Letters to The Province, February 4, 2022: Readers Outraged by Terry Fox Statue Defacement

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Re: Mayor of Terry Fox’s hometown in BC calls out vaccination mandate protesters for defacing statue

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I was disgusted and upset when I saw the photos of the defacement of the Terry Fox statue in Ottawa. I grew up in Port Coquitlam and Terry Fox will always have a very special place in my heart. Not only was he my hometown hero, but he was perhaps the greatest Canadian of all time. A young man who firmly believed that science, not politics, would one day find a cure for cancer.

I think Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West expressed exactly the outrage I felt, along with, I suspect, the outrage felt by the vast majority of Canadians at the defacement of a statue of a true Canadian hero.

In addition to Fox, West is also my hometown hero for speaking publicly and accurately expressing our outrage at this disgusting and disrespectful act. Thank you, Mr Mayor.

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Dennis Lanthier, Surrey

Defacing the statue of Terry Fox was an act of ignorance

It is reasonable to conclude that the vast majority of those participating in the so-called Freedom Convoy have never read or heard of Dale Carnegie’s 1936 book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. By desecrating a statue of Terry Fox in the nation’s capital, these protesters have revealed just how ignorant they are.

Fox embarked on his Marathon of Hope in 1980 to raise money to improve cancer research and treatment. Today, there are many Canadians whose cancer treatments are interrupted because the unvaccinated have strained the finite resources of our publicly paid health care system. Had Terry lived to see this day, he would have denounced these people in the strongest terms.

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The enduring memory of the actions of this gang of misfits will be what they did to perhaps Canada’s only unassailable hero, Terry Fox. The images will live in infamy, and those of us who have done our part for the greater good, and rolled up our sleeves to take the hit, we can finally feel good about washing our hands of this lunatic fringe.

Trevor Ammon, Victoria

Thank you, Tom Brady, for a wonderful NFL career.

Congratulations to Tom Brady on possibly the greatest career an athlete in any sport has ever achieved. It taught us that you don’t always start at number one, but with enough hard work and determination, anything can be achieved. It goes upstairs.

All the best on your next trip, Tom.

Paul Bacon, Hallandale Beach, Florida