‘You’ve come a long way, Ontario’

Re: Keeping Wynne Streak Alive, Jan. 28. Congratulations to Kathleen Wynne on winning the leadership of the Ontario Liberal party, though frankly I wonder why anyone would want to lead it at this point in time? I know that whichever party is elected, the sexual orientation of the leader will not be an issue regarding competence.

In fact, I really hope that identity politics, when it comes to her sexual orientation, is given the same importance as that of Christian identity politics. You see, anyone with a Christian world view in Ontario has been sidelined. Strategies and thoughtful dialogue in the development of policies in education, law including prostitution, poverty, health care including drug addiction and OHIP funding, have been deemed persona non grata by the media and all three parties in this province.

So I hope Ms. Wynne is also treated to the same narrow confines. I expect her to leave her sexual politics and its plans for shaping the province, at her front door. It can’t come out.

Johanne Brownrigg, Ottawa. You’ve come a long way, Ontario. Not that long ago, Pierre Trudeau took the government out of the nation’s bedrooms. Two women were the front-runners for the Liberal leadership, and one woman — a lesbian, nevertheless — won.

Kathleen Wynne has to do more than “build on the legacy of Dalton” to remain leader for long. I predict the Conservatives will take every opportunity to topple the Liberal government at the earliest convenience, while Ms. Wynne is still an untried leader. Otherwise, with her smarts and wit, she will regain the trust and support of a majority of Ontarians, and lead the party to victory in the next election.

Sigmund Roseth, Mississauga, Ont. More women are becoming the main breadwinners while their men become Mr. Moms. Women can also be combat soldiers. And now Canada has six female premiers. I always knew the feminists had a hidden agenda. Well, their agenda isn’t hidden anymore, they are out of the kitchens and lusting for revenge for all the discrimination they have suffered down the ages. And with human cloning coming soon, “a woman will need a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” Forewarned is forearmed. Though I think it may be too late to save this endangered species known as man.

William Bedford, Toronto. Now that the Ontario Liberal Party has selected a new head cheerleader, could we ask that the prorogued legislature be “idle no more”?

Joseph W. Quinn, St. Catharines, Ont. the authors’ view, commitment to a belief system gives people a lens through which they view the world, apparently making their thinking deficient. The logical consequence of their proposition is that law schools should deny entry to Muslims, Jews, Roman Catholics, evangelicals, indeed to anyone not a believing secularist. Law schools have always been captive to the faith of the elite. That is the lens through which they, like the authors, view the world. Perhaps before castigating TWU for the mote in its lens, our secularist law schools should address the logs in their own. Mary Anne Waldron, professor of law, University of Victoria. Re: When Christian Values, Sexual Orientation And Legal Education Collide, letter to the editor, Jan. 25; A Creature Of His Environment, Rex Murphy, Jan. 26. Rex Murphy’s column on intimidation and censorship at Carleton University is an effective response to Professor Don Dutton’s idealized view of academic freedom as a principle intended to promote free intellectual inquiry (letters, Jan. 25).

Ideally, the responsible application of academic freedom promotes higher academic standards and protects nonconformists against the intellectual cowardice or clientelistic tendencies of university administrators. However, the promotion of certain standards and philosophies of education can easily degenerate into the right of professorial or administrative gatekeepers to determine who will share in their privileged status — thereby limiting the range of issues or perspectives deemed worthy of legitimate inquiry or advocacy. From that perspective, the difference between critics’ jaundiced view of Trinity Western and the average publicly-funded Canadian university may be far smaller than those seeking to keep TWU from joining their club are willing to admit.

I have experienced and observed enough casual and not-so-casual bigotry within the academy, including my own institution, to value the principle of academic freedom, while recognizing that it is just as capable of irresponsible use as any other core freedom in our society. Reluctance to share the benefits of what one considers fundamental principles or freedoms with others holding different perspectives is often a sign of self-serving hypocrisy – whether in the academy, the church, or any other institution claiming to promote the greater good of society and humankind. Geoffrey Hale, professor, Department of Political Science, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alta. Re: The Case For A Christian Law School, editorial, Jan. 23. Perhaps the most grating defence of the proposed Trinity Western University law school is on the ground that it is moral, because moral it certainly isn’t. It also isn’t Christian in any real sense. A school explicitly based on Biblical covenant laws of hatred of homosexuals is anything but moral, and should also be against the law: it is a ridiculous anachronism.

We are talking about a tradition that has facilitated the burning of homosexuals at the stake and even now in some areas promotes hatred and violence against them. There are thousands of young people denied the very basic right to feel good about themselves and approach life with dignity and confidence. Many have succumbed to this hatred and committed suicide.

The National Post’s view, based on a pseudo free-speech rights, gives only a token nod to balance, and proves that it is possible indeed to live and function without intestines.

Doris Wrench Eisler, St. Albert, Alta.