David Johnston in Ottawa on May 23.BLAIR GABLE/Reuters
Foreign interference
Re “Embattled David Johnston resigns as special rapporteur on Chinese interference” (June 10): David Johnston was doomed from the start. The term “special rapporteur” was confusing and elitist. Ordinary Canadians felt the fix was in. The Opposition grabbed hold for political gain.
Lost in all of this is whether or not our democracy is at risk. Parliament, as a whole, has failed us.
Ken Sutton Toronto
David Johnston’s resignation as special rapporteur on Chinese state interference is a chilling example of why the quality of political leadership, in Canada and elsewhere, is so low. Pettiness, mean-spiritedness and personal abuse, so characteristic of political partisanship unrestrained by common civility, drive people of quality and principle out of public life, leaving our affairs to be run by people of lesser quality whose primary goals are not the good of our country. We all suffer as a result.
Joseph Stanford Nepean, Ont.
Workers’ rights
Re “Immigration: Canada’s economy can’t rely on temporary workers and study permits forever” (Editorial, June 8): Migrant workers have been essential to the care and food sectors through the temporary foreign worker program for more than 50 years.
But most workers are tied to their employers, making them vulnerable to abuse and threats of deportation if they speak out. While the government has made efforts to address abuses, it has a terrible track record in investigating employers.
Ending indentured labour is a good start, but Canada should take a good, hard look at itself. The program relies on racialized workers, exemplifying systemic racism. Are we truly the human rights defenders we purport to be by upholding it?
Canada should end this program and immediately regularize all workers who lost their status because they either fled abuse or fell through bureaucratic cracks. And it should make permanent residency a first step toward filling critical labour shortages.
Cheryl McNamara Communications and advocacy co-ordinator, KAIROS; Toronto
Bank role
Re “The Bank of Canada shouldn’t have hiked interest rates this week” (Report on Business, June 9): The Bank of Canada seems to have one mandate only, and that is to keep inflation at 2 per cent.
When it believes that its mandate is also to increase or decrease unemployment rates or to manage the money supply, things tend to get out of whack. Over the past decade, it helped to keep interest rates near zero by increasing the money supply.
This had the effect of increasing the value of assets such as housing; businesses making bad decisions when the only return required was anything above zero; helping governments borrow excess funds at near-zero rates. The inflation we are experiencing, then, is the result of these decisions.
Inflation is a many-headed monster and the only tools that central banks have are very blunt. That is why central banks should stick to one mandate and leave the economy to the legislative branch.
Paolo Nicoletti Barrie, Ont.
Patriot love?
Re “Zimbabwe’s ‘Patriotic Bill’ has made free and fair elections impossible” (June 8): “Patriotism is a good thing – unless it becomes weaponized as in Zimbabwe, China and Russia.” We should be careful not to take as a given that patriotism otherwise is always a good thing.
As we approach Canada Day, we should reflect on what we want our patriotism to mean. In an ever smaller and interconnected world, with civil conflicts and climate refugees, is it a banner for empathy, for sharing our good fortune? Or is it a convenient slogan to ignore the problems of the less fortunate on this planet?
Robert Walsh Cavan-Monaghan, Ont.
Words matter
Re “N.B. Premier Blaine Higgs faces caucus revolt over education policy on pronouns” (June 9): Complete credit to the caucus members who didn’t hesitate to make their allyhood to trans and non-binary students known.
However uncomfortable anyone might feel using identifying factors that aren’t currently legal, they should suck it up and do so. No one deserves to be denied recognition of who they genuinely are.
I don’t say that lightly: One teacher I had during my transition said she had full right to call me my mistaken name, until I could prove the one I’d always known to be mine was legal – forcing me to bring my birth certificate to school. Two others were emphatic that we could correct them if they misspoke anyone’s name or if we wanted to be called something else.
I pray no other provincial authorities will make moves down a discriminatory path. May God protect any and every student who will be impacted by it in September.
Amy Soule Hamilton
On points
Re “Travel costs have soared but loyalty points can still help” (June 9): Our main problem with Aeroplan: the near-impossibility of cashing in points for business-class seats.
Since February, my wife has been trying to book us business-class seats with Aeroplan points to fly to Melbourne, Australia, and back from Bali, Indonesia, next year. She has 478,000 points and I have 160,000 which, together, is more than enough to fly business class.
Aeroplan keeps telling us that they have no business-class seats available for us (although there are plenty if we were to purchase them at $10,000 each).
There is something wrong with Aeroplan when it does not honour the points that customers have accumulated over the years.
Mark and Anne Stolarik Ottawa
Senior moments
Re “Play on” (Letters, June 12): Your recent correspondence on playground equipment brings to mind an incident a few years ago when my wife and I found a carousel/roundabout in a deserted playground next to a car park on Cape Breton Island. Returning to our youth, we spun and rode for some time, giggling and yelling. Then we looked up and saw a busload of old age pensioners watching us. We were around 70 at the time. Next time we went that way, the equipment had disappeared, whether to protect children or the elderly was not explained. My wife had to content herself with the swings.
A.S. Brown Kingston
Hello Wisconsin!
Re “Yes, you can find a decent meal – and avoid sky high prices – at the airport” (June 7): My wife and I were being seen off by friends at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport when they suggested that we go for a meal in the terminal before we departed. We had a very typical, and great, Wisconsin meal at Miller Brewhouse for one-third of what I thought we would pay.
And Wisconsinites being practical, the restaurant was located beside a used book store.
Bob Shaw Centre Wellington, Ont.
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