Oh my goodness, the emotional hyperbole by Srosh Hassan in “Taking Their Seats” (Gazette, March 15) was quite alarming. She's actually afraid of being profiled and killed in Canada? These alarmists must be addressed in my mind. First of all, if you truly are afraid of being killed, you should go to the police immediately. If you are being verbally attacked by hate speech, you should definitely press charges against the guilty party. You see, in Canada (my country), all citizens are protected equally under the law regardless of race or creed. And for Ms. Hassan to say that people are hateful under the guise of free speech indicates to me that in her opinion, protecting a minority right over the right of free speech of all Canadians is a dangerous road to travel.
My father-in-law escaped Communist Eastern Germany in the '60s and being under constant scrutiny if the government and your neighbours was something you risked your life to escape from. I, and many Canadians, would risk our lives to protect the freedoms and rights of our country, the first and foremost is freedom of speech.
Let me finish by saying that my heart goes out to those killed in the Quebec mosque. Unfortunately bad things happen to all people regardless of race and religion. But let's not destroy the foundation this country was built on because of a horrific tragedy. Now is the time to make our country stronger through enforcing the laws we have in effect for such events. M-103 will only serve to further divide the country as I for one would resent any restrictions on Canadians' freedom of speech. And unfortunately, because this bill so clearly delineated which group it favours, the bill itself would cause patriotic Canadians to be critical and resentful towards Islam.
Barb Bauer, St. Albert
