McGill University campus on June 21, 2016 in Montreal.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
Moral measure
Re “Hamas, Israel and the ‘yes, but’ squad” (Oct. 14): I think it would be fair to characterize Canada’s Israel policy for the past 75 years as “yes, but.”
“Yes, it’s terrible what happened to the Palestinians, but …”
Ken Hiebert Ladysmith, B.C.
Personally, I agree with political-science professor Mark Muhannad Ayyash (“Conflict in Gaza brings strife to Canadian campuses” – Oct. 14): “Only by understanding these root causes can we start to move beyond the horrors we are witnessing.”
Only by acknowledging what has happened in the past can we possibly move on to a just and lasting peace.
Nichola Hall Vancouver
Re “The Israel-Hamas war is a test of our moral mettle. Will Canada pass?” (Opinion, Oct. 14): In the midst of the deepening terror of the Israel-Hamas conflict, another extremely troubling behaviour is being observed and written about in our country.
The headlines read bold and clear in The Globe and Mail, expressing the grave danger to a society such as ours when the very people we count on are not there to express unequivocal outrage and horror at any atrocity against any other human being. They were not there in a major union; they were not there among some university leaders (”Unions, universities face backlash over statements following Hamas attack on Israel” – Oct. 11); they have been weak or slow to appear among far too many political and influential members of our democratic country.
That it is now of crucial concern for all of us is not even that apparent to me. And when it is not, our silence makes us complicit.
Columnist Andrew Coyne, then, is right to raise the question of our moral mettle. “Will Canada pass?”
Patricia Hanley Toronto
For this immigrant who, as a child in winter’s darkness under gunfire, fled a homeland awash in aggression and terror, this opinion floods the mind and heart with overwhelming feelings of gratitude and freedom that came about with settlement in Canada.
Despite many setbacks, we were eventually respected, nay even loved. During the Lester Pearson years of the 1960s, these emotions turned into pride for the zenith of peace Canada became. Where now are the Pearsons of our age, leaders who espouse that we live in peace, who work to instill an ownership of lofty goals in the hearts of the many?
Words, idealism and actions do not always abide, but freedom and light should prevail without avengers becoming the vengeful. Before we truly lose our way, we should recall the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”
Marian Kingsmill Hamilton
Provincial domain
Re “Danielle Smith’s interpretation of the Supreme Court’s environment ruling is a long way from Ottawa’s” (Report on Business, Oct. 14): Allow me to spell it out: The federal government has no constitutional right to control, dictate, limit or regulate emissions from energy or infrastructure projects located entirely within a province’s borders.
Period. End of story.
Mike Priaro Calgary
Re “The Supreme Court underscores the need for a climate of co-operation on greenhouse gases” (Editorial, Oct. 16): Given that Canada contributes less than 2 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the effect of our country going to zero would be the same effect on volume as pulling one’s finger out of a bucket of water.
I do agree that we need to transition, however, and we should be following the plan of Norway, which is pumping as much oil and gas as it can to fund the country’s sovereign fund. Canadian oil and gas development would provide the world with needed energy and the tax revenue would fund the transition.
I believe the Liberals are failing Canadians.
Maurice Levert Courtenay, B.C.
Come from away
Re “Quebec announces it will nearly double university tuition fees for out-of-province students” (Oct. 14): I came to Montreal in 1991 to do a PhD in computer science at McGill University, supported by a 1967 Science and Engineering Scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
This would have allowed me to study anywhere in the world. But I fell in love with the city and never left.
I worked hard to become fluent in French, raised three bilingual children and started three artificial intelligence companies, which have created more than 100 highly coveted technology jobs and generated millions in tax revenue.
Quebec has been my home for more than 30 years, and my heart is broken by this clear statement by the provincial government that it does not want people like me to come here and build their lives.
Paul Kruszewski PhD Westmount, Que.
The Quebec government expects students from other provinces to continue to enroll at McGill, Concordia, and Bishop’s, Quebec’s three English-language universities, despite doubling their tuition fees next year.
When the message is that there is too much English being spoken on the island of Montreal, and when prospective students learn that the entire additional amount may go to subsidize French-language universities and not a penny more to the universities these students are considering, how many will actually decide to study in Quebec?
Not many, I imagine.
W. A. Thomas Montreal
In the European Union, member states are not allowed to discriminate against each other’s citizens.
People who go to university in another country pay the same tuition fees as the locals. (In many cases, the fees are zero, but that’s a different issue.)
Why do Canadian citizens moving around this country not have the same rights?
David Arthur Cambridge, Ont.
It never ceases to amaze me how small-minded Canadian politicians can be. Contrary to the claim that this measure will protect the French language, I think this risks isolating it.
Putting aside the question of how an “anglophone student” will be defined, many out-of-province students attend universities in Quebec and leave with a much greater appreciation of the French language and culture.
Upon graduation, these students may or may not return to their home province. But if they do, I bet a significant number of them later send their children to French immersion schools. These children would know more about Québecois history, music, books and films. They might even become francophiles.
When all around the world walls are going up, do we really want to construct more barriers to understanding here in Canada?
D. Francis Roche Toronto
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