Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes an announcement that the government will double the carbon price rebate for rural Canadians, during a news conference in Ottawa on Oct. 26.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Smoke signals
Re “The Liberals’ credibility on the carbon tax has gone up in smoke” (Editorial, Oct. 30): I admire government that does what it believes is best for the country, regardless of what may be good for the party.
Notable examples: taking a “leap of faith” to implement free trade with the United States; replacing the distorted manufacturers sales tax with the GST; saying No to the Iraq war despite enormous pressure to join; the implementation of carbon pricing to counter looming environmental decline.
With the exemption of heating oil used in Liberal ridings in Atlantic Canada, I see a government undermining the country to serve the party’s self-interests. Already all kinds of interest groups are lining up to see if they can be exempted as well.
By opening this door, carbon pricing will likely die the death of a thousand cuts. What will take its place? Taxpayer subsidies, including free heat pumps to support local politicians?
What a disaster this looks to be.
Andrew Vanderwal Toronto
Canada needs better carbon pricing rather than none at all.
It’s the most effective mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, because it sends a market signal to develop clean energy alternatives to fossil fuel. I feel it was the right move to double rebates for rural communities, given that clean energy options are not yet readily available in those areas.
Choosing what fossil fuels to freeze, however, is problematic and leads to requests for additional exemptions. Emboldened by the freeze on heating oil, the Ontario Premier wants the federal government to freeze gas heating, too, which would saddle Ontarians with more expensive, heat-trapping fuel.
It would be better to price fuel as upstream as possible. Wealthy fossil fuel companies should be the first to pay the rising carbon fee.
Cheryl McNamara Toronto
One of the most worrisome effects of the Trudeau government’s scrapping of policies no longer politically convenient is the acceleration of cynicism, mistrust and public disengagement, especially among younger citizens.
By emulating the populist, vote-chasing styles of their opponents, I believe the Liberals are damaging the long-term health of our precious democracy.
Andreas Souvaliotis Toronto
Imagine a world that is carbon neutral, thanks to renewable energy sources combined, perhaps, with deliberate reductions in consumption. (The alternative to this world feels inconceivable.)
Now ponder what it will take to get us there – think hard decisions by bold governments – and who will lead the way. Will it be baby boomers (my generation) and Gen Xers, who are in the process of yielding today’s positions of power? Will it be our children, who are taking over those positions?
Will it be their children, who will come of age mid-century and run the show in the following decades? Or will it be left to their children?
The longer the delay, the bigger the challenges, the greater the pain. The sooner we get to work in earnest, the better.
Decisions made today really come down to this: Which generation will we ask to save the planet?
Donald Hall Ottawa
Made in Canada
Re “Ottawa’s plans to buy Boeing jets based on ‘flawed’ information, Bombardier CEO says” (Oct. 26): While there are times when sole-source military aircraft purchases make sense for Canada (the Boeing C-17 for strategic lift capability, for example), the idea that Boeing P-8As be sole-sourced as surveillance aircraft doesn’t seem to be an obvious step forward.
Bombardier has successfully delivered special-mission aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, the British Royal Air Force and many of our other allies for decades. Its proposed partnership with General Dynamics would lead to an enhancement of national military capabilities and substantial job creation in Canada.
Sole-source contract? Maybe, but not to Boeing.
Steve Zan Ottawa
Au secours
Re “François Legault has concocted a threat to the French language that no one else can see” (Editorial, Oct. 27): The fact that the French language is in trouble, even though it’s not true, should actually be seen as a good thing, politically.
Quebec is often about politics, from music to religion, to licence plates to language, etc. If French wasn’t in trouble, would there be a Quebec?
Nationalism sells and seems to flow through the province’s bloodstream. I see it as the sympathizer that keeps the rest of Canada engaged and the medication that politicians continually feed the populace.
The power of language menace works, politically.
Douglas Cornish Ottawa
Free speech?
Re “Denounce and refute, don’t muzzle” (Oct. 30): I agree that York University students have the right to free speech. But student unions claim to speak for all students, and for that reason should have no right to make controversial political statements with which many students disagree.
Arguably, however, any challenge to union leadership should come from members, not the university administration.
Richard Harris Hamilton
The right to free speech for York University’s student unions would have more resonance if students could opt out of paying dues to organizations that they feel do not represent them.
As long as Jewish students must pay dues to unions that issue statements reprehensible to them, especially in light of what happened on Oct. 7, the substance of those statements should require greater regulation.
Suzette Blom Toronto
What we know
Re “Did my daughter inherit autism from me?” (First Person, Oct. 24): As the parent of an autistic son and chair of Kerry’s Place Autism Services, Canada’s largest autism services provider, we know that family history and genetics do indeed play a role in a child’s predisposition toward autism.
That doesn’t mean autism is inherited or parents have to be autistic themselves to pass it down to their children. Parents and children more commonly share traits. And while genes play an important role, external and environmental factors such as pregnancy and birth complications, prematurity and low birth rate also contribute.
Researchers are at the forefront in gaining clarity in this area, and there will be exciting developments to come.
Jan Stewart Toronto
Fine line
Re “Shane Pinto’s ‘sports wagering’ suspension leaves an impression, but the NHL wants you to think otherwise” (Sports, Oct. 28): I find it hard to escape the irony of the National Hockey League and its players subjecting us to endless advertisements for online betting, but now taking the moral high ground to penalize Shane Pinto.
Donna Howard Smiths Falls, Ont.
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