Foreign minister’s view on Hamas-Israel war ‘far from balanced’
Re: Anita Anand debuts at foreign affairs by doing publicity for Hamas — Carson Jerema, May 15; On Israel, Liberals keep making bad moral decisions — Michael Higgins, May 20; and Carney Liberals give Hamas a pass — Tasha Kheiriddin, May 20
I read with incredulity Carson Jerema’s column regarding new Foreign Minister Anita Anand’s position on Israel and Gaza. It caused me great concern regarding the future and safety of Canadian Jews and Canada’s relationship with Israel.
In her comments made a day after being sworn in, Anand made no mention of the facts that Hamas has held the Palestinian population of Gaza hostage for more than 18 years and that it suppresses and viciously punishes any dissenting voices. She appears unaware that there was a ceasefire, violently ended by Hamas in the early hours of October 7, 2023 with the attack that murdered over 1,200 Israelis and took another 250 hostage. She fails to address the fact that Hamas hijacks aid trucks sent into Gaza for its own use, and sells the food on the black market to its own people for outrageous prices. She neglects to mention the billions of dollars of international aid sent to Gaza over the years and stolen by Hamas for the construction of tunnels and to purchase weapons.
She also fails to mention the multiple attempts over the past 20 years made by Israel to establish a two-state solution. She blindly accepts mortality data in Gaza, supplied by Hamas, while neglecting the fact that many of the Israelis murdered and taken hostage Oct. 7 were strong supporters of the peace process, including the roles they played in transporting Palestinian civilians of Gaza to Israel for health care.
She espouses a balanced view of the crisis, but her view is far from balanced. Her pro-Palestinian opinions are very apparent. She is totally ignorant of the facts and the situation on the ground. There are many of us in the Jewish community who would be happy to educate her.
Gerald Rosenstein, Toronto
Canadians should be very proud! Hamas has congratulated us on our recent foreign policy stance on Israel and Gaza.
It should warm the cockles of every Canadian heart that a terrorist group, dedicated to eradicating a UN-recognized, democratically elected country and its entire civilian population, is in harmony with us.
Gardner Church, Perth, Ont.
Anita Anand may be new to the foreign ministry but she is no rookie and the Israel-Hamas war is not a new issue. That her first order of business was to condemn Israel has to be policy and the explanation for it is obvious. There are more voters who will vote against Israeli interests than for them, regardless of the morality of supporting terrorists versus an allied democracy. The Liberals have, over the years, shown that their only principles are those that will keep them in power.
They have demonstrated this repeatedly over many decades, switching positions on a dime if there are votes to be gained. Carbon tax not popular; axe it. Capital gains tax inclusion rate; kill it. Israel trying to eliminate a terrorist organization that poses an existential threat; condemn it because there are more Muslim votes than Jewish votes. Simple expediency, principles be damned.
John Harris, Toronto
Mark Carney is said to be an intelligent man. However, he lacks wisdom. He is both an elitist and an intellectual and as such, he neither understands nor cares that all people in an entity, in this case, Canada, need to be treated equally, to feel safe in their homes, their places of employment and their houses of worship. This imperative is also lost on the Liberal Party of Canada, where electoral success is their only measurement.
Carney, with his lack of leadership and his appointment of cabinet ministers who cave in to and promote special interests, continues to make Canada an unsafe place for its Jewish citizens. A nation is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. Our Liberal-led government has failed repeatedly to protect Jewish Canadians from crimes of hate. Jews have become the most vulnerable community. Sadly, when the Jews are assailed, it is the Jews who are blamed and the perpetrators who are lauded and protected.
In the past few days, our government has aligned itself with the United Kingdom and France to throw Israel “under the bus” by threatening sanctions if Israel does not stop its assault on terrorism.
To cite a question asked by Jews over the millennia when a society turns against them — “Where do we go from here?”
Eric Bornstein, Toronto
Euthanasia as health care ‘a national disgrace’
Re: FIRST READING: Quebec radio host says assisted suicide is ‘solution’ for the mentally ill — Tristin Hopper, May 21
I was disturbed by the comments made by radio host Luc Ferrandez, who spoke so callously about the life of a disabled woman, “Florence,” who suffers from Prader-Willi syndrome. For 22 years, she was lovingly cared for by her mother. We are given no indication that her life was miserable. Yet, within just two years under provincial health care in Quebec, her situation deteriorated so badly that Ferrandez now suggests her life isn’t worth living. This is both an indictment of our increasingly pathetic health-care system as well as the decreased view of what makes a person valuable.
Canada has rapidly embraced a mindset where lives are only valued if families can provide care — without the help of the state — or if the state deems them worthwhile. While pushback against Ferrandez is encouraging, his view reflects a broader, dangerous trend in our health-care system. Stories like Florence’s are becoming more common as euthanasia becomes a default “solution” for suffering. That is a national disgrace.
Mike Schouten, Chilliwack, B.C.
Culling ostriches would be ‘crime against knowledge’
Re: Over 300 ostriches to be put to death. They may not even be sick — Terry Newman, May 21
Perhaps it takes a comic sensibility to appreciate the absurdity of a legal system burying its head in the sand — like ostriches are (wrongly) believed to do — when it ignores new scientific evidence and condemns healthy ostriches to death. Clearly such a predicament — where defending a legal process becomes more important than delivering a just outcome — is a teachable moment about why the scientific view deserves imitation today.
Science’s greatest utility lies in its self-correcting mechanism. When new evidence arises, new conclusions are adopted and new adaptations incorporated. This is the foundation of scientific integrity. Unfortunately, the law adheres rigidly to precedent. New evidence becomes irrelevant, not because it lacks value, but because it casts doubt on prior judgments. Supposedly, preserving the authority of the court is more important than doing justice — even at the cost of ostriches’ lives.
If the law proceeds with the unnecessary killing of these animals, then, to paraphrase Charles Dickens, “the law is an ass.” Enforcing outdated judgments while ignoring current scientific consensus results in bad laws and corrupts public trust in justice. A judge who ruins the law’s reputation does real damage to society. But that wrong pales in comparison to the greater harm: undermining the advancement of knowledge that could help us address avian flu infections threatening the entire poultry industry. Moreover, such a failure is not just a legal or institutional error — it is a crime against knowledge.
Tony D’Andrea, Toronto
The King’s speech
Re: Royal tour 2025: Here’s what King Charles III and Queen Camilla are doing in Canada — Kenn Oliver, May 21
There’s a great photo, on a traffic signal box in the east end of Hamilton, Ont., of a packed Civic Stadium during the 1939 Royal visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if King Charles III announced during his upcoming visit that the Commonwealth Games, which will celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2030, are coming home to Hamilton, where they originated as the British Empire Games?
David Collier, Hamilton, Ont.
While sober historians may feel a quickening of the pulse when the British king reads the speech from the throne in the Canadian Parliament, I guarantee that it matters not a twiddle to our American adversary or most Canadians. The lofty, but spurious claim that this charade will bolster the appearance of our strength and sovereignty is pure fantasy. The opposite is true. Importing the British monarch strengthens the impression that Canada is
not
a sovereign country, that it is weak and looks to its colonizer for help.
The demise of the current archaic constitutional monarchy is long overdue. It must be put to rest.
Anne Adrian, Vancouver
Liberals should adopt Reform Act
Re: Liberal MPs considering voting for power to trigger leadership review after Trudeau experience — Catherine Lévesque, May 21
It is a sad failing of Canadian media and the Leaders’ Debates Commission that the party leaders were not asked publicly during the recent election campaign whether they would endorse caucus support for adoption of the Reform Act provisions that allow a caucus to remove a party leader.
We elect members of Parliament to represent us in the House. No leader should have the power to short-circuit that representation when it comes to ensuring that government leaders actually enjoy majority support in the House. MPs should not be forced to cross the aisle when, in large numbers, they no longer support their leader. These Reform Act provisions are necessary in order to ensure that Canada remains a democracy between elections.
Furthermore, in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s case in particular, it is difficult to understand why he would even want to carry on as leader if large numbers of his caucus were supporting him only because he was forcing them to do so. He should want to protect himself from the sort of blindness that overwhelmed his predecessor.
Patrick Cowan, Toronto
‘Another anti-oil minister’?
Re: New Canadian resources minister ‘good choice for Alberta’ and oilpatch — Chris Varcoe, May 15 (print)
Columnist Chris Varcoe is no doubt correct that newly appointed Resources Minister Tim Hodgson is an excellent choice for this portfolio given his vast experience in the oil, gas and electrical industries.
However for Prime Minister Mark Carney to name Julie Dabrusin as Environment Minister is totally incongruous given her known anti-oil sentiments. As Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said, Dabrusin appears to be “yet another anti-oil and gas minister.”
Given the opposing views of these two ministers, how can Canadians have confidence in our new PM’s commitment to get Alberta’s resources to world markets?
Harry K. Hocquard, King, Ont.
Don’t like Trudeau’s severance package? Change the rules
Re: Justin Trudeau set to earn more than $8 million in government pensions and severance — Tyler Dawson, May 21
Let me begin by saying this won’t be a popular take — but it needs to be said.
The severance package reportedly available to former prime minister Justin Trudeau is undeniably eye-popping. It has, understandably, sparked anger among Canadians struggling with affordability, housing and economic instability. But here’s the inconvenient truth: that anger is being misdirected.
Trudeau didn’t write the rules that grant departing MPs and prime ministers generous pensions and transition payments — Parliament did. For those who are upset, their quarrel should be with the rules, not the man following them.
This isn’t a defence of Trudeau’s record. It’s a reminder that democratic systems require us to hold the right people accountable. Outrage is easy. Policy reform is harder — but possible. Parliament has changed retirement benefits for MPs before, including in 2012, when eligibility was tightened and contributions increased.
If we believe these compensation rules are out of step with public expectations, let’s demand that MPs revisit them. Let’s pressure our lawmakers — regardless of party — to bring fairness and fiscal discipline to the system. But vilifying individuals for following the law misses the point and undermines serious debate.
Louis-Philippe Noël, Montmagny, Que.
Pope Leo XIV a counter-balance to Trump
Re: Praying that Leo XIV is the Pope we need now — Fr. Raymond J. de Souza, May 11
The election of a pope of American nationality is the Vatican’s response to Donald Trump. His all-out trade war, his catastrophic cuts to international aid, and his aggressive anti-immigration policies directly affect many Catholics in the world’s poorest countries, particularly in South America, where Leo XIV worked for more than 20 years.
The American pope will deliver a humanist discourse in contrast to the anti-humanist one of Trump. He will particularly seek the support of recently converted Catholic Vice-President JD Vance and believers who voted in large numbers for the Republicans (62 per cent of Americans are believers, and 19 per cent of them are Catholic). The 47th president will likely be quietly criticized by the 267th pope, but the former will not be able to respond too harshly, as this would be frowned upon by Christians.
The world’s approximately 1.3 billion Catholics could not hope for a better choice than Leo XIV as pope. This recalls the extraordinary election of John Paul II in 1978, which gave a democratic boost to his native Poland and helped bring down the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe.
Sylvio Le Blanc, Montreal
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