New single family houses billed as estate cottages and townhouses under construction are seen in an aerial view, in Delta, B.C., on Aug. 12.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Fumbling with finances
Re “From taxes to housing, here’s what each major party is promising for your finances” (April 24): The massive deficits presented in the Liberal platform are unmanageable. It doesn’t take an economist to realize that these deficits will increase the national debt, leading to vastly increased interest payments.
Mark Carney’s assertion that increased deficits will boost the economy is a combination of economic gobbledygook and utter nonsense.
Mr. Carney touts himself as being the only person who can stand up to Donald Trump. If he were to confront Mr. Trump as prime minister of a country that can’t even manage its own finances, he will be laughed out of the Oval Office!
Angus Turner North Grenville, Ont.
Housing headache
Re “Two very different blueprints for a housing crisis” (Editorial, April 21): This editorial provided an excellent summary of the housing solutions offered by the Conservatives and the Liberals.
It also left me with a question. Why are we left solely with partisan choices?
It seems as though both the Liberal and Conservative proposals have merit.
I worked for a company whose leadership regularly recognized that more than one division had a stake in resolving an issue. Invariably, the problem was assigned to groups within each division.
It was always of interest to learn how others defined the problem and developed solutions. In the final analysis, the best of the best formed the policy or developed the strategies that were needed.
If you work backward, beginning with the question of what is best for Canadians, that makes more sense than a winner-takes-all competition.
John Martin Victoria
Both Liberal and Conservative housing plans are destined to fall short – not because they lack ambition, but because they fail to address the core structural issue: municipal bureaucracy.
The very system responsible for housing approvals seems to be disincentivized to improve. Municipal staff and their managerial layers are not rewarded for efficiency.
Meanwhile, city councillors appear to be more focused on appeasing current voters and NIMBY sentiment rather than facilitating responsible development.
If we are serious about fixing the housing crisis, zoning and building approvals need to be taken out of the hands of municipalities. Only a streamlined, centralized and politically insulated process can break through the apparent inertia of city bureaucracies.
Until this is addressed, all the funding and policy in the world won’t move the needle fast enough.
Allan Madan Mississauga
Political hypocrisy
Re “Keep in check” (Letters, April 25): A reader comments that Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra noted “mismanagement and misplaced priorities” as part of the reason some school boards are being investigated by his ministry. Is this not the pot calling the kettle black?
Were the handing over of chunks of the Greenbelt to developers, the lack of due diligence in the procurement process for the redevelopment of Ontario Place, the unnecessary gutting of the Science Centre, and the attempt to override municipal authority in the ripping up of established bike lanes in Toronto not recent examples of one or the other?
How about setting up a royal commission to investigate the Ontario government?
Adam Plackett Toronto
Buyer beware
Re “What to replace American booze? Cannabis drinks, the ultimate Canadian beverage” (Report on Business, April 24): Cannabis is not alcohol and cannabis beverages must not be considered a beer substitute.
The THC in cannabis has a half-life of up to 36 hours. That means a day and a half later, half of the ingested THC remains in the body, because it is fat-soluble.
Someone drinking “the ultimate Canadian beverage” more than once weekly is going to accumulate THC.
This causes changes in the brain’s biology – about 15 per cent of the receptors that modulate our daily emotional processing become inactive. They will return to function if the person stops using cannabis for a few weeks.
Alcohol does not do this (although this isn’t to say it is any safer). People using cannabis, however innocuous it seems to them, must be aware that they are creating changes to their neurobiology.
Tom Bell MD (retired) medical adviser, Schizophrenia Society of Canada, Peterborough, Ont.
Added value
Re “Inside the helium plant that could lift Canada’s economy” (Report on Business, April 25): The article on helium production across Saskatchewan’s southwest contains one snippet that seems to exemplify Canada’s major economic problem – it ships helium to the U.S. “for final processing – Canada does not have a helium liquefaction facility.”
With our continuous emphasis on our resource riches, we fail to see that we are not adding value where it really counts.
We are often content to be the “hewers of wood and drawers of water”. This will result in our continued economic decline vis-à-vis the developed world, unless we stop providing other countries with raw or partially processed resources so that they, not us, can add the real value in the final product.
I saw no end of this in developing Asian countries as far back as the 1980s and 1990s – they were moving steadily up the food chain, often doing value addition that we should have provided, and overtaking our capabilities.
Roger Love Saanich, B.C.
Peace, not war
Re “Russian strike on Kyiv kills at least 12 in biggest attack on Ukrainian capital since last summer” (April 25): U.S. President Donald Trump said he is “not happy” with the Russian strikes on Kyiv, but imagine how the people of Kyiv feel about it.
Mr. Trump seems annoyed that it will mess up his attempt to stop the war between Russia and Ukraine, although his solution seems to only involve the Ukrainian people giving up their land. He is not capable of solving this conflict.
A resolution to a war must be achieved to stop the fighting and protect the people involved, it is not to be something to boast about.
Dennis Fitzgerald Melbourne, Australia
Apologetic Americans
Re “Look who’s sorry now: Americans are an apologetic bunch to this Canadian on vacation” (Opinion, April 24): During the many winters we’ve spent in a Florida retirement community, our rule has been to not discuss politics – we haven’t wanted to know if our friendly, helpful neighbours were Trump supporters.
This year, we’ve been delighted when many people, including strangers, have approached us with open arms saying: “We’re so sorry about our government!”
It turns out, many are Democrats. I’m touched and heartened by these apologies, but we’ll feel even better when the Republicans start apologizing.
Rosemary Waterston and Phil King Toronto
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