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Letters: War in Iran, property worries in B.C., and other concerns for Canadians

Readers comment on warfare in the Mideast, the Humboldt Broncos tragedy, immigration debacles, drug policy and more in letters to the editor

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On Churchill, Carney and political fences

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Re: Donald Trump’s war on Iran is righteously just — Adam Zivo, March 2; and Mark Carney’s unprincipled stand(s) on Iran — Michael Higgins, March 5

Letters: War in Iran, property worries in B.C., and other concerns for Canadians Back to video

Three days after bombs and rockets began raining down on political and military targets throughout the Islamic Republic of Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted a press conference in the Oval Office. The president calmly discussed how two close allies — the U.S. and Israel — had killed Iran’s Supreme Leader and almost 50 of his team by flattening their compound in Tehran. He also noted how other allies had not backed his actions, singling out Spain and England as both being slow to agree to the U.S. Air Force using their bases. He was particularly displeased with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, about whom he sneered: ”He’s no Winston Churchill.”

Between the many gold-coloured trinkets in the Oval Office, there’s a famous bronze bust of Churchill, presented to president Lyndon Johnson back in 1965 by a group of American wartime friends of Sir Winston. (The original cast was made in 1947.) While the situation in the Middle East develops, there are mumblings and rumblings about the merit of the attacks and the destiny of the 93 million people living in Iran. President Trump may gain solace — or at least insight — from a glance at Churchill’s 1948 book, The Gathering Storm, which was the first volume in his six-volume memoir of the Second World War. Churchill wrote: “Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on that strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.”

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The outcome of Trump’s and Israeli P.M. Benjamin Netanyahu’s “war fever” remains to be seen.

Bernie Smith, Parksville, B.C.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s seemingly inconsistent messaging on Iran reveals one clear consistency: it avoids offending China. The strongest moral case for action against Iran is solidarity with Iranian citizens who are standing up for basic rights and freedoms, only to be met with brutal repression and mass killings by their own government.

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The Chinese Communist Party has long been wary of popular uprisings against authoritarian rule. The leadership in Beijing has not forgotten that the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests were partly inspired by reform movements and pro-democracy demonstrations unfolding in the Soviet Union following Mikhail Gorbachev’s introduction of glasnost in 1986. The prospect of the Iranian people overthrowing a tyrannical regime is not something authoritarian leaders like Xi Jinping would want to see encouraged or celebrated.

By framing support for the United States and Israel primarily around preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — rather than around support for the Iranian people — Carney may be signalling that he is not “on the fence” at all. Instead, his approach suggests a careful effort to avoid positions that would put him at odds with the People’s Republic of China.

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Glen Leis, Aurora, Ont.

Three takes on the Humboldt Broncos tragedy

Re: Man responsible for Humboldt Broncos crash paid his debt to society and should not be deported — John Manley and Jamie Baillie, March 2

John Manley and Jamie Baillie are absolutely right in their assertion that Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the driver of the truck involved in the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash, in which 16 died and 13  were injured, has paid the penalty, expressed his remorse for the accident — and it was an accident — served his prison sentence and should not be deported.

We all grieve with the families of the young people who lost their lives but Sidhu has paid the price for what was an honest mistake. Let’s help him heal his own heartbreak and become our fellow citizen and neighbour.

Mary Lou Finlay, Toronto

Jaskirat Singh Sidhu may have served his sentence but in no way has he paid his debt. If he was truly sorry, he would have voluntarily left already. He destroyed families and lives.

Jacqueline Raab, Edmonton

The grief surrounding the Humboldt bus crash was — and still is — immeasurable. The families of the victims are the only ones who should decide Sidhu’s fate. Not some far-off former parliamentarian or columnist.

Darryl Love, Winnipeg

‘Massive betrayal’ of B.C. public

Re: Will Ottawa recognize Aboriginal ‘title’ over all of Vancouver? — Geoff Russ, March 3

In my opinion, the federal government’s Feb. 20 deal with the Musqueam Indian Band was a massive betrayal of the public interest. It granted Aboriginal title and shared decision-making power over large parts of Metro Vancouver while full details remain hidden.

Section 35 of the 1982 Constitution Act created a dysfunctional race-based system that divides Canadians by ancestry. It is time to implement the recommendations of Jean Chrétien’s 1969 White Paper, in which he proposed to abolish the Indian Act, and deliver true equality under one law for all.

Michael Stephen, Vancouver

‘Words without an action plan are meaningless’

Re: Are Iranian agents targeting Canadian Jews and anti-regime activists with bullets? — Terry Newman, March 4

Once again we are witnessing images of war in the Middle East. Sirens are blaring across the State of Israel and people are fleeing to their safe rooms and shelters.

In Canada, especially in Toronto, a different “war” is being waged by terrorist sympathizers. It is a war of intimidation and fear-mongering aimed at the Jewish community and now also the Iranian community. The violence is escalating. Words of hate and flag burnings have evolved into gunfire. Like so many, I fear for the safety of my loved ones. Here, there are no safe rooms to run to. Here we count on the will of our government leaders and our police to protect us, to take our fears seriously. Do we feel safe? No.

Since the latest gun attack on a Toronto synagogue, political leaders and police officials are crying out once again, “there is no room for antisemitism in our cities.” These are the same individuals who have failed the Jewish community these past two years. They have done little to inhibit or combat the escalating terror we are experiencing. We have heard the words before, but the lack of actions speaks louder than these words.

The Jewish and Iranian communities need more than just verbal assurance from politicians and police that our safety is a priority. This assurance must be backed up with well-thought-out plans that will help keep our families safe. Words voicing concern without an accompanying action plan are meaningless.

Let us hope, here in Canada, that we will never need safe rooms to hide in.

Phyllis Levin, Toronto

Re: What we’ve lost: Friendship — Barbara Kay, March 4

Barbara Kay’s “What we’ve lost” column was a soulful lamentation on the erstwhile Canada many of us grew up in. Many long-term interpersonal relationships have vanished as quickly as sandcastles on a beach.

Internecine rivalries are taking place in the nuclear family. The primary purpose of universities through millennia was to advance knowledge and foster critical thinking while contributing to societal development through research and service, ultimately accentuating personal growth. Unfortunately, technological advances have ironically thwarted the social fabric of our country. Politicization has supplanted any form of nourishment to sustain the Canada we lost. Thank you for presenting a mirror to our new reality.

Norm Zinman, Thornhill, Ont.

Save this sinking ship

Re: Trudeau’s spending hurt his biggest fans — young people — Gwyn Morgan, March 3

Gwyn Morgan’s column should shake every Canadian out of their culturally conditioned complacency.

We are a nation rich in energy and human resources. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government destroyed our advantage with excessive taxes on ordinary workers and businesses, both those that operated in Canada and those that would otherwise invest. It adopted onerous regulations and social-justice policies that contributed to sinking labour productivity, stifled exports and a stagnant per capita GDP — in other words, a shrinking economy. Instead, it created a swollen government and skyrocketing debt.

In the past year, Mark Carney’s Liberal government has generally done nothing to save the sinking ship. Canadians should demand better.

Larry Sylvester, Acton, Ont.

Something missing from drug policy conversations

Re: B.C. ends drug decriminalization, but needs to start charging for possession again: MLA — Donna Kennedy-Glans, Feb. 15

B.C.’s decision to end drug decriminalization invites a deeper question: what, exactly, is our policy goal?

For several years, addiction policy in British Columbia has focused almost exclusively on harm reduction and symptom management. While reducing immediate risk matters, something essential has been missing from the public conversation — the open endorsement of abstinence as a meaningful and legitimate outcome.

Abstinence should not be mandated or indiscriminately coerced. But neither should it be quietly removed from our cultural expectations. When we eliminate the expectation of growth, we risk lowering the ceiling of possibility.

Not everyone will choose or achieve abstinence. But policy should not pre-decide that for them. A compassionate system meets people where they are — and then supports them toward something better, if they want it.

Addiction is not a palliative condition. It is a human struggle that, for many of us, has a pathway forward. Our public policies should reflect that higher vision of human capacity.

Dr. Larry Smith, Parksville, B.C.

Immigration failures ‘unacceptable’

Re: FIRST READING: Overwhelmed by asylum claims, Ottawa coped by ignoring security protocols — Tristin Hopper, Feb. 23; and Canadians now spending $1 billion per year to cover health-care costs of refugee claimants — Tristin Hopper, Feb. 17

The Trudeau government increased the size of the public service by more than 40 per cent yet we consistently read of failures to deliver services by departments such as the Canada Revenue Agency, failures of procurement for the military, failures to appoint a sufficient number of judges to keep our judicial system functioning, failures to improve GDP/capita and failure to keep our national debt at levels that won’t bankrupt future generations. All of these are serious and are having a negative impact on our national standard of life. But the failure outlined in Tristin Hopper’s article transcends all of these by orders of magnitude.

Allowing asylum claimants to remain in Canada without thorough vetting is an abject failure of one of the most important functions of government, which is national security. Unvetted, these thousands of asylum seekers could well have actors within their ranks who wish to inflict harm on our country. We are failing as a nation, little by little, and the blame can be placed squarely on our government.

The challenges posed by U.S. trade policy can be met by Canada, even if with some hardship. The internal rot will require more immediate action by “Canada’s new government” (same as the old).

Tristin Hopper’s article on the recent Parliamentary Budget Officer’s report on the health-care costs for refugee claimants is an utterly devastating summary of the financial ineptitude of the current Liberal government. How is it possible that a prime minister who has been head of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England allows his government pay the health-care premiums of asylum claimants whose cases have already been rejected? This is apparently allowed under the Interim Federal Health Program, which is soon set to hit $1 billion in annual costs. This while six million Canadians or more cannot find a family doctor. This is unacceptable.

Hopper also reports that when the Trudeau Liberals first took power in 2015 there were 16,058 foreign nationals in Canada waiting for their refugee claims to be reviewed. The most recent count indicates a total of 299,614 including thousands of illegal border crossers who entered the U.S. on tourist visas before entering Canada illegally to make a refugee claim. The immigration system and the associated financial controls are totally out of control!

Harry K. Hocquard, King, Ont.

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