Albertans will head to the polls and make themselves heard in a provincial referendum on Oct. 19.Illustration by Paperkites
Back and forth
Re “Canada would never interfere in U.S. elections, Joly says after ambassador’s accusation” (Oct. 15): Pete Hoekstra moans about his perception that Canada “interfered” in U.S. politics with a few ads solely taken from the words of a former U.S. president.
Yet the U.S. owner of Canadian steel mills will lay off Canadian workers and promises they will be brought back when Canada signs a trade agreement favourable to the United States (“Joly warns Stelco owner of forced divestment if Ontario layoffs go ahead” – Oct. 15).
And this is not political interference? Or is it extortion?
Stephen Harper Newmarket, Ont.
The exercise of free speech by Canadian citizens, journalist and politicians does not constitute election interference in the United States. Full stop.
John McLeod Toronto
Come again?
Re “What about Alberta’s nine other referendum questions?” (Oct. 14): I am aghast.
Many years ago, I attended a workshop aimed at improving civil servants’ writing skills. One of the ideas presented was that of the Gunning fog index, a test developed in 1952 by U.S. businessman Robert Gunning to estimate the years of formal education a person needs to understand a text on first reading.
It is based on the average number of words in a sentence and the proportion of complex words (three or more syllables) to total words. I did a quick estimate, applying the formula to Alberta’s nine other referendum questions, and came up with an index above 24. I’m not sure how many Albertans, or other Canadians, have 24 years of formal education.
I wonder if simpler, clearer questions could have been posed.
Ian Naish Ottawa
Cut it out
Re “A licence to be a barber? Ridiculous red tape holds Canada back” (Report on Business, Oct. 12): I come from India where, half a century ago, the Licence Raj meant permission governed much of economic life. Government officials decided what businesses could manufacture, how much they could produce, how much steel they could obtain. Misjudge your allocation and production suffered.
I thought that belonged to a bygone era. But in Canada, even cutting hair can require government permission. Four provinces license barbers; six manage without. What public danger appears when someone crosses a provincial border?
Hygiene standards are reasonable. Making people clear expensive bureaucratic hurdles before they can work demands stronger justification.
Canada talks endlessly about productivity and entrepreneurship. Perhaps we could start by letting people pick up their scissors.
Akashdeep Kaushal Mississauga
Shed light
Re “Ottawa declassifies new details about CIA’s role in resettling Nazi war criminals in Canada” (Oct. 9): I applaud the decision to release more details on the relocation of Nazis to Canada after the Second World War. If we are to learn from history, first we have to know the history.
What I haven’t seen over the years is the definition of “collaborator.” If the term means “suspected war criminal,” then that description should replace it.
Does that mean individuals who did industrial research for military purposes, or individuals who helped to carry out the Holocaust? Big difference.
If it is the latter, then I find the actions taken by whatever government agency inexcusable and unforgivable. If it is the former, then judgment becomes murkier.
I also agree with the decision to not release the names of individuals who relocated. Most would have died by now.
The next generation should not be stigmatized for their ancestor’s guilt. It would serve no purpose.
Colin Lockhart Carleton North, N.B.
Post-mortem
Re “Plague fears remind us we still need an accounting of our COVID-19 response” (Oct. 13): Three cheers for this long overdue op ed. I recall, in the midst of the chaos of the pandemic, Canadians having been promised an inquiry into its handling.
In early 2020, we were repeatedly assured that Canada was at low risk for COVID-19, and the nation had learned valuable lessons from the SARS outbreak. The government took this dismissive tone until mid-March, when the tune changed quite suddenly.
Then I found inconsistent direction when it came to wearing face masks and vaccine availability (“The best vaccine is the first one offered” – unless it was AstraZeneca’s.)
All this resulted in a tremendous loss of public trust, leading to the trucker convoy and invocation of the Emergencies Act. If a public inquiry is held, even at this late date, it may go someways to ameliorating the situation and restoring confidence in public health.
John Reilly Victoria
On MAID
Re “Why is Ottawa so hellbent on limiting access to MAID?” (Oct. 14): The brain is complicated. Mental illness is multifactorial. Many non-medical institutions, including the courts, are challenged in how to approach and grapple with the fallout of mental illness.
Take, for example, anosognosia: A term derived from Greek meaning “without knowledge of disease,” it is a symptom of some serious mental illnesses whereby the obviously ill person does not see themselves as sick, so does not seek treatment or does not comply with medication prescribed by a physician. Would safeguards be strong enough to catch someone in this position, when it is still poorly understood by medical people, social agencies and the courts? You previously published an excellent column about this (“If the woman on the sidewalk refuses help, do we just let her freeze?” – Dec. 28, 2024).
As a society, are we not entrusted to protect and work harder to care for the most vulnerable among us, rather than expedite their demise so that we can feel better?
Susan Hudson Toronto
If medical assistance in dying for mental illness were available in the 1990s, there is a good chance I would not be here today.
I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression, the result of post-traumatic stress. I got psychiatric care in just a few months, but that started a 10-year struggle to find a solution.
Different medications were tried, but none worked well. Between each drug, I sank again into deep depression.
I thought of suicide several times. I really thought everyone else would be better off if I was no longer around. MAID would have been a perfect solution.
Finally, a drug combination was successful in doing what no single drug could do. I have thus spent the last 26 years living more or less normally and productively.
But it could have been very different if MAID for mental illness had been there in those first 10 years.
Gordon Forbes Peterborough, Ont.
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