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Various cuts of beef in the meat section at an Atlantic Superstore grocery in Halifax on Jan. 28.Kelly Clark/The Canadian Press
The good, the bad…
Re Peace, Order And Good Government (Editorial, July 1): In Canada, we see a federal government with competence and ethics issues; Quebec with divisive religious and language laws; Conservative politicians working to take away our social freedoms; Doug Ford’s Ontario re-election in spite of an unprecedented list of nasty or mistaken actions; and once again, no Stanley Cup for a Canadian hockey team.
We’ve had difficult times before. However, the above set particularly worries me. Let’s focus on what matters and work together to get back in the game.
Peter Hambly Hanover, Ont.
Re Acknowledging Canada’s Past Blemishes Is Cause For Hope, Not Despair (July 1): So well expressed and a great reminder of what should make us proud.
I believe that we need to accept our faults, improve and build onward. Both positives and negatives created this country, which is a wonderful place to live.
Erika McDonald London, Ont.
Action plan
Re Two Ottawa Cultures In Need Of Fixing (Editorial, June 30): As we cautiously rebuild social lives, this editorial is a promising conversation starter. Which two? Only two? My guess: the RCMP and the military.
Government benefits from our inability to multitask outrage. The third report in seven years by a former Supreme Court justice confirmed (re-reconfirmed?) widespread sexual misconduct in the military – which seemed to crowd out evidence of significant military links to far-right extremism.
Likewise, RCMP shortcomings in Nova Scotia should not overshadow patterns of frequent and tragic outcomes in interactions with Indigenous, minority and vulnerable people.
These attitudes and behaviours, perhaps of a minority, should spur analysis across security organizations with common hierarchies and rigid codes of secrecy. Toxic internal cultures contribute to public misbehaviour.
The Arbour military report focuses on better identification and prosecution. Less prominent recommendations to improve recruiting and promotion should be implemented and, if successful, also applied to the RCMP and other police forces.
Chester Fedoruk Toronto
Shelter and safety
Re Intimate Partner Violence Should Be Declared An Epidemic, Inquest Jury Says (June 29): Reporter Molly Hayes’s excellent account of recommendations made by the inquest jury regarding femicide in Renfrew County makes for chilling reading. The list includes enhanced funding for intimate partner violence programs and stricter conditions for serial offenders.
In our new book, we explore one such femicide from 1963 in rural Eastern Ontario. A former United Church minister massacred four women in his family and then tried to flee. His estranged wife had been without any money to escape his wrath. These recommendations would have helped this defenceless woman and her children.
Further, despite our horror at these regular acts of violence, there is a tendency to forget victims while the names of perpetrators remain vivid in the public consciousness. The “epidemic” of intimate partner violence must end and named perpetrators, who are made both infamous and famous by their acts, should be silenced in media reports.
Sharon Anne Cook and Margaret Carson Authors, The Castleton Massacre: Survivors’ Stories of the Killins Femicide; Ottawa
Moral compass
Re Employers Should Look Out For Moral Injury (Report on Business, June 28): The last thing we should have in our subjective, personalized culture is any misuse of terms such as “moral.” Not only do I believe that “moral injury” destroys our understanding of “moral” or a “moral vision” – such a term can mean anything, or nothing, or whatever we want it to mean.
To protect employees, we need just standards. No doubt there will be debate on “just,” but the key thing should be standards.
Robert Girvan Toronto
Well over a decade ago, we surveyed staff in Scandinavian and Canadian long-term care homes.
Canadians were more than four times as likely as their Norwegian counterparts to say they almost always went home mentally exhausted, and more than five times as likely to say that the work almost always kept them awake at night. Canadians were twice as likely as their Danish counterparts to say they felt inadequate in terms of the care they were able to provide.
The main differences between Canadian and Scandinavian care homes were not in the residents, but rather in staffing levels and staff autonomy, which allowed care providers to exercise their skills in responding to resident needs. Things have only gotten worse since our survey.
Following the physician Paul Farmer, we named it structural violence: the structures that prevent people from reaching their potential. Today it is being called moral injury.
Pat Armstrong FRSC; professor emeritus, York University; Toronto
Where’s the beef?
Re Health Canada Finalizes Plan For Warning Labels On Foods, Grants Exemption To Ground Meat (July 1): Is butter, whipping cream, margarine, olive oil and indeed any other oil going to have a label stating “high in fat”? Is sugar going to say high in carbs? Or salt high in sodium? Likely not, for the same reason ground beef is exempt from Health Canada’s new labelling system.
Prepared foods, say a meat pie made up of not only high-fat ground beef, but fat in the crust and fat in the gravy, should have their high fat content pointed out. As should things like eclairs, puff pastry and salad dressings.
Health Canada should highlight excessive amounts of harmful ingredients where a choice could be made to produce more moderate results. But when it comes to things such as butter, cream, sugar, salt or, yes, ground beef, letting consumers make informed decisions by printing the nutritional ingredients should be enough.
It’s the sneaky food items we need to watch.
Pamela Pastachak Fort Erie, Ont.
Public good
Re B.C. Woman Turns The Page After Family Library Filled With Religious Texts (June 29): A Little Free Library: Call it a neighbourhood book exchange instead.
Every time a box on a pole full of unwanted, slightly damp James Patterson paperbacks gets called a library, my librarian heart breaks a little. Starting from a traditional role in developing literacy and reading skills, public libraries have responded to community needs in many different ways, from providing technology training and digital access, to helping newcomers adjust and aiding people in finding jobs. Or simply providing a welcoming space out of the cold or heat for those who need it.
All this while facing challenges around issues such as funding and freedom of expression. Book exchanges are a delightful addition to any neighbourhood. But please don’t call them libraries.
Peter Bailey MLIS, Edmonton
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