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Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has written the Prime Minister, asking that former attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould’s solicitor-client privilege be waived in the SNC-Lavalin matter.Stephen MacGillivray/The Canadian Press

Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com

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A touch hypocritical …

Oh, the outrage over allegations of political interference in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin and the independence of the attorney-general!

To hear Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer speak about the Trudeau Liberals, one would think this is the biggest case of alleged interference with the justice system in Canadian history.

The fact is, if the Scheer Conservatives or the headless NDP had been in power, they would have passed the same deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) legislation that the former attorney-general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, apparently was against using in the SNC case. Not to have passed it would have placed Canada at a severe competitive disadvantage, as our trading partners already have this law in place.

The question we should be asking of Mr. Scheer is: What would he have done? It’s good theatre to show outrage, but a touch hypocritical if you would have done nothing differently.

Karim Fazal, Oakville, Ont.

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SNC-Lavalin should no more be able to avoid criminal prosecution because too many people would be hurt by a conviction, than individuals should be able to avoid criminal prosecution because too many dependents would be hurt by a conviction.

If the goal is to protect SNC’s employees, a better idea would be to force SNC to sell its business to an honest buyer, for whom the expertise of SNC’s employees would be the primary motivator of the acquisition, and under whose ownership most jobs would be protected.

The DPA legislation the Liberal government sneaked through a slumbering Parliament protects directors and auditors who fail in their duty to prevent corporate criminal activity. It protects shareholders against the consequences of bad management. It punishes honest competitors. And it tells citizens you can buy your way out of a prosecution if you are big enough.

The failure to prosecute those responsible for the subprime fraud that almost brought down the world economy in 2008 represents one of the biggest failures of the justice system ever. The reasoning was almost identical to that in favour of not prosecuting SNC: They were too big to fail.

Ted Cape, Toronto

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How can one draw on evidence of $2-billion in loans to SNC-Lavalin and produce a front-page headline that reads: “SNC Received Billions In Support From Federal Export Agency” (Feb. 15)?

Ben Bradshaw, Guelph, Ont.

Unqualified teachers

Re Demand For French Immersion Forces School Boards To Hire Unqualified Teachers (Feb. 14): If the demand for French immersion teachers cannot be satisfied, it is irresponsible to address the problem by hiring unqualified teachers, who, in some cases, “can speak French only slightly better than the students.” This cheats not only the students, but also the taxpayers.

Stanley Greenspoon, North Vancouver

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French immersion programs have been ubiquitous in Canadian schools for decades. By now, thousands of students who were the product of French immersion education have graduated and entered the work force. But in 2019, school boards across the country can’t find teachers fluent in French and are settling for “educators who can speak French only slightly better than their students.” It might be time to take a hard look at the “success” of French immersion.

Paul Benedetti, Hamilton

Behave, you’re on camera

Re Montreal Rejects Police Body Cameras As Ineffective And Too Expensive (Feb. 11): People act differently when they know they are being filmed.

Body cameras for police officers can encourage good behaviour by both officers and members of the public. They can increase the safety of the public and the police by improving police accountability, and by protecting officers from false accusations of misconduct. Officers across Canada should be equipped with them.

Aya Al-Karam, Ajax, Ont.

Admitted to Quebec?

The immigration legislation tabled by Coalition Avenir Québec should not be troubling to anyone who values rational thought and a secular society (In Quebec, Swiping Left On Immigration – editorial, Feb. 14). The unquestioned wearing of religious symbols by public service employees implies state acceptance of irrational beliefs. This applies to teachers as well. Teachers are significant role models, and rational parents should not be put in a position of countering the religious propaganda that symbols surely are (otherwise, why wear them?).

The objective of filling labour market needs is not achieved by simply matching job credentials to immigrants; irreconcilable philosophical differences are a workplace hindrance. Misogyny, gender segregation, rituals and symbols, meant to emphasize difference, are not conducive to social harmony. Quebec presents a progressive model for the rest of Canada. Its Premier should be applauded, not criticized.

Albert Howard, Calgary

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Identity politics is the scourge of our times, not just in Quebec and Canada (“barbaric cultural practices” hotline?), but worldwide.

It must be called out, every time, everywhere. Thank you for doing so in your fine editorial.

Sarah Andrews, Moncton

Regulator’s thorny ties

Re Watchdogs Probe Alberta Regulator’s Ties (Feb. 13): No kidding that the investigation into the apparently dodgy relationship between the Alberta Energy Regulator and an international not-for-profit set up by the AER may raise “potentially thorny questions for the NDP government about oversight at the AER”! This speaks to the very issue of the “arms-length” relationship between the two. For example, if the AER had really been doing its job, the Supreme Court would not have had to state the obvious (Bankrupt Companies Can’t Avoid Oil Well Cleanups, Top Court Says, Feb. 1). The AER’s mandate includes oversight on the decommissioning, closure and reclamation of so-called orphaned oil wells. It is funded by its oil- and gas-industry member companies, but the taxpayer is often left holding the bag for these clean-ups.

The cozy relationship between the Alberta government and the AER needs much closer scrutiny.

Chris Gates, Quinte West, Ont.

Thanks, Mr. Banks

Re Goalkeeper Banks Remembered As ‘All-Time Great For England’ (Sports, Feb. 13): I was a football (soccer) obsessed 9-year-old when England won the World Cup in 1966, and can still recall most of the song about the players. Mr. Banks’s verse was something like, “Gordon Banks, to you a million thanks. The way you held the ball was simply grand.”

I am still football-obsessed, and I still live in hope of England hoisting the World Cup at least once more in my lifetime …

Kevin Byrne, Bright’s Grove, Ont.

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