Global Courant 2023-05-14 14:30:23
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NP Comment Letters
Readers discuss government censorship, the failure of a ‘safer supply’ for drug addicts and more
Published on May 14, 2023 • Last updated 0 minutes ago • Read 6 minutes
The CRTC has opened a public consultation on a complaint from an LGBTQ rights group asking the broadcast regulator to ban Fox News from cable packages in Canada. Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
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‘This is pure government censorship’
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Subject: CRTC considers banning Fox News from Canadian cable packages — Anja Karadeglija, May 4; and It shouldn’t be for the CRTC to decide whether Canadians can watch Fox — Rex Murphy, May 6
I’m happy to pay an extra small amount into my cable bill each month to subscribe to Fox News. At 85, I’m still quite capable of turning off their programs that I find offensive. The government and interest groups have no right to dictate what I can see or read. We do not live in a dictatorship. This is pure government censorship.
Patrick Delaney, Niagara Falls
While I understand and appreciate that some of the opinions expressed on Fox News by certain correspondents employed by them (or once employed by them) may be considered objectionable by some people or groups, the Petition of Equal Canada be rejected because it amounts to censorship.
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At this point, the CRTC allows all kinds of channels, including porn, which I find distasteful and immoral in line with my deeply held beliefs. But not only do I accept people’s right to watch those broadcasts, but I also defend the right of publishers and producers of such content to have it on the air because, I believe, I live in an apparently free society.
Therefore, removing or otherwise censoring a channel because of the baseless fears or beliefs of a specific group of people is not only irrational, but also incompatible with the rights of other citizens living in a free society.
In addition, it would establish a form of censorship that would make the CRTC the gatekeeper of what is fair and right for every Canadian to watch, and an enemy of the freedoms for which countless thousands of Canadians died fighting.
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Steven Eleftheriadis, North York, Ont.
“What would Trudeau know about conservative voters?”
Re: Trudeau targets Poilièvre in speech to party allegiance at Liberal convention — Ryan Tumilty, May 4
In his address to the Loyal Party at the National Convention of the Liberals, Justin Trudeau claimed, “Many Conservative Canadians feel let down by what the Conservative Party has become. They have not left their party, their party has left them.”
What would Trudeau know about us conservative voters? He has spent the past seven years ignoring our wishes, demonizing us and making life as we know it more difficult – for us and for all Canadians.
If Trudeau really thinks what he and his comrades are doing is “better,” then he really has lost touch with reality. Canada deserves better.
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Corey Needer, Vaughan, Ont.
‘Save us from environmental fanatics’
Re: Trudeau’s war to take things home from the store — Jesse Kline, May 4
There is no doubt that while Canada produces only 1.6 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, we must do our part to combat global warming. However, common sense must be used in our efforts.
That our government has put up roadblocks to supplying us with clean natural gas that can be used to de-coal the world is mind-boggling. The news that the FBI has also targeted and banned fully biodegradable bags that contain no plastic and are made from starch-based polymer simply defies logic.
Soon we will no longer be allowed to put our garbage bags at the curb, but instead we will have to put our garbage in piles for collection by our already overworked sanitation crews. Can someone please save us from the environmentalists.
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Bob Erwin, Ottawa
‘Giving addicts “safe” drugs is unreasonable’
Subject: Drug bust: Liberal government’s ‘safer supplies’ are fueling a new opioid crisis — Adam Zivo, May 9; and Poilièvre accuses the government of contributing to the addiction crisis with a drug strategy — Bryan Passifiume, May 10
The whole concept of giving addicts “safe” drugs is unreasonable. Drug addiction is not a normal condition that needs to be maintained. Drug addicts are generally dependent. They have a tendency to harm themselves, and sometimes others. They are often involved in some form of crime.
The solution to drug addiction is to house addicts where they can’t get drugs, and cure them of their addiction.
Theodore Kass, MD, Victoria
The drug policy for a “safer supply” is yet another half-baked idea of our Liberal government. It makes sense that providing illegal pharmaceutical-grade drugs to addicts will prevent them from using unsafe street drugs. But common sense says you don’t just hand them out to someone who probably lives on the street and needs money. Compare it to programs elsewhere where addicts have to go to a clinic to get his or her “fix” supervised. This interaction not only ensures the (relatively) normal functioning of the addict, but also gives the authority the opportunity to change his or her behavior.
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Robert B. Kalina, Oakville, Ont.
Letters: The history-erasing ‘Trudeau Crown’ shouldn’t have surprised us
Letters – Thoughts on the ‘Trudeau Crown’: We Are Not a ‘Snowflake’ Nation
Choosing our Prime Minister
Subject: ‘People like pomp’: why Canada stays with the monarchy and King Charles — Joseph Brean, May 6
Over the centuries, the monarchy has done much to make Canada a better nation and will continue to do so in the future. But I would trade anything for a system that would allow Canadians, not the governing party, to vote individually to elect the country’s prime minister.
John PA Budreski, Whistler, BC
Is this Jerry Springer’s legacy?
Re: Jerry Springer passed away at age 79 – Dan Sewell, April 27
The in-your-face-trashy The Jerry Springer Show, which began in the early 1990s, is credited with beginning the decline of American television. But has American TV progressed while today’s legacy networks obsess over murder as mass entertainment and dress up their shows as informational documentaries?
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This can be seen every weekend when four real-life murder shows air: NBC’s Dateline and ABC’s 20/20 on Friday nights and CBS’s 48 Hours on Saturday nights, all on prime time, plus a new Dateline on Sunday nights. It’s a far cry from three decades ago when the three networks presented a movie of the week on weekends.
Jacob Mendlovic, Toronto
Tribute to Judge Horace Krever
Re: Judge known for investigating blood donations dies May 94-9
Former Judge Horace Krever, who died in Toronto on April 30, had a remarkable career and made many contributions to Canada as a lawyer, academic and jurist.
One of his most notable accomplishments was leading Canada’s Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System. His recommendations formed the basis of what our blood system is today. Nearly a quarter of a century later, Canadians have access to blood and blood products that are safe and a system that owes much to the principles Krever listed.
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Contrary to many Royal Commissions, Krever’s interim and final reports did not just remain dust on a shelf. They have influenced transformational change here and in many countries around the world. Those changes are still felt today. Canadians, and especially recipients of blood and blood products, owe a debt of gratitude to Horace Krever.
Ian Mumford, Ottawa
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