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Montreal Gazette
5 days ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Letters: Hockey trial verdict sad day for Canada
After a mistrial, two dismissed juries and an eventual trial by judge, I was not surprised by the ruling that found all five hockey players not guilty of sexual assault. In what world is it normal for five young men to think it is OK to have sex in a hotel room with a young woman who has consumed copious amounts of alcohol? The issue in my view is one of moral decency, the ability to give consent, and again, a victim being re-victimized. Sad day in this country. Victoria Jonas, Beaconsfield CAQ out of touch with today's reality I am deeply dismayed by the Legault government's ongoing assault on English-language institutions in Montreal. The most recent example — the $30-million fine levied against LaSalle College for alleged violations of Quebec's increasingly draconian language laws — is both troubling and short-sighted. LaSalle College, which is in fact bilingual and widely recognized as one of the finest institutions of its kind in Canada, now faces an existential threat — not because of any failure to serve its students, but because it does not conform to a narrow and insular vision of Quebec's identity. It is time for the government to acknowledge that today's generation of Quebecers — francophone, anglophone and allophone alike — is bilingual, globally minded and eager to engage with the wider world. Ironically, I believe the group most harmed by these restrictive policies are francophone Quebecers themselves, who are being held back by an imposed cultural isolation that no longer reflects the reality or aspirations of modern Quebec society. Robert Sugar, Westmount Put the screws on speed demons I was gobsmacked reading about the motorist who was ticketed by Montreal police over a missing licence plate screw. Far more serious infractions happen daily. I see drivers routinely ignoring stop signs, particularly at T-intersections, and 50 km/h seems to have become the new normal in 30 km/h school zones. The only upside? At least it appears there's a police presence in some parts of Montreal. In D.D.O.'s West Park area, enforcement seems nonexistent. M. Evelyn Watson, Dollard-des-Ormeaux Picture is bleak for art heritage Re: 'Pointe-Claire seniors rally to save beloved murals' (The Gazette, July 23) Tex Dawson's 'windows' into Montreal's architectural heritage enlighten both the residents of Le Wellesley and the pluralist cultural life of this city. How much of our pictorial heritage will be lost due to the insensitive interests of mediocre 'modernization'? Je me souviens Corridart and the Van Horne mansion destruction decades ago. John A. Schweitzer, Montreal Submitting a letter to the editor Letters should be sent by email to letters@ We prioritize letters that respond to, or are inspired by, articles published by The Gazette. If you are responding to a specific article, let us know which one. Letters should be sent uniquely to us. The shorter they are — ideally, fewer than 200 words — the greater the chance of publication. Timing, clarity, factual accuracy and tone are all important, as is whether the writer has something new to add to the conversation. We reserve the right to edit and condense all letters. Care is taken to preserve the core of the writer's argument. Our policy is not to publish anonymous letters, those with pseudonyms or 'open letters' addressed to third parties. Letters are published with the author's full name and city or neighbourhood/borough of residence. Include a phone number and address to help verify identity; these will not be published. We will not indicate to you whether your letter will be published. If it has not been published within 10 days or so, it is not likely to be.
Montreal Gazette
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Letters: A disgrace to Canadian Forces
Letters To The Editor Re: ' All four men in Quebec terror case had military ties: Canadian Forces ' (The Gazette, July 9); ' Army commander was kept in the dark about Ottawa soldiers' 'abhorrent' Facebook group ' (National Post, July 8) I am a PhD candidate studying military culture and gender violence. I am also a veteran. It is incredibly disheartening to see, yet again, stories of the Canadian military dropping the ball. There is no place for antisemitism, misogyny, any other form of discrimination, any kind of racism or extreme political behaviour in our military. It is time to clean up the military once and for all. Many Canadian soldiers wear the uniform proudly, and need to be safe from those who do not adhere to the rules. Victoria Jonas, Beaconsfield Translation requirement is easy to meet Re: ' Official-languages absurdity has shut down a valuable federal resource ' (Opinion, July 8) I was disappointed to read Tom Spears's opinion piece about unilingual postings that were taken down from the National Capital Commission's website. When it comes to commitments to language rights made under the Official Languages Act, which include that public communications on government websites must be in both official languages, Spears asks the wrong question. He wonders why that commitment can't be waived in the name of access to information. Instead, he should ask why that commitment can't be kept. He gives the example of 256 pages of technical information, as if it would make no sense to translate them. If that information is posted by a federal agency in the public interest, the federal government should have the ability to produce a translation. The true scandal here is a possible absence of investment in verified automated translation. The EU has 24 official languages and has the ability to produce highly technical documents in all of them in real time. I was able to produce an accurate translation of Spears's article in five seconds using DeepL Translate. The NCC's decision to take down a section of its website rather than translate all its contents is the issue. It parallels an even more disturbing decision by the Supreme Court of Canada to stop giving access to old unilingual decisions on its website rather than translating them. And let us not forget that despite the constitutional requirement to do so, we have yet to produce an official French translation of a document far more important than any invoked by Spears: the Constitution Act, 1867. Prof. Richard Janda, McGill University, faculty of law, Montreal Illustration may lead to misunderstanding Re: ' Children's book club is latest target of CAQ's identity politics ' (Toula Drimonis, July 4) Regarding the girl in a hijab featured in an illustration promoting a children's book club: In Islam, modesty for men and women is a highly laudable trait. Wearing the hijab is enjoined only after physical maturity. The depiction of a young Muslim reader as a little girl wearing a hijab is unfortunate since it leads to misunderstanding at best, and/or advancing politically motivated agendas of identity. Samaa Elibyari, president, Canadian Council of Muslim Women — Quebec chapter Submitting a letter to the editor Letters should be sent by email to letters@ We prioritize letters that respond to, or are inspired by, articles published by The Gazette. If you are responding to a specific article, let us know which one. Letters should be sent uniquely to us. The shorter they are — ideally, fewer than 200 words — the greater the chance of publication. Timing, clarity, factual accuracy and tone are all important, as is whether the writer has something new to add to the conversation. We reserve the right to edit and condense all letters. Care is taken to preserve the core of the writer's argument. Our policy is not to publish anonymous letters, those with pseudonyms or 'open letters' addressed to third parties. Letters are published with the author's full name and city or neighbourhood/borough of residence. Include a phone number and address to help verify identity; these will not be published. We will not indicate to you whether your letter will be published. If it has not been published within 10 days or so, it is not likely to be.
