Getting sick of her

Wrote a letter to 'The Globe and Mail' today about a typical column of disinformation by the  always-outraged native writer Tanya Talaga.  I tried to make it as objective as possible, but you can bet your last dollar it won't get in -- just as a similar one I wrote to 'The Cochrane Eagle' didn't.  

Dear Editor,

 With widespread coverage of Indigenous children and residential schools, I started to do research on what was leading to their deaths.  It was pre-vaccine diseases such as tuberculosis, yellow fever, scarlet fever, influenza, pneumonia and gastrointestinal infections – the same diseases that took the lives of non-Indigenous children at the time.  These diseases did not discriminate based on culture, race or background; they were equally deadly to all.  According to the Truth and Reconciliation Report, approximately 150,000 children attended residential schools from 1883 to 1996.  During that time, 4,100 died, or 2.73 percent.  In contrast, the mortality rate for all children during the same time period was far higher at 25 percent.

 Although sensational claims garner lurid headlines, it is disingenuous and misleading for politicians, special interest groups and columnists to claim Indigenous children were “killed” by those operating residential schools and buried in secret graves.  A little research will tell anyone who wants to know what happened and why.

Nancy Marley-Clarke

As to schools actually "killing" students, that is the exact word that came out of Jagmeet Singh's mouth the other day.  He said the Catholic Church (always open season on that bunch) killed students and buried them in hidden, secret graves.  A total crock, but as easy as it is to do the research, no one ever seems to do it!  

Here's another that hasn't yet been published, this one to 'The Calgary Herald':

Dear Editor,

 Say what?!  The mayor wants to spend Calgarians’ money in a law suit against Quebec’s Bill 21?  What has been completely forgotten in this debate is the democratic principle of “The separation of Church and State”  This principle enshrines secularism for all those dispensing a service at public expense.  Teaching at a public school falls into this category, which means that the public must not know the religion of a public employee when accessing such a service.  The wearing of any religious symbol, regardless of affiliation, contravenes this principle.

 The other detail that has been overlooked is that all municipalities are creatures of the province.  In other words, the City of Calgary has no jurisdiction in the Bill 21 debate.  If Mayor Gondek or other councillors want to personally contribute $100,000 they have every right to do so, but don’t spend the city’s money.   

 The separation of church and state applies to all religions and is the reason, for example, the crucifix was removed from the Quebec legislature a few years ago.  This principle ensures that the face of government remains neutral in all matters when serving the public.

 Nancy Marley-Clarke

Alas, I continue to whistle truth to the wind.....sigh.....