An oil pumpjack at Lake Maracaibo in Cabimas, Venezuela, in January.Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters
With time
Re “As Trump pivots to Venezuela for energy, U.S. big oil and big money invest in Canada“ (Report on Business, Sept. 1): Donald Trump and Marco Rubio seem engaged in the robbery of Venezuelan oil and sovereignty in broad daylight. But nowadays, Venezuela struggles to produce 1.2 million barrels of oil a day, and as much as 300,000-plus barrels are used for internal consumption.
Restoring Venezuelan oil production to its 2000 level – more than three million barrels a day before Hugo Chávez took control of the state-owned oil and gas company – could take more than a decade with major financial and technical investment (the country’s electrical and water infrastructure is also in severe disrepair). Some wells may never be recovered.
Canada should not panic or rush into unfavourable deals and projects. We have time to find new markets for our exports, including oil; diversify the economy, especially in Alberta; invest seriously in research and development for alternative energy sources.
With common sense and unity, we can make better decisions and plough ahead.
Sonia Rajani Ottawa
Keep ‘em separated
Re “Central bank independence should have a limit” (Report on Business, Sept. 2): I couldn’t disagree more with the suggestion that central bank independence should be watered down in a consultative process with the elected body.
The recent kerfuffle in the United States regarding the President’s attempted bullying of Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell, the ongoing nonsense regarding Lisa Cook, another governor, and the worry about chair Kevin Warsh’s independence all underline the unassailable fact that markets want central bank independence from spendthrift politicians.
Financial history shows the damage that is done to economies when this independence is ruptured.
Steve Gross Toronto
Troubled water
Re “The weak link in Canada’s ambitions” (Editorial, Sept. 2):The 1969 Burrard Inlet Railway Bridge is one of three critical infrastructure weak links vital to both Vancouver’s North Shore and the broader Canadian economy.
The others are the 1969 Thornton Tunnel and 1904 New Westminster swing-arm rail bridge across the Fraser River. These links form a crucial freight corridor for exporting grain, potash, coal, forest products and many other commodities.
We can learn from history that the bridge is vulnerable. In October, 1979, the ship Japan Erica collided with the bridge and disabled it for nearly five months. With inlet dredging scheduled to begin this September to accommodate larger ships, improving and protecting this essential economic link is more urgent than ever.
The tunnel and the swing-bridge, which are crucial to the flow of freight, also have well-identified vulnerabilities that appear to be ignored.
Anne-Marie Lawrence North Vancouver
Get out the vote
Re “The separatists are telling us who they are – they want to unmake Alberta” (Sept. 1): The most striking concern is if apathetic Albertans do not turn out to vote.
Many Albertans may well be of the view that the separatist position is a complete non-starter, so there is no need to vote as the outcome is obvious. Therein lies the problem.
Separatists will vote; if pro-Canada Albertans complacently do not, we will be in a position that can only harm the province and the rest of the country.
More uncertainty for the world to see leads to concern for the necessary investments in our strong and vibrant province.
Webster Macdonald Jr. Calgary
On mass shootings
Re “Tumbler Ridge mass shooting survivors sue OpenAI, alleging negligence” (Sept. 3): Duty of care, alleged breach of that duty and resultant harm may well attend to OpenAI and other tech companies. But nowhere in this report about litigation and liability is there a mention of suing the manufacturers, sellers and regulators of guns and ammunition. Next to the deceased shooter, I believe these are the most proximate cause of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting.
I note the intrepid pursuit of justice has also seen legal action in the United States to sue and prosecute school staff and security officers who are faulted for not immediately racing into a storm of bullets. Kudos, I suppose, to the intrepid lawyers for such imagination and initiative.
I sense profound cognitive dissonance when the firearms industry blithely whistles past the courthouse steps over and over again.
Ron Beram Gabriola, B.C.
What goes around
Re “Renowned Canadair water bombers are in high demand but can’t be built fast enough as the planet burns” (Report on Business, Sept. 1): Almost a year ago I wrote a letter to this, my newspaper of choice, trumpeting the virtues of this made-in-Canada aviation marvel and the potential for an in-your-face tariff-war response, at a time when the planet is on fire and De Havilland customers are beating a path to its doors. Talk about the planets aligning.
Unfortunately my letter ended up on the rejection pile. No offence taken.
Here’s hoping our Prime Minister’s Major Projects Office is working on it. I’m available to lick envelopes.
Tom Bergen Squamish, B.C.
Relatively speaking
Re “Pete Hegseth proves himself unworthy of his job again – this time, at Canada’s expense” (Sept. 2) and “Uncalled for” (Letters, Sept. 4): A letter-writer saw Pete Hegseth’s vile post about Canadian children in the cadets and asked us to consider obesity rates in the Canadian military. He left it at that.
The statistics referenced are almost exactly the same as in the U.S. military. Canada, generally speaking, also has lower obesity and overweight rates than the United States. Do with that what you will.
Mike Kasprow Toronto
Noted
Re “Hilroy’s classic back-to-school notebook features flawed map of Canada” (Sept. 3): Since Hilroy, now a U.S. company, can’t read a map, I think it is high time for us to print more school notebooks in Canada.
We have graphic designers and editors who would have caught this stupid omission.
Bev Dywan Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ont.
Cape Breton and Newfoundland are indeed beautiful bits of Canada that should never have been omitted in Hilroy’s exercise book printing. While we’re at it, so is Haida Gwaii. I’m looking forward to their reappearances soon.
Geoff Hoare Vancouver
Life in death
Re “Volunteer program aims to comfort patients without loved ones in their final moments” (Sept. 2): As someone who recently completed a program to be an end-of-life practitioner, I can see the desire to give back by volunteering.
I took the program more for interest and have not decided to make a career of it. But make no mistake, with our growing and aging population, death doula is a career, too.
This work has value both monetarily and for the soul.
E. L. McDonald London, Ont.
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