LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Confined to home because of the ice

I ventured outside on Tuesday but was unable to cross the street because of ice stretching to the middle of the road.

Luckily, a kind motorist got out of her car to help, and drove me two blocks to the bus stop. I was obliged to take a taxi to come home, as I needed help to cross the icy patch.

I have spent days on end confined to my home because of the lack of abrasives on the sidewalks in my sector of Nuns’ Island. I’ve seen very little spreading of salt the whole winter by the borough of Verdun.

Although we pay the same municipal taxes as motorists, pedestrians seem to be the forgotten members of society.

Snow and ice are not new to Montreal, and the lessons on how to deal with them should have been learned by now. New strategies must be studied for the future, as this state of affairs is completely unacceptable.

Jennifer Turner, Nuns’ Island

Isabelle Charest and the crucifix Re: “Charest refuses to back down from remarks on hijabs” (Montreal Gazette, Feb. 7)

Isabelle Charest, Quebec’s minister for the status of women, is quoted saying: “The bill on secularism touches all religions, in fact all religious symbols.”

I’m sure she misspoke and meant to say: “The secularism bill touches all religious symbols, except for the one hanging in the National Assembly.”

Italo Camerino, Dollard-des-Ormeaux

Freedom of dress should apply to all

“My values are that a woman should be free to wear what she wants to wear or not wear,” Isabelle Charest declares in voicing her objections to the Islamic hijab.

I would be interested to hear the minister’s opinion about high heels.

No woman finds them comfortable for all-day walking. Women wear them because men like them and expect the professional women they hire to wear them. Should women be free to choose to wear running shoes rather than dress heels to work without fear of discrimination in hiring and promotion?

And may women refuse to wear low-cut, tight uniforms to work in a bar? Or decide not to dye and style their hair in order to please their employer?

Or does the minister believe rather that women should be obliged to wear what the minister thinks we should wear, based upon her personal distaste for “all religious symbols”? Elaine Bander, N.D.G.

French programs in English schools Re: “Parents decide where to send kids” (Letters, Feb. 5)

Aside from the government requiring an English eligibility certificate, who else do we have to blame other than anglophone parents for the declining enrolment within our English schools?

I have decided to ensure the best for my children’s future — by registering them in a Français Plus school within the Lester B. Pearson School Board.

There are plenty of qualified French teachers within the English school boards.

My francophone in-laws will tell you just how impressed they are with their grandchildren’s accents and comprehension of the French language.

Vicky Welch, Pierrefonds

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