Re "York university launches task force to counter campus tensions." (March 17):
With the exception of the Quebecois, and those with multiple-ethnic forebears, most Canadians have some emotional attachment to their ancestral homelands, especially in their time of need.
Therefore, we can't expect new Canadians to not care what happens to their kith-and-kin in their former countries. The confrontation between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli factions at York university is different in that they are mostly non Palestinian and non Israeli Canadians. But be that as it may, it's probably only a matter of time before the York "scholars" take their belligerence to the streets. And why not?
Sometimes it seems that every ethnic, religious and political squabble on the planet sparks demonstrations on the streets of Toronto. Hardly a week goes by that doesn't see some group demanding that the Canadian government support their cause. If it's not Haitians urging the Governor General to do something about the mess in Haiti, it's Tamils demanding that Ottawa help them establish a homeland in Sri Lanka.
These protesters should be told loud and clear that their fights are none of Canada's business. New Canadians soon learn that they have the right to hold marches and demonstrations in this democracy, what they haven't learned is that the Canadian government, like all governments, whether democratic or despotic, has, as the late Lord Palmerston observed: no permanent friends or allies, only permanent interests. So, while any group may support any cause that's not illegal, and not considered a threat to Canada, they should keep in mind that Ottawa will not become involved unless it believes it's in the national interest to do so.
William Bedford,
Toronto
