Jack in the house

In Kristian Gravenor's "Election Notebook" [June 3], he comments that Jack Layton and Olivia Chow were living in a subsidized housing unit while serving on Toronto city council.

In fact, as an investigation found over 10 years ago, Layton and Chow resided in a mixed co-op, wherein some tenants paid market value for their units to subsidize those unable to pay the full cost of their housing. Layton and Chow were among those paying market price and thus subsidizing those in need of housing assistance.

» Jordan Timm, Campaign Manager for Dan Biocchi, Green Party of Canada Candidate, Ottawa-Orléans

Everyone's a critic

How is it that a paper that houses in its pages such a competent film critic as Matthew Hays can stray so far from the mark with a writer like Mark Slutsky?

His reviews are always uninspired, tired pieces that seem to never leave the reader with a sense of a film's substance. Case in point, his recent review of the Jarmusch anthology ["A mixed brew, May 27]. All he can say is that it's boring and that viewers should try to skip the first hour or so. No mention is made of the content, only that the jokes aren't good. Does Slutsky take notes, or is his job at the Mirror more of a happenstance event, one where he can get paid to write what is essentially equivalent to that of a college frat paper? Surely the Mirror can do better than that.

» Nicholas Osicka

Checkpoint check-up

Just wanted to tell you that I returned a couple of days ago from the West Bank after completing the second shoot for Checkpoint, The Battle for Israel's Soul. I wanted you to know that the article Matt Hays wrote [Cover, "Bringing down walls," Aug. 21] came in extremely handy in my effort to persuade the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) spokesperson's office to give me permission to film at checkpoints!

I believe I came back with some powerful material. We start editing on June 1.

» Eric R. Scott

Merger madness

People from the towns of Baie d'Urfé, Westmount, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Senneville and other former cities prefer to stay home. That's great news, because we don't need you in Montreal. We never needed your help to survive anyway. If I had the liberty to vote on city de-mergers, I'd vote with you.

You never take advantage of having a big centre near you and you never pretend to be a Montrealer, even when you travel around the world, so why stay? You hate coming downtown in your SUVs and you never, never go out for a show or a film in a theatre subsidized by Montrealers. You promise not to come to Montreal to see the Jazz Festival and you don't do your Christmas shopping on Ste-Catherine.

Being a Montrealer is a privilege, but it doesn't give me the right to vote on this issue. Strange kind of democracy, isn't it? But you have the right to vote. I hope you won't regret your choice.

» Pascal Henrard

More cop complaints

I had a car accident on Sunday, May 16, at the Old Port of Montreal. The Montreal police were called to take a report. The driver of the other vehicle had no identification, no driver's licence, no registration and no insurance. All my papers were in order.

The police: (1) Detained me and my passengers. (2) Refused to allow us to depart. (3) Held my documentation hostage to ensure we could not leave. (4) Did not take a report. (5) Did not issue a ticket or arrest the other driver for driving without documentation or ID, even though it was specifically pointed out to him that this was the law. (6) Did not check even to see if the car was stolen, or verify the driver's alleged identification. (7) Left before the situation was resolved. (8) Insulted my heritage when I demanded that he apply the laws as they were written rather than giving preferential treatment to different peoples based on language and race.

This was a clear case of discrimination and I demand reparations and an explanation of why laws are written if they are only going to be applied to some of the people, some of the time.

» Debra Connors

French swearing inaccurate!

Re: Motion Picture Purgatory [May 27]. (1) On dit, ou on écrit "hostie," not "hostsie." "Calice," not "callise." "Tabarnak," not "tabernacle." Even when we pronounce it for fun.

(2) You are a poor bastard, found [sic] of sex.

» Anonymous

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