Apologizing doesn't cut it
If junior cabinet minister Helena Guergis can swear at airport staff, refuse to remove apparel and bang on glass doors, why would she be allowed to board a plane just about to depart ( Guergis Apologizes For Outburst To Airport Staff - Feb. 26)? Would the average citizen be allowed the same privilege under the same circumstances? I think not.
At a minimum, they would be prevented from boarding the soon-to-depart plane in order for authorities to ascertain whether or not they might be a risk to the safety of others. I guess some people are more entitled than others.
Cassandra King, Annapolis Royal, N.S.
...........
The bullying, belittling behaviour of Helena Guergis at the Charlottetown Airport demonstrated a total lack of class and self-control. I do not want a person who behaves like this to represent me or my government.
Liz Mayer, Belleville, Ont.
...........
I'd like to tell Helena Guergis to - but no, that would be swearing and I learned in kindergarten you don't do that. I might think it but I wouldn't say it. Apologizing doesn't cut it. She doesn't belong in cabinet. And no, I am not a Liberal ( Liberals Want Helena Guergis Fired - Feb. 26).
This isn't about partisan politics. It's about judgment, or the lack of it, and self-control, or the lack of it, in someone who represents our elected government - in other words, us.
J. B. Cannon, Toronto
...........
No wonder Stephen Harper doesn't want his ministers to speak without a script.
Jeannie Hayley, North Vancouver
Ladies of the ice
So what if the women's hockey team celebrated with champagne and beer on centre ice ( Team Canada Apologizes For Post-Game Behaviour - Feb. 26). Shock, horror - they even passed around a cigar. The crowds were gone. They were alone, savouring the moment. Gold-medal slider Jon Montgomery gets to drink some victory beer(s), the cameras catch him and the IOC has no complaints. Okay, okay, it wasn't in the Sliding Centre, but who can balance a beer going that fast?
Jason Simmons, Vancouver
...........
The IOC is scandalized to learn 18-year-old hockey players consume beer when celebrating hard-fought victories? Dear God, don't anyone tell them the clouds of smoke hovering over those ecstatic Whistler crowds aren't tobacco.
Louise Morin, Toronto
...........
These are our athletes, the real-life heroes of our children, the people our children aspire to be and to be like. Our children are going to say "Hey, it's cool to smoke/drink, after all, an Olympian does it."
If the athletes want to celebrate afterward, they can go ahead and have a ball in the village, in the bars, at home, with their friends but keep the drinking and smoking off the ice and off the cameras.
Nicole Beatty, Toronto
...........
I was pleasantly surprised to see the large colour photo of the gold medal-winning Canadian women's hockey team above the fold on your front page yesterday (Hockey Gold And A Record Haul). Based on the previous day's front page, I had expected to wake up to a photo of the men's hockey team watching the women's team play.
Christine Johnstone-Ardern, Toronto
...........
The gold medal win for our women's hockey team was more than just a victory for Canada. This was an important win for women's hockey as a whole. Team Canada, unlike its U.S. rivals, is coached by a woman. In fact, all of the other women's hockey teams in this Olympic tournament were coached by men. A third consecutive gold medal to the only team with a female head coach should serve as tremendous inspiration to other women interested in coaching. This win demonstrates to the rest of the world that women are capable of coaching a championship team, and should be encouraged to become involved in coaching hockey.
Congratulations to Melody Davidson.
John Naslund, Vancouver
...........
Here's an idea: Women's Hockey Team Canada versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. Maybe that could spur the Leafs to start playing like a bunch of girls. We can only hope.
Michael Jursic, Toronto
The truth of it
Simon Barnes's (Own The Podium, Disown The Slogan - Feb. 26) claim that the unstated aim of the Own the Podium program was to "show those arrogant bastards on the other side of the border how much they don't know" demonstrates his very superficial understanding of Canada's attitude toward America. The feelings of "certain Scots" toward England as an analogy fails completely. The Canada-U.S. relationship cannot be filtered through the British experience because our aboriginal history, modern history, geography and culture(s) are entirely different.
Here's the truth of it: Would Canadians like their athletes to snatch away a few more medals from those fantastically successful Americans? Sure. Whatever it takes. So long as we get to keep the health care.
Robin Michel, Toronto
Big-time population adjustment
Richard Florida ( When Small Countries Hit The Olympic Big-Time - Feb. 26) may be technically correct in his calculations concerning Winter Olympic Medals Per Capita (WMPC). He doesn't, however, seem to consider other realities. All of Canada has winter. Only the northern U.S. has a real winter. There's not much downhill sledding in Florida. He needs a population adjustment.
John Owen, Dartmouth, N.S.
Video's place in policing
The Victoria Police researched the use of Body Worn Video (BWV) for four months last year. Our "Beat and Bicycle" officers tested four sets of Australian-made BWV "head cameras." We consulted with the Privacy Commissioner's office from the outset, so all data were obtained, saved and protected in a secure format.
We found that 87 per cent of officers who used the equipment felt that the quality of evidence they obtained was improved with the video; public hostility/aggressiveness decreased; public complaints were reduced to zero during the test period.
Cameras were not on all the time as this was never intended to be random police surveillance but a use of video to gather evidence in situations where we believe a crime was or was about to be committed.
While we believe that BWV is here to stay, we are working through issues related to the costs associated with transcriptions and IT storage. The equipment has an instant playback feature, you can show an accused "on the street" their actual behaviour - few then want to proceed to court. The BWV has a calming effect with many people.
I wouldn't be too quick to rule out the RCMP using BWV ( Every Contact Recorded - editorial, Feb. 24). It's being done in England, some U.S. states and here in Victoria. It is all designed to keep citizens safe and protect their property - that is our mission.
Jamie Graham, Chief, Victoria Police
Fertile ground for fairness
Contrary to Margaret Wente's assertion, taxpayers were well represented on the Expert Panel on Infertility and Adoption ( The Right To Bear Children And, Of Course, We'll Pay - Feb. 23). All members of the panel are taxpayers, as are the women I see in my fertility clinic on a daily basis. The suggestion that a "fertility industry" is pushing for funding of IVF trivializes the experiences of thousands of Ontarians who struggle with infertility and the related stigma.
That said, I agree that we, as medical professionals, have done an abysmal job of teaching women how to manage their family planning. It is imperative that we better educate young women about the limitations of their reproductive lifespans. Some of the panel's recommendations hinged on the need for early discourse with primary care physicians about ovarian reserve screening and family-building measures.
Education, however, will not completely eradicate the need for IVF for women who suffer from infertility. The panel's recommendations would ensure that women affected by infertility will have equal access to the medical interventions necessary to treat their medical condition.
M.E. Dixon, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, assistant professor, University of Toronto
Dealing with the t-word
Whether the new security fees are a tax or a user fee is not our concern ( Security Fee Not A Tax: Ottawa - Feb. 26). For people with disabilities, the problem is having to pay for a system that is not accessible and that we cannot use. It appears that no thought has been given to the accessibility of these devices: People with disabilities who cannot go through the scanner with their wheelchair, mobility device, guide dog etc. have no choice but to submit to a more invasive "pat down."
Laurie Beachell, national co-ordinator, Council of Canadians with Disabilities
...........
From a future Harper government press release: "Canadians who pay the new Air Security User Fee (please note, it's a fee and not a tax) will also pay a $2 Administration Charge (please note, this is a charge and not a tax). Passengers travelling outside Canada will pay a $4.50 International Premium (please note, this is a premium and not a tax). Failure to pay or collect the fee, charge or premium will result in a $100 fine (please note, this is a fine and not a tax). The Conservative government is pleased to report Canadians continue to face no new taxes (Please note, taxis will no longer be allowed to pick up passengers at Canadian airports. The government feels the word 'taxis' is too closely associated with taxes)."
Norman Rosencwaig, Toronto