Innocents being labelled terrorists
Great to see Maher Arar mentioned in your top 10 news stories of 2015 (NOW, December 24-January 6).
Your readers may be interested in a related story. Two days before Christmas, Jose Figueroa, a student activist in 1980s El Salvador, walked out of the church in Langley, BC, where he had been forced to take sanctuary for two years. His case highlights the gaping holes in Canada’s admissibility policy, under which many innocent people are being deported. Many are victims of state terror.
On behalf of the We Are Jose campaign, I would like to thank those people in the GTA who attended and/or performed in our fundraising concerts, donated money, signed our petitions and helped raise awareness.
The Harper government should be condemned for ignoring the plight of this family and others like them who are unfairly tarred with the “terrorist” label.
Robert Graham, Toronto
Enbridge springs leak on Line 9
Enbridge spokesperson Graham White states that Line 9 is “not currently transporting” heavy crudes or diluted bitumen (NOW, December 24-January 6). The fact is that Line 9 has been approved to carry dilbit [diluted bitumen]. It is just a matter of time until it starts doing so.
The risks of this are well known. Pipeline expert Richard Kuprewicz has predicted that there is a chance of a spill within five years, putting the drinking water of millions of people at risk.
A recent report from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences has also warned that dilbit behaves like conventional oil in the first few days following a spill, but then quickly degrades or weathers into a substance that, due to its chemical and physical properties, defies conventional methods of cleanup and recovery.
It is for these reasons that people are continuing to take direct action to stop the pipeline.
Miriam Garfinkle, Toronto
Misplaced exuberance for Youth
I have always admired and respected Susan Cole, but holy eyeballs, did she mislead with her review of Youth (NOW, December 10-16).
Yes, the scenery was beautifully shot and the orchestral music in the last five minutes was lovely, but neither of those things will ever make up for the tedium and banality of the film.
Harvey Keitel, whom I normally like, gave nothing. Michael Caine was just annoying. And Jane Fonda – whoa!!
She was unbearable, hardly “ferocious” as Cole proclaimed. But, then, she had a terrible script that sounded like it was written by eight-year-olds. I couldn’t get out of the cinema fast enough.
Zoe Chilco, Toronto
La-la land’s weather got nothing on T.O.
Brian Wakil wrote all the way from Los Angeles recently (NOW, December 17-23) to say how much he appreciates NOW, noting that he hasn’t missed Toronto’s winters at all during the 25 years he’s been away.
The good news is that with just a little help from global warming, our winters will be 5 to 7° Celsius warmer in 25 years. That’s the projected increase in Toronto’s Future Weather & Climate Driver Study: Outcomes Report, prepared by the city in October 2012. Hang in there!
Frank Grossman, Willowdale
Fair labour laws lost
The amount the banks donated to the CBC’s food drive, considering their profits, is laughable (NOW, December 17-23). Agreed. And, yes, corporate taxes should be fairer. But what ought to be emphasized when talking about issues of poverty is the need to reinstate fair labour laws.
There’s nothing wrong with profits if they’re acquired fairly, with responsible use of resources and fair compensation (meaning a comfortable wage and good working conditions) for the people who contributed to acquiring those profits.
Liz Kalman, Toronto
Israeli-Palestinian war by the numbers
Re Chaos Theory, by Mira Sucharov (NOW, December 10-16). Since mid-September of this year, fewer than 20 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians, while 114 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis, plus about 5,800 injured, many of them children, press or medical personnel. The ratio of Palestinian to Israeli injured and dead shows which side is the oppressor.
Karin Brothers, Toronto
Time to get out of Syria
I enjoyed Scott Taylor’s In The End, Canada Did Cut And Run (NOW, November 12-18) and feel that it is right for Canada to reduce its commitments in a faraway, endless civil war. Many Western economies are still reeling from catastrophic debt brought on in part from earlier illegal and quixotic adventures abroad. Risking lives and treasure in Syria is just not in Canada’s national interest. It’s time to disengage from the region and focus on the home front.
Michael Pravica, Toronto
Fudger House facts
I have just now read Waving A Rainbow Flag Over Poor Communities, by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj (NOW, October 26, 2015).
The article states that “Fudger House, a long-term home with a long and successful record of serving the local LGBT population, will also be closed” under the George Street proposal. This was not included in the George Street proposal, to my knowledge, nor was it in the most recent Capital Plan. Certainly, the LGBTQ community worries about the possible closing of Fudger someday, but to have such a plan stated so unequivocally here does not seem to match the available information.
Eleanor Batchelder, Chair, Senior Pride Network, Committee on Fudger House, Toronto
