Canadian flags line a street in High River, Alta., on May 7.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Help wanted
Re “Canada needs a ‘no-regrets’ list of national projects to drive growth, report argues” (Report on Business, May 15): When planning to invest large sums of public money into nation-building projects, could we include, as part of the decision-making process, the metric of how many jobs per $1-million are likely to be created?
Yes, we all want a stronger, more robust economy. Hopefully we’d also want nation-building projects that are shown to maximize the number of jobs created, in order to benefit as many people as possible.
Lewis Poulin Montreal
Better spent
Re “Canada can lead efforts to reform foreign aid that neither cuts nor continues the status quo” (May 15): It is argued that development assistance needs a “radical shift,” with fewer resources remaining in the hands of international agencies and “funding flowing directly to local organizations.”
The clarion call at most major international donor conferences over the past 15 years has always been for greater local ownership. Limited success can be put down to the often cynical and self-serving purposes in much foreign aid.
Canada’s 2008 Official Development Assistance Accountability Act requires that it “contributes to poverty reduction” and “takes into account the perspectives of the poor.” Yet only one-third of such assistance goes to the least developed countries, and of that, a fraction is spent on things such as basic health and education.
Before we start imagining new paradigms and leadership roles, let’s get back to basics and ensure that our foreign aid is directed, as the act requires, more clearly and directly toward poverty reduction.
Ian Smillie Author, The Charity of Nations; Ottawa
Bill me
Re “Quebec may be serious about health care reform, but its approach isn’t helping” (May 13): Should the government dictate the work conditions of a hairdresser who owns their shop? Or perhaps those of a mechanic who owns an auto repair shop?
These absurd questions are, in essence, what Quebec’s proposed bill is confronting us with. Doctors are self-employed and should, at least theoretically, be allowed to carry out their practices as they want.
That is the elephant in the room regarding physicians’ compensation. Doctors have one single client – the government – and take little to no financial risk.
It is clear to me they ought to be considered salaried workers.
Samuel Rochette Brossard, Que.
Keep it simple
Re “Ontario reports 200 new measles cases as province struggles to contain outbreak” (May 9) and “Measles could keep spreading for a year, says Canada’s chief public health officer” (May 16): I am surprised at the hypocrisy manifested by some commentators on the ongoing measles cases in Ontario.
How else do people want the government to be “more forceful?” Erect emergency infectious disease hospitals to quarantine known and suspected cases of measles and their contacts?
I am disappointed with the assertion that “it is important to approach the issue in a sensitive manner and to not point fingers.” If it is justifiable to point fingers, why shouldn’t we, instead of pampering the guilty with kid gloves?
How I wish people would stop playing politics with a non-political issue. My preferred solution is simple: Children of parents who refuse to have them immunized should be banned from daycare or school until the situation returns to normal, no matter how long this may be.
Muri Abdurrahman MD, pediatrician (retired); Thornhill, Ont.
On screen
Re “Benjamin Netanyahu is building a shameful legacy” (May 15): The moral polarity articulated here was dramatized superbly in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 movie Munich.
The character played by Daniel Craig revels in his work as an assassin. He celebrates his first kill with gusto as a show of strength.
Conversely, the character played by Mathieu Kassovitz cannot reconcile murder with Jewish values that demand humanity and compassion. He chooses not to become like the monstrous terrorists they hope to defeat, eventually leaving the mission.
In Judaism, the idea of “repairing the world” (tikkun olam) is a core concept that emphasizes the responsibility to make the world a better place. It seems that Benjamin Netanyahu and the extreme right that support him have failed to consider the wisdom inherent in ancient Jewish concepts.
Suzette Blom Toronto
Give and take
Re “Loblaw chief executive warns of surge in tariff-hit food products as pretariff inventory runs out” (May 15): Despite the fact that 2025 first-quarter profit was up over last year, the major food corporations predict Canadians will pay higher prices due to the tariff war.
Is there no consideration on the part of these food giants to accept lower profit margins during this crisis? I guess we’re all Canadian, but we’re only in this together when it doesn’t affect the bottom line.
Gerard Shkuda Burlington, Ont.
Door to door
Re “For young Canadians, the toughest job market in decades is threatening their financial futures” (May 15): When my daughter was in high school, I was out walking and noticed renovations on a soon-to-be opening coffee shop in our neighbourhood. I chatted with the owner and wished him luck.
When I got home, I suggested to my daughter that she immediately pop over there and ask for a summer job. She was mortified by the idea, but eventually agreed.
Twenty minutes later, she returned. “I got the job!”
It is repeatedly stated that young people “sent out” 40 or 50 applications. I assume this is by e-mail or through online portals, in which their application joins thousands of other faceless applications.
Here’s a radical thought: Try walking into businesses, offices, restaurants or coffee shops in person. Maybe even bring along – gasp – a paper résumé.
The results might be surprising.
Paul Benedetti Hamilton
Listen up
Re “Should I be disqualified from my book club because I use audiobooks?” (First Person, May 15): Audiobooks also provide those with disabilities the ability to access storytelling.
For those who may struggle to hold the physical object or turn its delicate pages (not to mention those with sight-related issues), audiobooks present an opportunity to not only experience literature in an accessible medium, but also to engage in community-building discourse in settings such as book clubs.
The other members of the essay-writer’s book club should reconsider their outlook. Stories are meant to be shared. Isn’t it beautiful that we are able to share them in increasingly accessible ways?
Marco Amatangelo Toronto
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