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
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Queen be
Love our constitutional monarchy (A Strange Accident That Actually Works, editorial, July 20). Love that the Queen lives on a faraway island, love the continuity-with-progress this represents, love that our G-G is unelected and represents no party but all Canadians, love that this reminds our political leaders that they are never head of state, which helps keep their ego in check, love our peaceable kingdom.
I guess you could say I'm in favour of keeping the monarchy.
Irene Tomaszewski, Ottawa
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While the governor-general system works, having an offshore person as head of state seems weird. Also, those who have lived under British colonial rule can find it unappealing that Canada still has colonial trappings.
Why not make the governor-general the official head of state? The Queen, as long as she lives, could be head-of-state emeritus.
Meanwhile, to avoid conflicts of interest and loyalty, the governor-general could be appointed by a council of provincial premiers rather than the prime minister.
Andrew Chong, Toronto
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Canadians are lucky to have just a figurehead monarch who lives abroad, and lucky not to have the rest of the package – an entitlement-rich, privileged aristocracy.
I love and admire the Queen, but I can't muster respect for Prince Charles, mainly because of his years of adultery and mistreatment of Diana. I know he dabbles in worthy causes, yet he still comes across as an inept, mildly comical fuddy-duddy.
Surveys suggest about half of Canadians have serious monarchy fatigue; with Charles as king, that will increase. He could turn down the job. William as king and Kate as queen would give the monarchy a huge boost.
Reiner Jaakson, Oakville, Ont.
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Rx for methadone
Re Study Raises Red Flags Over Methadone (July 19): The ready availability of methadone treatment in Ontario has saved thousands of lives, reduced the burden of addiction on patients and families, and is a model of care envied by other jurisdictions caught up in the North American opiate addiction crisis.
The stigma undeservedly attached to drug addiction is also pointed at doctors who treat people with addictions. The relatively small group of doctors prescribing methadone and buprenorphine should be congratulated for their service to their patients and communities. If this small group was not supplying this service, patients who desperately require it would go without an essential treatment option.
The frequency of patient visits and urine testing in methadone programs conforms with standards and guidelines issued by the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Methadone prescribers are audited more than any other group of doctors to ensure compliance with these standards.
More money is required to provide more comprehensive services, yet despite the opiate crisis, funding was slashed in 2015.
Overhead in treatment programs is high, and the cuts led to withdrawal of services and retirement of some physicians from this area. It's difficult to recruit doctors to the field; methadone treatment is generally a difficult, unappreciated area of medicine.
The criticism of these physicians is misguided.
Robert A. Cooper, chair, Ontario Medical Association Addiction Medicine Section
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NAFTA blowback
Re Liberals Say Khadr Campaign Could Affect NAFTA Talks (July 20): Surely the Liberal strategists must have realized they were opening a Pandora's box when they rushed to settle the Khadr lawsuit. They had to know what an emotional hornet's nest the deal would trigger among the Canadian population, irrespective of the legal and financial raisons d'être. Now, they seem surprised that the same emotional reaction might also occur among Americans and that this might conceivably have an impact on NAFTA negotiations.
Huh? Timing counts for a lot in politics. This was bad timing.
Millar Drummond, Whitby, Ont.
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Re Khadr Is To Trudeau What The Census Was To Harper (July 20): The Harper government did the wrong thing for the wrong reasons with the census, whereas the Trudeau government has done the right thing for the right reasons with the Khadr case.
The difference is obvious.
Martha Gould, North Bay, Ont.
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Being black
Re Taking Us Through The Black Experience (July 20): My greatest concern is for our young people who have not developed the self-confidence and resilience to handle persistent stereotyping. They sometimes become resentful, feel alienated and marginalized.
I can recall two examples of what researcher Carl James describes. When I was a PhD student in Toronto, I went into a store to by a dress. The salesperson came up to me and said, with some hostility, "There are no dresses on sale in here!" Another time, a woman at the university greeted me with: "You must be the new cleaning woman!"
Stereotypes are hard to dislodge. All people and groups are stereotyped at some time. Many of us spend our lives trying to debunk stereotypes. The issue is that some groups are consistently stereotyped negatively.
It takes effort to address this issue, which requires our assiduous attention if all people are to have the opportunity to assume their rightful place in Canadian society as contributing and productive citizens capable of contributing to nation building.
Avis Glaze, international education adviser, Delta, B.C.
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'No apparent benefit'
Re Private-School Access (letters, July 19): Everyone in Ontario – even a Havergal College parent – benefits from a robust, publicly funded education system. To suggest that Havergal parents pay education taxes for "no apparent benefit" reinforces perceptions that elite independent schools are out of touch with reality and suffer from societal myopia.
I had the privilege of teaching at Havergal College (a JK to Grade 12 Toronto girls school) for 24 years and love it dearly, but I don't believe for a second it should receive any government support.
Parents of students at independent schools make a clear choice about their children's education and have to accept the financial consequences. Independent schools in Ontario should receive no public money. Not one cent.
Larry Tayler, Belleville, Ont.
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Dig in. Or not
To reform Canada's Food Guide, let's disregard the special interest groups and simply focus on the consumer (A Taste Of What's To Come, July 19). How about a guide that's easily remembered, covers all the bases, and is cheap (no million-dollar study required)?
Michael Pollan, in The Omnivore's Dilemma, suggests: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
Sounds good to me.
Rick Walker, Toronto