Letters to the Editor
Send your letters to tobancomment@umanitoba.ca or drop them off at 105 University Centre
Selling our heritage
Well, well, here we have ourselves some big news that has swept the nation this past week. Canada and the world’s oldest and longest lasting company, the Hudson’s Bay Company or HBC/The Bay, has been sold to an American businessman who also owns Target, Jerry Zucker.
This news saddens me. Not only has another Canadian company gone down the drain, but it will now be American owned and operated. Remember the good old days of Woolco and Saan stores? How about other Canadian companies such as Canadian Tire and CN, which are now owned and run by American businessmen. Great for them. The Americans can definitely afford the companies that apparently no one in Canada can. How is it that no Canadian business people can buy our own companies when they are in financial crisis?
It is so sad to see our country slowly being run by the Americans. What’s next? “Hockey Night in the USA.” Come on, here. We are all very proud of our country and all of its achievements, but for crying out loud, why don’t we have enough money to keep things up and running? The HBC has been around since 1670, now that’s a heck of a long time.
Mr. Zucker has made an offer to purchase all shares of HBC for a generous price from all remaining shareholders. He has owned the majority of the shares in the HBC for the past two years. Coincidently enough, Mr. Zucker is president and CEO of Maple Leaf Heritage Investments — now what is the irony in that?! So before rambling on some more, I will wrap up what I have to say.
I am probably the most patriotic Canadian you will ever meet in your entire life. Hearing news like this devastates me to no end. Why can’t Canada as a free and not-so poor nation step up to the plate in the business world? We are smart, vibrant people with many great things in the past and the future, but we are lacking when it comes to preserving our Canadian heritage.
HBC is not only a store; it is part of Canada’s history. Think about it, people: 1670! That’s 336 years of serving Canadians. The HBC is how our great nation came to be and how it has survived for so many years. Personally, I choose to support Canadian companies, which is not always easy. Think choosing Rona over the Home Depot, or Second Cup over Starbucks (which I’m told is not even close to being the same).
Think of how funny it is when you get a store flyer in the mail and in bright big letters it says, “Proudly Canadian owned and operated.” Companies really shouldn’t have to advertise like that, but that is what it is coming to. Canada is full of talented people, be they actors, musicians or business people. Many of us are so Americanized, but how can we not be when many things around us are American?
Jonelle Donnelly
The state out of marriage
This is a really great essay (“Freedom of conscience and marriage,” 11/01/2006). It is well written and to-the-point. I totally agree with the argument that is being made, and I hope that we can eventually see the withdrawal of the state from issues of morality such as marriage.
Maybe the reopening of this question by the Conservatives will end up by having this issue get the serious attention it deserves, as one not just of “human rights,” but of separation of church and state.
Rex Leonard
Toronto
Intelligent Design can be science
Last week in a letter to the editor, Doug Hakala criticized the Manitoban for publishing my article “Should the theory of Intelligent Design be taught in Biology classes?” (11/01/2006). After reading his letter, I wondered if Hakala had bothered to actually read my article.
For instance, Hakala wrote: “All of the old arguments supporting Intelligent Design (ID) were dusted off once again, despite mountains of evidence supporting evolution.” If he had read my article, he would have noticed that I wrote: “Biological evolution is a historical fact. The fossil records speak unambiguously of gradual development toward increasing complexity.” The issue in question is not whether or not evolution occurred — the fossil record clearly shows that it did. The issue is whether or not all features of life on Earth can be explained as the result of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection operating on random variation. In other words, the controversy is not over evolutionary fact, but over the completeness of Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Hakala also writes: “The ‘scientists’ supporting the movement, Michael Behe being the champion, are the first to admit that they have no evidence to support their claim.” Dr. Behe would be the last person to admit he has no evidence, since he wrote a thick book called Darwin’s Black Box in order to demonstrate in great detail what he believes is a mountain of evidence for intelligent design at the level of the cell.
Hakala then wrote: “Without a God (a Christian God) driving ID, there is no theory” — but this is not true. The designer of the first cells on Earth (if there was in fact a designer) could have been an alien scientist. Or, some could argue that the designer could have been one of the gods of the ancient pantheons with a penchant for biochemistry. One of my central arguments in the article was that the Christian right is mistaken in thinking that ID supports its particular religion, and that the science of ID can be separated from the religious motives of many of its proponents.
The reason I wrote the article is because of my irritation with the dogmatism of people on both sides of the controversy. Hakala’s letter is a perfect example.
