durhamregion.com | This Week | Thursday, June 30, 2022 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a whollyowned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca newsroom@durhamregion.com facebook.com/newsdurham @newsdurham WHO WE ARE Vice President Dana Robbins Regional General Manager Anne Beswick Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Managing Editor Mike Lacey Director of Advertising Tanya Pacheco Director Distribution Jason Christie Director Creative Services Katherine Porcheron Durham Advisory Council Dan Carter; Esther Enyolu; Jake Farr; Dr. Vidal Chavannes; Cynthia Davis; Elaine Popp/Don Lovisa; John Henry; Sue McGovern; Kerri King; Steve Yamada; Kelly LaRocca; Peter Bethlenfalvy; Dr. Steven Murphy; Norah Marsh; Tracy Paterson; Chris Darling; Christina Curry CONTACT US This Week Phone: 905- 579-4407 Newsroom: 905-215-0462 Sales: 905-215-0424 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905-579-2238 Web: www.durhamregion.com Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at durhamregion.com Delivery For all delivery inquiries, call 905- 579-4407 or visit the Contact Us page on durhamregion.com. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT DURHAMREGION.COM LETTERS & COMMENTARY Our place on the planet. Here, where we live, sleep, breathe. Set aside the human problems and politics, the differences and disagreements, and what's left is the land. The fields and forests, rivers and wetlands. And all those lakes! The sheltered bays and rocky, wave-washed points that witness endless sunsets and waning, waxing moons. I celebrate Canada Day in my heart, so lucky, so grateful to live here. This country is so beautiful! Those breathless scenes luring visitors to Newfoundland and Labrador always get to me, and for a magical instant I'm there, watching the waves and the whales, and the laundry flapping on the line. I saw an ad in a newspaper travel section for the Northwest Territories, now on the global tourism map, apparently, and was swept back in time to an unforgettable canoe trip down the Coppermine to Kugluktuk, on the Arctic Ocean. How I'd love to be there, on Canada Day! Or paddling the majestic Thelon, where the treeline bulges north into tundra, drawing a profusion of wildlife. We saw Arctic wolves, foxes, terns and hares, as well as grizzlies and ptarmigan, and got breathlessly close to a family of muskox. I remember hearing just two airplanes during that whole incredible three- week adventure, and then a third, the float plane coming to take us back to Yellowknife. People need silence and solitude away from motors and machines, time out to clear our heads and lungs. Ours souls. We can do that closer to home, of course. Walking the Waterfront Trail at dawn, before bicyclists are up, or a cool trail in Long Sault on a sunny afternoon. Paddling stretches of the Nonquon, the Ganaraska, the Pigeon River. Immersion in birdsong anywhere is a good cure for high-strung nerves. Or breathing in the perfume of pine needles baking in the sun, an essential oil, free for the taking. I spent the last two Canada Days, during COVID, playing fiddle in a porch concert for socially distanced neighbours in lawn chairs. But this year we're all sprung free, and campgrounds are bursting at the seams with happy, hungry campers, from what I hear, despite the price of gas. So where will it be, for Canada Day? No matter where we are, or where we get to this summer, having nature in our lives is a gift, so vital for our sense of peace, mental health and stability. That we still have wilderness and wild spaces here on Turtle Island (North America) is a boon to be treasured and protected. Nature queries: mcarney1490@gmail.com or 905-725-2116. Metroland columnist Margaret Carney finds so much to discover and marvel at exploring the great outdoors. 'HAVING NATURE IN OUR LIVES IS A GIFT' ON ITS BIRTHDAY, MARGARET CARNEY CELEBRATES CANADA'S BEAUTY MARGARET CARNEY Column Whether it's far away, like the Coppermine River in Canada's north, or close to home, like the Nonquon River that flows into Lake Scugog, columnist Margaret Carney says Canada Day is a time to celebrate the beauty of our country's wild places. Margaret Carney photo CANADIAN BEAUTY To the editor: The most recent, horrific mass shootings in the U.S. should give us all pause. Every country in the world has its share of deranged people but in only one country, the United States of America, are there so many horrific mass killings. The difference? The ready availability of deadly weaponry to U.S. citizens. By all means, address mental illness, but at the same time, enact some strict gun laws so that the deranged cannot easily obtain guns. New, tougher restrictions recently proposed by our Canadian government will not be a panacea for us, to be sure, but they will help. In America, a deliberate misreading of the U.S. Second Amendment has resulted in a proliferation of guns of all types and an incessant parade of mass murderers killing innocent people. Ridding American society of semi-automatic weapons would be a good first step toward eliminating or lessening the frequency of mass shootings. In a stable society, there is no good reason for an ordinary citizen to own assault rifles, semi-automatic weapons or handguns. Certainly, farmers and hunters have practical reasons for owning some styles of rifles. Sport and target shooters should have access to handguns for competition but the handguns shouldn't be privately owned and should be stored in a secure, central armoury and checked in and out as necessary. Many gun crimes in Canada are perpetrated by use of illegal, smuggled weapons, it's true, but a good proportion of those crimes are committed with privately owned weapons too, as any police officer will confirm. Sensible gun laws will reduce the frequency of mayhem and carnage we see too often in the U.S. The fewer weapons there are available out there and the harder it is to obtain them, the safer we will all be, not just in America, but here and throughout the world, as well. It's a no-brainer, I would have thought. JONATHAN O'MARA WHITBY FEWER GUNS, FEWER KILLINGS SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT DURHAMREGION.COM