The ArriveCAN app displayed on a cell phone in Ottawa, on Feb. 12.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Help is here
Re “Alberta Health Minister says province wants ability to opt out of pharmacare plan” (Feb. 27): I want to thank the Liberals for the help they provided my family in a time of dire need.
My mother had a horrible, years-long decline before she died. I was her sole caregiver while working full-time as a single mom.
The Liberals came to my rescue with the family caregiver benefit for up to 15 weeks. I accessed that twice for the full amount. There is also the compassionate care benefit for up to 26 weeks.
Those were lifesavers. I didn’t need to jump through hoops, stress about my employer or worry about money. I could direct all my attention to my mom.
Then, when my mom had nothing left to hope for, nothing left to look forward to other than being bed-bound and in pain, she was able to access medical assistance in dying.
I’ll never forget what Liberal policies did to help me, the average Canadian.
Claire Bouchard North Saanich, B.C.
Price per use
Re “Info watchdog investigating record destruction allegations related to ArriveCan app” (Online, Feb. 23): The estimated cost of the ArriveCan app is $59.5-million. The app was used more than 60 million times – that is less than $1 per use.
Implementation speed was the priority, and it was achieved: The project started in April, 2020, and was implemented in November, and there were 78 app releases as the Canada Border Services Agency reacted to COVID-19 management changes.
The major problem with ArriveCAN seems to be communications between politicians and senior public servants, as well as a poor understanding of what it was.
Hub Meuse London, Ont.
Lesson learned
Re “Old fears” (Letters, Feb. 24): A letter-writer maintains that Joe Biden is well beyond his prime. He also points to a youthful John F. Kennedy’s adroit handling of the nerve-wracking 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, in the face of intense pressure to invade the island from his advisers.
But he neglects to mention Mr. Kennedy’s disastrous approval of the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, which ended in Fidel Castro’s capture of more than 1,200 U.S.-trained Cuban exiles. Mr. Kennedy’s experience and perspective – which, I find, Mr. Biden unquestionably has – allowed him not to repeat a similar mistake the next year.
Peter McKenna Professor, department of political science; University of Prince Edward Island; Charlottetown
Falling apart
Re “Ontario boosts postsecondary education funding by more than $1-billion over three years” (Feb. 27): This will hardly address the financial problems that institutions face.
The long-term consequence of what the province has done since the first Ford government is that institutions have deferred maintenance. It’s the easiest way to save money. The sad state of asset management will likely be further exacerbated, with colleges and universities having no choice but to defer all but the most urgent of repairs.
What was a robust system of higher education in Ontario faces a sad future. What is offered to students will be diminished in quality; student services will be cut; buildings will increasingly suffer from decrepitude.
Peter Woolstencroft Department of political science, University of Waterloo; Waterloo, Ont.
Fight or flight
Re “Lynx Air blames everyone but itself for its demise” (Report on Business, Feb. 26): It seems a bit rich to chide defunct Lynx Air for mismanagement.
As an airline captain for a major Canadian airline, I can say first-hand that Canadian airports have an international reputation for sky-high fees and operational mismanagement. From broken baggage belts to ridiculous operational restrictions that airports put on airlines and the air traffic system, Canadian airports have proven to me that they are not up to the task of serving the travelling public.
For this mismanagement, the chief executive officers of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and Vancouver Airport Authority each earned approximately $2-million last year, while their U.S. counterparts earn on average $500,000.
Airport improvement fees are sky high while airport executives line their wallets.
Francis Hane Thunder Bay
Remember Canadian Pacific Air Lines and Wardair? We dined on Royal Doulton plates and white tablecloths. The owners had long-term business plans and shareholder support that kept them in the sky.
Lynx Air is not the first Canadian carrier to shrug off its undervalued passengers. I recall a flight that had to land in Puerto Rico, a few wing flaps short of Toronto. The plane had run out of fuel.
A lovely ersatz silver tray was passed around in hopes of enough credit cards to fill it up. I handed over mine, as did sufficient passengers to get us airbound and home.
Apparently I learned nothing from that experience. Lynx owes me for my trip to Halifax.
Jane Crist Collingwood, Ont.
Eat it
Re “Five daily practices to keep your mind sharp, according to neuroscientists” (Pursuits, Feb. 17): As important as activity, digital games, creative pursuits, quality time with loved ones and meditation may be to brain health, nutrition may trump them all.
Most Canadians consume a high-calorie, nutrient-poor, Western diet that is “inflammatory” and not conducive to brain health. People living in the world’s blue zones live long, healthy lives and have minimal age-related dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. These individuals are active and socially engaged, but also consume plant-based diets.
Plant-food consumption and age-related cognitive decline is a major focus in brain health research. Among the leaders are renowned neuroscientists Dean and Ayesha Sherzai at Loma Linda University in California. Their work and public outreach focuses on preventing, managing and reversing cognitive decline.
The body of knowledge on nutrition and brain health is substantial and warrants emphasis to the public. Diet, if not the focus of brain health studies, warrants being controlled as a contributing factor.
Elizabeth Dean Clinician scientist (retired), University of British Columbia; Vancouver
Bet on it
Re “Toronto says World Cup cost estimate now at $380-million, cites additional match” (Report on Business, Feb. 27): The sports gambling sites could make a fortune – not on the games, but from those betting on the ultimate cost.
I’ll put $10 down on $600-million. If I win, it would help pay for the 9.5-per-cent hike in my property taxes.
Richard Austin Toronto
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