High, higher, highest, sold
One of the changes that was discussed during talks with Competition Commissioner Melanie Aitken would have allowed homeowners to list on MLS but handle offers without the help of an agent (Watchdog's Tough Stand On MLS Puts Others On Notice - Feb. 10).
Kahnawake conumdrum
First Nations have had to live within Canada's laws, which they did not create and which continue to marginalize them. If they choose to keep their reservations for their people (and there are good reasons for this that have nothing to do with discrimination and everything to do with maximizing limited health care and education funding), we should remember who set up this system.
Kahnawake conumdrum
Indian status and band membership were separated because communities feared population increases resulting from Bill C-31. Given a limited land base, housing, and funding, communities had difficulty servicing existing members. No new government funding led to policy challenges and the resulting separation of status and band membership.
Name that ... name
Murtaza Haider is spot on when he advises Miangul Akbar Zeb not to get upset about translations of his name (What's In A Name, Blush - letters, Feb. 12). There are so many living languages on Earth that everyone's name must mean something odd somewhere. I am, for example, a bird's beak, an invoice, and a piece of proposed legislation - and that's without the hazards of translation.
Been there, read that
I've read Paul Waldie's frustrated depiction of relief efforts before (When Good Intentions Go Bad - Feb. 10). This time it's Haiti, but the same story of expectations dashed came out during the Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the Pakistan earthquake and virtually every other disaster in recent memory.
What kids like
Rick Groen made it clear he didn't like Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Not So Much As A Spark, Let Alone A Bolt - Review, Feb. 12). I suspect this won't faze the film's intended audience: They've already read Rick Riordan's entertaining and well-written book, so Mr. Groen's plot summary isn't required.
Kyiv and not Kiev
Timothy Garton Ash has written an excellent essay on the way in which the European Union and the West can help support Ukraine's democratic movement (Not Yet Lost To Europe - Feb. 11).
High, higher, highest, sold
Another way to curb artificial increases in house prices caused by bidding wars would be to tax home buyers the full amount of the difference between the purchase price, and a weighted average of the neighborhood's average price and the list price - while allowing for reasonable price appreciation (Real-Estate Roulette - letters, Feb. 12).
Who gets targeted, who doesn't
First, we discover that the intelligence (or lack of it) establishment was spying on Tommy Douglas, one of our greatest Canadians (Ottawa Blocks Tommy Douglas Files In Bid To Protect Current Spies - Feb. 11). Then, we read a perceptive, but puzzled letter to the editor (The Mounties, The Man - Feb. 12), decrying the waste of effort this was in pursuit of an obviously decent and compassionate human being and politician.
Kahnawake conundrum
Jeffrey Simpson (Suppose There Was A Place In Canada Where The Charter Of Rights Didn't Apply - Feb. 12) states that Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff "got it right" in stating his position regarding the proposed eviction of non-Mohawks from Kahnawake. However, stating one's disagreement with the decision (which Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl did as well) is the easy part.
A sad, sad, sad day
Our hearts ache at the loss of the athlete who died yesterday (Georgian Luger Dead After Training Crash - online, Feb. 12). What a horrid, horrid accident. Could it have been prevented? Was everything done to make that track as safe as it could be? Why wasn't there "netting or straw bales as in other sports, such as alpine skiing"? Or, if not that, some other kind of barrier?
What readers think
Feb. 13: Letters to the editor
Olympic tragedy; Kahnawake conundrum; real estate sales; Haiti's slow progress; surnames ... and more
What readers think
Feb. 12: Letters to the editor
The Mounties and Tommy Douglas; real-estate roulette; the Go, Canada! Games; Sex, lies and gender ... and more
What readers think
Feb. 11: Letters to the editor
Today's topics: First Nations University, dyspeptic cynicism, the view from the pew, prostate polemics, the Middle East, swimming with the fishes, customer relations ... and more
What readers think
Feb. 10: Letters to the editor
Today's topics: a respected colonel; Buy American; alienated children; PSA tests ... and more
What readers thnk
Feb. 9: Letters to the editor
Today's topics: mortgage rules; climate change; scents and sensibility; Toyota's mission ... and more
What readers think
Feb. 8: Letters to the editor
Today's topics: Canadian banks, Snowmageddon, media and propaganda, global warming, teacher merit pay, the G7 finance ministers meeting, the Olympics ... and more
What readers think
Feb. 6: Letters to the editor
Today's topics: who learned what from proroguing; Oshawa and Calgary; the seal hunt, Toyota's troubles; good for the Aussies ... and more
What readers think
Feb. 5: Letters to the editor
Today's topics: Quebec's climate strategy; the Omar Khadr ruling; health care's many judges; parallel parking ... and more
What readers think
Feb. 4: Letters to the editor
Today’s topics: Access to Information; Danny Williams and health care; pet-sharing; aging ... and more
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