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Wrong priorities
Mayor Gondek and her like-minded councillors have plenty of money for a climate emergency, but none for a community pool.
Dale McGonigal, Calgary
‘Amicable’ protests allowed to remain
I think some perspective might be in order when it comes to pro-Palestinian protestors and encampments dotting Canadian universities. These occupations are now under a legal microscope as to whether the institutions of higher learning have the right to evict gated pop-ups on university grounds.
This past week, I stopped briefly at a protest along the Trans Canada highway just west of Calgary. The “axe the tax” protestors have been at the Highway 22 site since April Fools Day when the carbon tax jumped 23%. It’s inconceivable their demands will be met until there’s a new government in Ottawa, but they remain committed to their cause.
In talking with the tax protestors, it was clear they have no interest in being confrontational. That would only detract from their cause. There were no demands for negotiation or defunding and the protestors were on amicable terms with police. In fact, there were no police in sight. Authorities dictated what was and wasn’t permitted and the protestors followed the rules.
Noon News Roundup
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As I left the protestors and their highway encampment, it was easy to recognize that a little honey opened far more doors than it closed.
Paul Baumberg, Dead Man’s Flats
‘Shocked’ by harsh response to encampment
At a university, people should be able to express themselves and debate important issues without police intervention.
Our premier was “glad” to have a pro-divestment encampment at the U of C dismantled by police. As supporters of free expression and nonviolent action, we are shocked and disappointed at this harsh response. Glad? Anything but.
Trudy Govier, past president, on behalf of Calgary Ploughshares Society board
Taking issue with protest opinion
Justice Sheila Greckol’s “University must answer for use of force” reveals her numerous blind spots.
A few examples: No one would quarrel with her assertions that students have a right to demonstrate and express pro-Palestinian views, and that “Fortunately … citizens are free to walk …” the paths of their universities. Such being the case, how does she fail to condemn the erection of barriers which prevent those with opposing views from entering, walking and expressing themselves peacefully? Do those cherished rights pertain only to those with the “correct” ideas?
Greckol calls claims of the infiltration of outside troublemakers spin. How then to explain the rapid and organized appearance of physical barriers, tents and infrastructure on campuses? Or are these the normal accoutrements of student life?
The author praises our youth for their engagement and idealism and so do I. It’s OK to be angry but also very important to know who to be angry at! May I suggest Hamas is an appropriate object of ire and opprobrium?
Greckol grandiosely claims that “… the encampment modelled solidarity between Palestinian, Jewish and Indigenous communities…” Actually, what it modelled was solidarity between like-minded individuals of varying backgrounds to the exclusion of those who think otherwise.
Finally, Greckol suggests dialogue instead of police intervention. Why would anyone negotiate with those who have taken university campuses hostage? And how’s that approach working out at McGill or the University of Toronto?
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Dr. Herbert L. Cohen and Carolyn Hedmann, Calgary
We elected people to lead, let them do it
Re: Calgarians, give us your vote, not your opinion, May 22
When I saw this headline, I hoped that Chris Nelson was going to take the UCP to task for its many self-serving actions that most Albertans don’t want: continuing to push for and waste tax dollars on an Alberta Pension Plan; hindering municipal, university, and other provincially controlled bodies’ access to federal funding; allowing party affiliations in municipal elections; banning electronic vote tabulators; sponsoring a panel of four discredited “experts” to explain how the COVID vaccine is killing children, a claim that is also discredited. The list goes on and on.
But, no, Nelson was targeting Mayor Gondek and other councillors who voted in favour of blanket rezoning. At least they were addressing a real issue, not ones that would increase their power or their chance of being re-elected. Even saying that councillors are elected to make “difficult decisions” and ones that may “lead to some ramifications” for councillors who voted for the change is disparaged by Nelson.
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Doing what they think is best for Calgary and Calgarians is somehow a negative thing for our elected officials to do.
Linda O’Hanlon, Calgary
Never forget
Re: Churchill statue a relic of the past, Letters, May 22
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned as Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1940 due to ill health. Thus Churchill was the ‘man of the hour’. If it was not for him, we would be speaking German.
Churchill fought for Britain and the Commonwealth. Chamberlain did not communicate with King George VI, whereas Churchill had weekly meetings with the king. During a raid on London, Churchill would come up from the bunker, stand and watch. He would not give up. What does Eric Groody know about history when he can relegate Churchill to the attic?
We should be privileged to have a statue of Churchill. I was born in 1936. You would be amazed what I remember of the last world war. History we should not erase. What did Eisenhower say in Auchshwitz? “Take pictures, take pictures. History will want to erase.”
Hilda Onions, Calgary
Religion and responsibility
Re: Time to end tax exemption for religious properties, Opinion, May 14
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Columns of this nature should not come as a surprise as the phrase “recognize the supremacy of God” in the Canadian Charter is an irritant to humanists and secularists who promote the Marxist view that religion is evil. As a result, persistent arguments are brought forward with the aim of eliminating religious organizations and attacking tax exemption is just one of them.
Religions have in common that people are held responsible for their actions by a higher authority. Imperfect as that is executed in practical terms, it beats the nowadays prevailing self-centred “Me” attitude along with blaming others for injustices of past and present.
Theo van Besouw, Calgary
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