Jean Vanier during a press conference in London in 2015, where he was announced as the winner of the 2015 Templeton Prize.JUSTIN TALLIS
Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com
..................................................................................................................................
‘Our desire to belong’
Jean Vanier was one of my heroes (L’Arche Founder Jean Vanier Transformed The Lives Of People With Disabilities – May 8). I was lucky to have interviewed him many times over my television career. It became an Easter tradition to have a conversation with him from France on Midday on the CBC, and from the first time I heard his voice in my ear, it had a profound impact.
He had such clear and compassionate beliefs, and such a powerful message of love, hope and inclusion. I was so happy to finally meet him on one of his visits to Toronto. He was tall, with a great beak of a nose, and a very warm smile.
I remember reading my children a story from one of his books about a little girl who was dying, who said to her grieving mother something like, “Don’t be sad. I still have a heart to love my mummy with.” I can still barely read those words, they are so true and so heartbreaking.
Jean was very intelligent, but he was all heart – and demanded no more of us than that. He told me, “We may think that our greatest need is to be loved, but the even deeper, more universal need, is our desire to belong.” The hairs stood up on the back of my neck. Talk about the ring of truth.
I have thought about that so many times in my life, and repeated it in many speeches about mental illness and dealing with change. We want to belong. Include people. Love each other.
Jean Vanier was an extraordinary, yet humble person. A Canadian who inspired the world.
Valerie Pringle, Toronto
............................................
Almost 50 years ago, when I was 19, my twin brother, David, died. He was intellectually challenged, and I remember my father saying that he thought it was a blessing in disguise, as he and my mother could not imagine how it would be when David was 40, or 50, or 60. I like to think, had he survived, that we would have discovered L’Arche. I think my brother would have thrived there. It would also have given my parents some peace of mind, which is no small thing, and an aspect of the effect of Jean Vanier’s work that is often overlooked.
Nigel Brachi, Edmonton
Cognitive dissonance?
Re U.S. Pushes Canada To Buy American-Built Fighter Jets (May 8): Cognitive dissonance anyone? The U.S. government wants Canada to buy American weapons rather than those of its European competitors because of Canadian participation in NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command), a joint security defence network. Yet, the same American government is imposing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, as our country poses a national security risk to the United States.
Which is it?
Brian Caines, Ottawa
Ecocidal trajectory
Re Be Nice To Mother Nature Or We’re Dead (editorial, May 8): How about putting news of the environmental catastrophe, including Monday’s UN report on imminent species extinction, into the Report on Business? Until business leaders get it through their heads that business-as-usual is killing us, we won’t correct our ecocidal trajectory. Profiting from the exploitation and destruction of nature is the deadliest of our human sins.
Chris Rapson, Toronto
............................................
A letter writer notes that humans have only been around for some 300,000 years, and in that short time, our behaviour on Earth has put a million species in jeopardy (On A Planetary Scale – May 8).
I don’t think the 300,000 figure really captures it. The Industrial Revolution started around 1750, so it’s only taken us humans about 270 years to threaten the existence of a million species.
Don Cooper, Toronto
Trading with a dragon
Re China Ignores Overtures From Ottawa Amid Huawei Dispute (May 8): The fact that China can use its economic muscle to prove a Goldwynism (“If people don’t want to come, nothing will stop them”) is in large part a reflection of the failure of successive Canadian governments to implement an international trade strategy that addresses the fragility of relying on authoritarian partners.
Years ago, I was associated with a Canadian manufacturer whose products became very popular in China, so much so that the opportunity for significant expansion beckoned. Nevertheless, a corporate decision was then made to limit export sales to any one country (other than the United States) to not more than 10 per cent of production. Over the long term, that decision proved correct and the viability of the company was enhanced.
It is time for the Canadian government to follow suit and mandate the cross-industry reduction of sales to China to levels that will prevent the marketing crises that canola, soybean and pork producers now face. Until the necessary policies are articulated and implemented, obviously the government should continue to provide financial assistance to producers. However, that assistance should be funded by a tax on the entry of all Chinese goods and services into the country.
George Stevens, Vancouver
............................................
Re We Have To Get Tough On China’s Trade Tactics (May 4): Former diplomat Lawrence Herman suggests that we have laws on the books that can be used to restrict trade with China, and that these laws should be applied.
Perhaps so, but how practical is that?
A staggering number of the non-food items Canadians buy are made in China. For many of these, there are few alternatives. Any surcharge on these imports will increase the cost to consumers in Canada. It will add to inflation, which would lead to an increase in interest rates, and soon to recession.
China can be tough because it knows it has us over a barrel. Our government knows it, too, and that is why we are seeing diplomacy and no effective action.
Sudhir Jain, Calgary
Waiting, waiting, waiting
Re Millions Unable To Reach Federal Government On The Phone, Auditor-General Reports (May 8): The Auditor-General has found that accessing government services via telephone requires patience. We are shocked! Alas, if only the Auditor-General were available to shine his spotlight on comparable services provided by the banks, telecos, and other monoliths Canadians are forced to deal with.
Most notable are the report’s findings regarding Stephen Harper’s brainchild department, Shared Services Canada, which is responsible for call centre modernization. In five years, SSC has redone eight of its 221 call centres. This rate of progress can be extrapolated to a completion date some time around 2152 – assuming telephones are still around then.
If this is not enough evidence that the shared-services model needs to be completely demolished and replaced, maybe inclusion of the Phoenix pay system and government e-mail transformation initiatives would bolster the case.
Jeff Wright, Belleville, Ont.