Kudos to Liberal rebel Housefather for speaking out on antisemitism

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‘Cross the floor, sir. Or sit as an Independent’

Re: I’m proud to be a Zionist — Anthony Housefather, March 27

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Thank you to Anthony Housefather for speaking passionately for Canadians. Considering the Liberals’ scurrilous actions, it’s overdue that the handful of courageous MPs abandon this foundering ship posthaste.

Stephen Cohen, Westmount, Que.

The Liberal party and our PM have shown that they care less for maintaining the safety of Jewish communities in this country, than pandering for votes. At best, they are fair-weather friends of Israel and Jews in Canada and worldwide.

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I agree with my MP, Anthony Housefather: Action is needed, not just empty words. Cross the floor, sir. Or sit as an Independent.

Mark Sidloi, Cote Saint Luc, Que.

I am a WASP. I am a right-leaning fiscal conservative. I used to be a proud Canadian but I cannot believe what this country has become. I feel helpless to defend my many Jewish friends as I am too old to carry a sign or defend myself at protests. The only action available to me, unfortunately, is my vote and I am seeking a statesperson who will lead us out of this mess. I would vote for Mr. Housefather in a heartbeat, no matter what his political affiliation.

Russ Snyder, Burlington, Ont.

Universities may be awash in woke but they will survive

Re: Our rotten, rotting universities — Jordan Peterson, March 26

It is a bit pessimistic to say that Canada’s elite universities are whale carcasses. In my opinion, they are throbbing leviathans trapped in the fishing gear of woke policies. Although the various political nets and lines in which they are entangled may hamper their performance somewhat, they have more than enough energy to remain alive.

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Bruce Couchman, Ottawa

Feds should jettison ‘pointless’ gun grab

Re: Ottawa has already spent $42M on a Liberal gun ‘buyback’ that still doesn’t exist — Bryan Passifiume, March 25

With government program spending at record levels and Canadians stretched to simply buy the basic necessities of life, it’s clear that the time has come to end the pointless “gun buyback” initiative.

Law-abiding gun owners aren’t going to voluntarily sell their firearms to the government, and criminals with illegal guns won’t be turning in theirs either.

As a taxpayer I would rather see this money directed to the police and the Canada Border Services Agency, whose efforts at getting illegal guns off the streets have been far more successful. In lieu of this, put the funds back into the social services programs from where, I suspect, the money used to finance this boondoggle was expropriated.

Barry McKeon, London

Politicians on a plane

Re: We asked Canadians: Which party leader would you least like to sit beside on a plane? — Stuart Thompson, April 1

Regarding which politician we would rather have sitting next to us on a plane, perhaps it would be better to sit next to Justin Trudeau. He travels to all sorts of interesting places. Alas, there may be significant delay in the return flight while another plane comes to get him.

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After some thought, my preference would probably be Jagmeet Singh. Sitting next to someone who wears a Rolex means that I can afford the first-class tickets.

Does this seating arrangement come with the requirement to talk to them?

Rabbi Sean Gorman, Toronto

Forcing soldiers to depend on food donations a national disgrace

Re: Soldiers had to rely on food donations because of lack of military support during Ottawa training — David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen, April 2

The fact that Canadian soldiers in Ottawa had to depend on food donations so as to not go hungry is a disgrace. We get this news while Justin Trudeau hands out money in his “Let’s Make a Deal” pre-budget tour. I’m sure Canadians would have preferred if the millions the Liberals wasted on the ArriveCan debacle had been spent instead on our military personnel. At a time when the Canadian Armed Forces can’t recruit enough people to defend Canada, is our prime minister launching a new recruitment marketing strategy: Join the Canadian Armed Forces and starve?

Chris Robertson, Stony Plain, Alta.

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B.C. professors respond to comment piece

Re: B.C. profs using Selina Robinson to spread anti-Jewish propaganda on campus — Zara Nybo, March 12

The letter cited in Zara Nybo’s comment piece was not signed by any individuals as alleged, but rather by three national organizations: the Palestinian-Canadian Academics and Artists Network, Faculty for Palestine, and the Jewish Faculty Network (and its UBC Chapter). The word “colonizer” does not appear in the letter. Rather, we refer to Zionism as a “settler colonial” project to describe Israeli state structure, which does not negate the ancient presence of Jews in historic Palestine. Never does the letter depict all Jews in Israel as “European settlers;” it is a historical fact that many Israeli Jews are not from Europe, while others came from Europe as refugees. The term “European settlers” appears in reference to Selina Robinson’s claim that Palestine was “a crappy piece of land” that flourished only when European settlers brought “civilization” and “modernity.”

This commentary charges that our letter, drafted by dozens of Jewish scholars, is “highly antisemitic,” yet provides no supporting evidence. The biographical note states that the author is a “media fellow with Allied Voices for Israel and HonestReporting Canada.” This program funds students to “proactively submit opinion commentaries and press releases to steer the conversation about Israel.” Indeed.

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Jewish Faculty Network Steering Committee, Jewish Faculty Network (UBC chapter)

CBC defends $15M in staff bonuses

Re: CBC ruthlessly cuts jobs as executives take $15 million in bonuses — Rachael Thomas, April 2

CBC is not “ruthlessly” cutting jobs. The public broadcaster, like every media company in Canada, is trying to balance its budget in the face of declining advertising revenue and rising costs, and to do that while protecting the services Canadians depend on. That’s why it announced in December 2023 that if the situation did not improve, it would have to cut 800 positions in the 2024–2025 fiscal year.

Criticizing “executives” and “bonuses” ignores the 1,143 non-union employees, starting with junior analysts, who have part of their compensation dependent on their performance, and who don’t get paid overtime or receive union-negotiated pay increases. As most businesses know, performance pay helps companies stretch to meet their targets.

Claiming CBC is failing because of its traditional TV “viewership” ignores how people consume media today. Fewer people watch conventional TV, but 18 million Canadians use CBC’s digital platforms each month; many others tune in to its radio shows (ranked #1 in 16 out of 22 markets) and tens of millions of podcasts are downloaded monthly; others stream its shows on CBC Gem or YouTube. That’s how we serve all Canadians today.

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The number of corrections published by CBC News is not proof of “lack of journalistic standards.” It is actually proof that there are standards, clearly followed and shared with the public. That’s why Canadians trust CBC News.

CBC’s job is to ensure Canadians can get the news they depend on; that three million people can celebrate Canadian musicians at the Juno Awards, as they did last month; or cheer on their Olympic and Paralympic athletes this summer in Paris. All that and more for $33 per Canadian per year. That’s Canada’s public broadcaster.

Shaun Poulter, Executive Director, Strategy, Public Affairs, and Government Relations at CBC/Radio-Canada

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