistic Burrowing? (Feb. 27): All those theories about the bunker found at York University? They were just trying to build a subway and ran out of money. Not to worry – this happens frequently in Toronto.
Neil Rau, Toronto