On guard on the Hill after a gunman infiltrated Parliament last week.Andrew Burton/Getty Images
In the aftermath of last week's deadly attacks, the government is pushing its agenda for increased police powers. Readers, print and digital, many disputing the 'terrorist' narrative, worry about about the erosion of Canadian values
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Alarmed by the government's plans to boost police powers in response to security threats, 15 privacy and information commissioners acknowledge that "security is essential to maintaining our democratic rights" but suggest that "the response to such events must be measured and proportionate, and crafted so as to preserve our democratic values" (Terror Fight Turns To Internet – Oct. 30).
Can someone remind me of a single instance in which the Harper government has crafted anything to preserve our democratic values?
Kate Lynch, Toronto
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Privacy commissioners wring their hands over increased police powers. That's their job. Police want more powers. That's their job. Our job is to balance the conflict. Sometimes one side is right, sometimes the other. This time, my vote is with the police. Give them the powers they want. Even Justin Trudeau, Mr. Root Causes himself, is calling last week's murder of two soldiers terrorism.
Michael James, Edmonton
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Having wrapped ourselves for so long in the myth of our much-vaunted superior Canadian values and carefully contrived national image of "nice," let's look at ourselves in the mirror and stop our pretentious rhetoric of Canada having been forever changed. That happened 44 years ago with the FLQ crisis. Our memories are conveniently short.
E.W. Bopp, Tsawwassen, B.C.
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To the RCMP, every event is a politically motivated attack by terrorists – despite evidence pointing to mentally disturbed perpetrators. Mental-health issues, from the problem of PTSD in the military to the underfunding of preventative mental-health measures, have been largely ignored by this government.
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, while influenced by world events, suffered from significant mental symptoms that might well have predicted the course of action that he pursued. Those who were aware of his bizarre behaviour were impotent to do anything to alter the inevitable tragedy.
Improving security at the Parliament buildings will help prevent further desecration of our hallowed institution, but will do little to prevent similar events in other venues.
Robert F. Nelson, Ottawa
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There will always be boundaries and there are checks and balances in place through the Justice Minister. Unless you're a complete fool and wish to participate in some jihad and brag or chat about it, why worry? A caught terrorist beats a bunch of dead Canadians from any walk of life.
Graham Mayes, Ottawa
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Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney told the House that "The first responsibility of the government is to keep Canadians safe."
This is a dangerous deception. It has been the pretext for despots since time immemorial to usurp power and turn a government into something far more dangerous than any supposed "threat" to our "safety."
The first responsibility of a free country's government is to keep the country free. That means keeping us safe by protecting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and due process of law; it means no secret or "pre-emptive" or "pre-crime" arrests and detentions.
If Mr. Blaney knows anything about history, he surely knows that what the citizens of any country need most is the freedom to be able to protect themselves from government abuse and criminality.
Eric J. Partikian, Powell River, B.C.
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First the government makes it easier to buy a weapon, and then laws are placed in the name of security to curtail everyone's liberty.
Hassaan Ahmed, Leeds, England
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One guy in Ottawa has destroyed privacy and liberty for the entire country. Are our rights really that capricious? Not long ago we as a nation ardently opposed the same cyberbullying bill.
Tyler Swagar, Victoria
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A man with self-confessed mental problems shoots up Parliament Hill and kills a soldier, and the government throws money at CSIS and anti-terrorism laws.
What is it in the political psyche that doesn't want to touch mental illness? Treating a shooter with mental illness as a "terrorist" is like being attacked by Saudi nationals and retaliating by attacking – oh, I don't know, pick somewhere – say, Iraq?
Martin Gover, Richmond, B.C.
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Stephen Harper and Thomas Mulcair are having a futile argument over whether to dub the Ottawa shooter "a terrorist." The Opposition should be asking much harder questions about how the Conservatives have mismanaged public-security issues, from prisons to Parliament Hill.
There should be resignations by ministers, ranking public security officers, and an apology from the government.
How a shooter carrying a deer-hunting rifle could move 300 metres from the Cenotaph to Centre Block, without being stopped by a security officer of any of the four agencies that had jurisdiction along his path, is absolutely baffling to me!
I demand security in our nation's capital.
Philip Duguay, Boston
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Stephen Harper is resurrecting his approval ratings on the compassion he has shown in the face of the recent "terrorist" attacks. Now the government is moving with haste to invest more money into searching out those whose disaffection with their lives and our society might draw them toward hostile acts.
Where was Mr. Harper's compassion when Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, on at least two occasions, begged for help in dealing with his addictions and was turned away?
Where is the call for improved programs to support those seeking support and rehabilitation? They are the ones who are drawn to violence out of anger at being abandoned by those who should have offered them help.
H.C. Turner, Edmonton
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ON REFLECTION Letters to the editor
'Wads of cash' on offer
Re New Tax Cuts Include Income-Splitting, $60-A-Month Hike In Child Care Benefit (Oct. 31): I cannot believe – and I say this as the parent of two very young children – that after years of belt-tightening, job cuts and being adamant that the priority was to get our collective fiscal house in order, our federal government, at the first sign of "surplus dollars," is mailing out wads of cash just prior to the start of an election campaign.
What era of politics is this?
What kind of country do we live in?
Adam Green, Ottawa
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Not just for the rich
As a parent of a young family and sole income earner with an annual salary of less than $50,000, I strongly resent the Liberals and New Democrats portraying the income-splitting issue as benefiting only the wealthy.
Our family would greatly benefit from the Conservative legislation proposed this week.
I believe both Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair are misreading Canadian sentiment on this issue to their own political peril.
Michael Zwiep, Ridgeville, Ont.
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Leave the bullet holes
Re Bullets On The Hill (letters, Oct. 31): I recently returned from a trip to the Baltic region. There was battle damage, courtesy of the Russians, to buildings left unrepaired (deliberately) in Helsinki; ditto in St. Petersburg, courtesy of the Germans.
It gave the buildings character, as well as reminding the people what happened.
I say leave the damage to the Parliament buildings alone!
Jim Norfolk, Saint John
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There are better ways
There are much less traumatic and respectful ways to mark that tragic day in our history than by leaving bullet holes.
Clean up the House as a reminder to all who serve our country that we respect their contributions to Canada, and that we are dedicated to keeping them safe.
Yes, we should commemorate the day – but not in a way that could retraumatize all those who were affected.
Lindsay C. Goertzen, Kelowna, B.C.