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25,000: Year-end?
Recent editorials have claimed it is irresponsible to move 25,000 refugees to Canada by the end of December. In 1939, The Globe's editorial board criticized the government for not accepting Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler's Germany, asking about Canada, "Does it stand for anything?"
Canadians showed what they stand for in 2015, rejecting a government that was quick to launch jets and bombs, for one that pledged to be quick in launching shelter for refugees.
Taking in 25,000 now is a manageable challenge. Canadians, above all, know winter is when help and shelter are most needed.
Fears of subversives "sneaking in" with refugees were expressed about German Jews in 1939, Hungarians in 1956, Vietnamese in 1975-76, Bosnians in 1992-95. The threats never materialized.
Perhaps you need to read your own pages and our history more closely. We have built a better society when we acted generously. To mistake refugees for those who persecute them is to victimize them twice over, and to victimize ourselves at the same time.
Nicholas Terpstra, professor and chair, Department of History, University of Toronto
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Doug Saunders's superb article should be compulsory reading for anyone involved in the Syrian refugee file: It is a worksheet for successful integration and a fine rebuttal for those who despair at the investment in community and education (Integration: A New Strategy – Focus, Nov. 21).
I am a small business owner and am having a desperate time recruiting employees. I'd be delighted to hire and train Syrians and pay them well – and wish them well as they move up the ladder. Bring them on.
Barry Auger, Vancouver
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To meet its year-end deadline, it appears the government intends to finalize security checks for Syrian refugees in Canada.
Reversing the standard obligation for immigrants and refugees to meet immigration requirements before immigrant visas are issued has ramifications. Do we have the information to do effective background checks? Is accelerated processing vulnerable to exploitation by terrorists?
Senior officials say Canada has the information. Yet FBI director James Comey recently told a congressional hearing that background checks, particularly in areas of the world where information is unreliable and in short supply, are difficult and take time.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the Syrians will go through security checks after they arrive here.
That's too late: A terrorist will disappear. If we do find him, experience tells us that removal will be a lengthy, complex process. The problems associated with in-Canada processing are why, since the 1920s, Canada has insisted it be done before arrival.
Mr. Goodale indicated security checks cannot be "100 per cent foolproof." This is self-evident. Equally evident, however, is that doing the checks abroad rather than here is more "foolproof."
The greater risk inherent in the government's approach stems from a deadline that has nothing to do with the immediate security needs of the Syrian refugees.
Gerry Van Kessel, former director-general (1997-2001), Refugees Branch, Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Gatineau, Que.
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Indigenous rights
Re Support For A UN Declaration May Haunt Resource Sector (Nov. 23): The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is not inconsistent with so-called "well-established principles of Canadian property law" – unless one believes that such law excludes First Nations peoples, rights, jurisdiction and legal traditions.
The 2014 Supreme Court Tsilhqoti'in decision is only one example countering this argument.
It is increasingly clear among those in the resource sector that respecting First Nations' rights is the best way to proceed. The previous government's approach was to weaken environmental protection and sideline First Nations' rights. The inevitable result was litigation, conflict and unapproved projects.
The UN declaration is internationally accepted, and supported by a global body of legal opinion. It is not an impediment to progress. It is essential to closing the gap in the quality of life and enjoyment of human rights between First Nations people and Canada.
It is an international standard to guide real reconciliation.
Perry Bellegarde, National Chief, Assembly of First Nations
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Climate? Worried
Alfred E. Newman, of Mad magazine fame, appears to be moonlighting as a columnist for The Globe and Mail, writing under the pen name Margaret Wente (Your Handy Guide To The Paris Climate Talks – Nov. 21). We're told not to despair, "human ingenuity will bail us out" and, anyway there's "a good chance" that "global warming won't be as severe as feared." Both statements are little more than wishful thinking.
But hey, who are you going to believe – scientific experts or Alfred E. Wente, er, Newman?
Ashley Hilliard, Salt Spring Island, B.C.
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Climate? Reassured
Re Notley Unveils Carbon Plan On The Eve Of First Ministers' Meeting (Nov. 23): I never thought I would take comfort in the actions of an Alberta Premier when it comes to curbing emissions.
But bravo to Rachel Notley and her leadership on the climate file. Alberta has my attention.
Audrey Saunders, St. John's
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A citizen of Canada
Re When Fighting Terror, Hit The Right Target (editorial, Nov. 23): There is no good reason for Canada to permit its citizens to hold citizenship in countries with which Canada has no affinity – and every reason to ensure that its citizens have no allegiance to regimes it considers enemies.
Furthermore, Canada should not permit its politicians and civil servants, whether provincial or federal, to hold citizenship in any country with which they may, in their professional capacities, have dealings on behalf of Canada.
Patrick Cowan, Toronto
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All about platforms
The pundits keep speculating about when the new government's honeymoon will be over.
The recent election was no wedding, it was a blind date that went well. Let's give love a chance.
John Uren, Powell River, B.C.
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Would somebody please explain to me the difference between the Harper cabinet ministers not talking to the media and the Trudeau cabinet ministers talking to the media and saying nothing.
Lyman MacInnis, Toronto
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Jeffrey Simpson points out that campaign platforms and election promises seldom align with the "events, dear boy" realities of governing (Platforms Should Shape, Not Control, A Government's Acts – Nov. 21).
It reminds me of a comment once uttered by a wise politician: A campaign platform is like a railway platform. You can stand on it, but you can't ride on it.
Matthew Airhart, Toronto