Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons on April 21, 2021 in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
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Please stand up
Re A Leadership Vacuum In Ford’s Ontario (Editorial, April 21): We have elected officials, appointed officials and hired officials on the pandemic file. We also have cabinets, boards, councils and executive bodies. And we have competing ideologies, best practices, opinions and interests. Forget about whether anyone is competent – this is not working.
The borders are sieves, airports are selectively open, guidelines are being ignored and rules are not enforced. Maybe it’s time for somebody to take the reins, if for no other reason than to say we tried.
David Wilmot Sudbury
I’ve been following regulations restricting our movements and associations. But an Ontario regulation forbidding four golfers from sharing an average of 300 yards of fairway seems like a knee-jerk overreaction.
Golf, like many other recreational activities, is not a team or contact sport. A majority of medical experts recommend that responsible outside activity with small numbers should be encouraged for physical and mental health – even during this provincial lockdown.
Such over-the-top political dictates seem to only undercut support for science-based regulations, which we want all people to follow.
Ed White Toronto
For too long, people have seen fighting the pandemic and helping the economy as zero-sum measures – addressing one detracts from the other. Time and experience elsewhere would show that, in the medium- and long-term, it is in most cases only true in one direction.
We should know by now that without money and effort spent fighting the pandemic, the economy may not ever fully recover. We’ve been slow to learn our lesson.
William Love Burlington, Ont.
Culture change
Re A Seminal Moment For Racial Justice – But Don’t Count On It Lasting (April 22): This time should be different. For police forces, one of their own was deemed guilty and taken away in handcuffs. Hopefully this visual will cause some officers to reconsider the knee-jerk reaction of shooting first and asking questions later.
Ann Sullivan Peterborough, Ont.
Diversions
Re Budget Or Bust (Letters, April 21): I could not agree more with a letter-writer who considers the additional $500 for 75-plus seniors to be a cynical vote-buying attempt.
What if 10,000 of us like-minded seniors sent our $500 to the Conservative party for its election war chest? How ironic that would be: $5-million from the Liberals to the Conservatives, to fight an unwanted election courtesy of we seniors.
Where can I sign up?
Larry Heide Lanark, Ont.
Broken promises
Re Canada Ends Funding For Syria’s White Helmets (April 20): I find it absolutely astonishing, or rather outrageous, that the government would end funding to Syria’s White Helmets.
The Globe and Mail reports that the annual cost was in the order of $4-million. The Liberal government will likely spend that much promoting and advertising what it calls a budget.
How can anybody take this country seriously when the government says one thing, yet does the exact opposite? These were some of the folks who were going to be immediately resettled in Canada, yet remain in a Jordanian refugee camp.
The clear message to me: “Don’t trust Canada – you can’t believe a word from the government.”
Travers Fitzpatrick Fonthill, Ont.
Military match
Re West May Become Outmatched In Military Defence By China, Top Canadian Soldier Says (April 20): The remarks by Canada’s top soldier should be a wake-up call for the Trudeau government, especially his observation that Canada’s new warships – even if equipped with anti-shipping missiles and missile defence systems – are vulnerable to the new class of hypersonic missiles being developed by China and others.
While it is probably too much to ask that our military chiefs think beyond preparing to fight the next war, should we not expect the government to get serious about arms control and disarmament? In this time of climate disasters, pandemics and environmental collapse, preparing for future wars seems completely irresponsible.
Scott Burbidge Port Williams, N.S.
Keep on truckin’?
Re Manitoba Signs Deal With North Dakota To Vaccinate Province’s Truckers In U.S. (April 21): I live near Windsor, Ont., where thousands of trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge both ways, every day. Why aren’t international truckers given regular COVID-19 tests? These drivers travel throughout U.S. hot spots rampant with the virus. They go into places such as manufacturing plants and truck stops several times a day, then return to Canada.
I think testing truckers is a common-sense approach to shutting the door on incoming spread of COVID-19.
Paul Robertson Belle River, Ont.
My late trucker father would tell me about the Canadian truckers he met on the road. Some of these drivers were on their way to U.S. states with significant toll fees and, as such, many a truck-stop table became an informal, busy (and in today’s world, not entirely legal) currency exchange.
As these drivers became friends, the exchanges included things as varied as Canadian whisky and American peanut butter or blue jeans. I remember one driver wanted a few dress shirts from Lord and Taylor; my father made the trade for a Holt Renfrew sweater for my mother.
It appears that even in a pandemic, a bit of goodwill can still be found between Canadians and Americans.
Mary Stanik Tucson, Ariz.
Red card
Re This Isn’t A Disney Sports Documentary. The Breakaway League Doesn’t End Here (Sports, April 21): No question that billionaire owners would prefer tenured protection for their historical clubs. An owner’s choice would never be a sports model that would have kept the Toronto Maple Leafs in a second-tier division for most of my lifetime.
However, the idea of changing the meritocratic model – notwithstanding resource differential – was unacceptable to everyone who understands the game. There’s never been a sports announcement so widely disagreed with so quickly. This was not because so few people were involved in the decision, but because so few stakeholders agree with the idea.
Sean Bjorklund Calgary
Out, through
Re Chaos Around The Dining Room Table (First Person, April 19): My heart goes out to this distraught mother. The mere fact of her writing so well proves her underlying strength.
Her lively offspring will be proud of her, and she of their resilience and academic progress. This will all pass, and we will return to normal. Just not quite yet.
Diana Burns Toronto
Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com