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Quebecor's creds

Re Mulroney Takes Charge At Quebecor (May 29): Regardless of the federalist bona fides Brian Mulroney will bring to the table, every dollar spent on a Quebecor product or service enriches the stock portfolio of Pierre Péladeau (an avowed separatist) as its most important shareholder,

I, for one, will never knowingly support this company. As for Mr. Mulroney having been a mentor to Mr. Péladeau, he was also a mentor to Lucien Bouchard – and look what happened there.

John Merzetti, Vancouver

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Rights to life

Re Outside Of Big Cities, Canadians Still Lack Access To Abortions (May 29): Holly Pierlot, president of the PEI Right-to-Life Association, says she wants to "keep our island abortion-free."

Abortion will never go away. Safe, legal abortion may go away, but abortion will always exist.

If there is no access to safe, legal abortion, women either try to induce abortion themselves, or seek a dangerous and often deadly illegal abortion. When abortion is illegal, women die. Don't these women have a right to life?

Carolyn Pujo, Calgary

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A President's words

Calling Barack Obama's West Point speech "a sad attempt by a diminished leader" says more about Konrad Yakabuski than the President (Obama Still Talks, But He Doesn't Persuade – May 29).

In the face of a barely compliant Senate and an obstinate House, Mr. Obama has quite a list of accomplishments, including the elimination of Osama Bin Laden; a new health care bill; the massive TARP financial and banking rescue plan; a GM bailout that saved countless jobs; the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and the impending withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

Because of Obama diplomacy and well-considered caution, what we don't have is American youth being killed in places like Egypt, Syria, Ukraine or Iran.

Willem Hart, Toronto

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Supreme decisions

Re Quebec Consulted On Vacancy (May 29): There may be a better way to select our Supreme Court justices based on various existing provincial appointment systems.

A committee of six or seven persons could be established, including three sitting MPs, representing the three major parties, or indeed a fourth, representing the Green Party, a representative of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, a representative from the private bar and a retired Supreme Court justice.

This committee would interview, in private, candidates from a list of no fewer than five names supplied by the province. They would recommend three candidates to the PM, who would have to choose one. That candidate could then appear in public before a parliamentary committee, as is the current practice.

This process would be secure from political tampering, would reflect input from a cross-section of the community and would provide a balanced screening process of potential appointees to our highest court. It could restore dignity to a process that may have been sadly tainted.

Bill Trudell, chair, Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers

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Cheques on balances

Ironically, your commentary on the shortfall in financial literacy appeared at the same time as Mark Carney's observations about the "growing exclusivity of capitalism" and the need to rebuild public trust (Ottawa's Timid Steps Toward Financial Literacy Fall Short; Bank Of England's Carney Says Bankers Should Be Less Selfish – Report on Business, May 28).

As a small-business owner, I encourage my employees to avoid costly cheque-cashing services in favour of a bank account. The answer, unfortunately, is often that they can't afford to wait five business days for the cheque to clear, even if they know that they are being "ripped off."

With the technology that exists, banks should be able to do better. If same-day or next-day clearing were available in traditional financial institutions, choice would truly exist and the best choice would be obvious.

The predatory cheque-cashing services would be out of business, and those individuals who might find themselves also trapped by payday loans would at least be introduced to the idea that alternatives exist.

Wise financial decision-making requires both basic financial literacy and reasonable alternatives.

Jose Rubio Lazo, Toronto

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Condo script lacking

While Toronto's chief planner is "absolutely thrilled" with the scaled down David Mirvish/Frank Gehry project, there is something all too predictable about this tale (Mirvish Scales Back Condo Project – May 28).

An outrageously overblown proposal to demolish a theatre and warehouse space with historic value in order to make way for more than 2,700 condo units is withdrawn in the face of widespread disapproval. A few months go by and voila! a new proposal for "only" 2,000 units that saves the theatre and warehouse by eliminating one of the condo towers (and increasing building height to 92 storeys) opens to rave reviews from the critics.

Are we so gullible a civic audience? We've seen this play before! Can't we demand a better city-building script?

Douglas Young, Toronto

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What the Pope did

Re The Pope, The Wall (letters, May 27): Pope Francis's decision to stop at the Israeli separation fence in the West Bank should be welcomed by all of us who cherish the vision of a secure Israel at peace with its neighbours, as well as justice and self-determination for Palestinians.

The Pontiff's moment of prayer focused the world's attention on the actual conditions endured by Palestinians. This kind of direct confrontation with the deprivation and indignity of life under occupation is rare for visiting leaders and dignitaries. Grappling with the facts on the ground is necessary though to foster political will in Israel and internationally for a just and lasting peace.

And of course Pope Francis doesn't endorse the overheated graffiti on the wall ("Bethlehem look (sic) like Warsaw ghetto").

It is disturbing though that some people are more upset about an intemperate comparison, born of despair, than about the brutal occupation, oppression and immiseration that produce such desperation.

Anthony Cantor, Toronto

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In an Ambassador …

Your picture of the Ambassador car in Kolkata, India, filled me with nostalgia (You Don't Know What You've Got 'Til It's Gone – May 27). I've ridden in Ambassadors; their demise will be no great loss to the auto industry. There's a joke in India that in an Ambassador, everything makes a noise – except the horn. Alain Gingras, Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, Que.

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