Supreme Court Justices take part in an official welcome ceremony at the Supreme Court of Canada in March, 2018.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters
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Information, benched
Re Case Closed (May 14): Another aspect of the appalling agreement between judges of the Supreme Court of Canada and Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is the troubling revelation it contains about LAC’s new direction. From an institution whose primary purpose was to make the historical legacy of Canada accessible to Canadians, LAC now seems to be content to serve as a storehouse of those records. Public be damned.
That practice is also found in its dealings with the records it holds from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The Access to Information Act specifies that records must be made public within 30 days of request, but LAC now routinely lets CSIS delay the delivery of records by many months and, too often, even years.
News of the 50-year delay now in place for documents from Supreme Court judges is yet another reason why Parliament must act to break the artificial barriers to access for public records. At the very least, a 35-year rule (and better, a 20-year rule) should apply across the board for public records, making them open without bureaucratic restrictions.
Larry Hannant, adjunct associate professor, history, University of Victoria
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Supreme Court justices get paid from the public purse to draft decisions and communicate with their clerks and other judges as part of their duties. Perhaps one of them can explain how they deserve to be paid a second time by getting a charitable receipt if they donate their work product to the national archives. If the value of their work product for charitable receipt purposes is a function of volume, this perhaps can explain the length of judgments.
Richard E. Austin, Toronto
Harper, missed and not
While Mr. Harper did hide his true intentions during the years he ran a minority government, his hidden agenda quickly came to light when he got a majority. His not-so-subtle targeting of the Muslim minority was one odious example. Mr. Harper never really came to power until 2011, at which point he began to undermine our justice system, pass unconstitutional laws, and separate Canadians into “us and them” categories for our citizens.
Robert McManus, Dundas, Ont.
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Andrew Cohen asks what Stephen Harper achieved beyond trade agreements and tax-free savings that endures. Well, he reduced the GST by two percentage points, saving me hundreds of dollars per year. He introduced pension-splitting for seniors, saving me thousands of dollars per year. My tax-free savings account is now generating income of over $2,000 per year. He did all this while bringing us through a severe recession, and leaving Justin Trudeau a balanced budget. I wish we had him back in Ottawa.
T.S. Ramsay, Guelph, Ont.
Railway runaways
Re Ottawa, Quebec Commit To Lac-Mégantic Rail Bypass (May 12): While announcing the federal-provincial agreement to build a railway bypass around Lac-Mégantic, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said the bypass was an exceptional response to an exceptional situation.
Were the contributing factors leading to the Lac-Mégantic disaster exceptional?
Less than three years after 47 people died in a fire and explosion in Quebec, a tank car of asphalt rolled uncontrolled for four kilometers through downtown Regina. The Transportation Safety Board report on that incident noted that the number of cases of runaway train equipment in Canada jumped to 33 in 2015 from 21 the previous year. There were 27 cases in 2016.
Perhaps there should be mandatory deployment of derail devices on all tracks where rail cars containing a dangerous commodity are standing – especially if those tracks are on a grade?
Derek Wilson, Port Moody, B.C.
No ‘X’ through gender
Re New StatsCan Survey Options Offer Wider Definition Of Gender (May 14): As a genderqueer woman and trans ally, I’m so happy to hear our government is finally starting to recognize the difference between gender identity and sex, making it realistic for us GLBT folk to acknowledge our identities completely.
I’m pretty happy to hear I probably won’t have to put an “X” through the word “gender” to relay my womanhood; God knows the words female, male and intersex are linked to sex (anatomy), as opposed to androgynous, genderqueer, feminine and masculine (among others), which are various identities and/or expressions (genders). My thanks go to StatsCan for making us visible and getting with the times.
Amy Soule, Hamilton
Screen disappointment
Re Coming Soon, Whether You Like it Or Not (Arts, May 12): It’s no wonder revenues in the film industry are down. Movies are way overhyped, concession food is bad and way overpriced.
By the time you factor in all the costs, I can have a subscription to Netflix for the whole year, and even watch some of those overhyped movies that were in the theatre, and get a good laugh at what I didn’t pay to see them there. And don’t get me started on moviegoers who feel it is their God-given right to text and talk during a film. If you ask them politely to be quiet, they look at you as if they have been insulted.
The movie industry says online movie reviews are killing the business. Actually, no. Bad movies are killing the business.
Ron Kliewer, Vancouver
Moms: Bravery required
Re Where Have All The Mommies Gone? (May 12): I’m not sure the mommies have gone anywhere. We’re just busy, with too much to do. Having had eight children, I want to say it has been a fulfilling adventure. I recommend it.
(A friend just had her 15th baby and she’s one of the most amazing women I have ever known. We could all learn a lot from her.)
I don’t think motherhood was ever easy, no fuss, no muss, as Margaret Wente implies it once was. But it is a learning experience where we can grow in character if we accept the challenges this career choice gives us.
While it’s not as scary as many of us are meant to believe, it is only for the brave and courageous. But if you are not brave and courageous to begin with, I think you can do it, too, for it will make you brave and courageous – and able to take on any challenge life throws you.
Dianne Wood, Newmarket, Ont.
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Many thanks to Ian Brown for his thoughtful essay, Pieces Of My Ma (May 12). How can we ever know the other, and particularly our mothers, except through the pieces? I appreciated the rich description of the realities of womanhood/motherhood. Real life is far more complex (and rich) than a sentimental Hallmark greeting card.
Yvonne Hodges, Calgary