Editor:
Re: “Settling with day scholars is simply justice,” Editorial, March 11.
I need to preface this response by stressing that I in no way want to minimize the pain experienced by the victims of abuse. My point is strictly to do with the definition of justice.
Those who argue that it is “simply justice” for the present government to apologize and make restitution for historic crimes are missing a vital element in the definition of “justice.” Justice requires, not only that a victim receives recompense, but also that the perpetrator (after being proven guilty in a fair trial) is the one who is made to pay the due penalty for the crimes he or she committed. If an innocent party freely offers to pay the penalty for a guilty party, that is not justice; it is grace. On the other hand, if an innocent party (in this case, all Canadian citizens) is forced to pay for the crimes of the guilty, it is neither grace nor justice.
Tom Williams, Roberts Creek
