Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to reporters outside Parliament Hill in Ottawa in May, 2025.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
At stake
Re “Gaza at risk of starvation, more than 100 aid groups warn, as Israeli strikes kill 29 overnight” (July 24): The picture of malnourished Yazan reminds me of my time treating children with severe acute malnutrition in South Sudan and Kenya.
I am glad you included the photo of his back, but not his face. It depicts what occurs many times over: emaciated children and their grief-stricken mothers, sitting hour after hour, waiting for a miracle that never comes.
Once a child reaches late-stage malnutrition, they are very difficult to pull back from the brink. It takes little to push them over, even a bit of extra IV fluid can do it. Mortality rates are high and treatment must be slow and careful, requiring expertise.
I used to think of these children as being so fragile that they had a foot on either side of the divide. Most famines are man-made: Biafra in 1967, Ethiopia in 1983, South Sudan in 2017.
It’s painful to watch famine unfolding again in 2025.
Lauralee Morris, MD Brampton, Ont.
Peace and quiet
Re “Poilievre’s cheap shots at Carney’s business ties are unfounded and unhinged” (Report on Business, July 21): In the midst of the chaos that is living in 2025, I have welcomed the relative lack of rants from Pierre Poilievre.
His negative raging did nothing to encourage me to vote for him in the last election. I was ready for change, but he was not the option.
I know the opposition is supposed to oppose, but opposition should find its voice in the mind, not the gut. Fearmongering is not useful. Sadly we have seen the results of that with our neighbour to the south.
In August, Mr. Poilievre has an opportunity to return to the House. I believe he is who he is – a leopard cannot change his spots.
I hope the people of Battle River-Crowfoot deny him the opportunity to again mount the soapbox of negativism and fear.
John Ripley Lincoln, Ont.
Trade expectations
Re “What makes supply management so uniquely vile? Let me count the ways” (July 23): When the recent egg shortage occurred in the United States, Canada suffered no shortage supply management maintained a continuous supply.
The U.S. has a few large businesses churning out eggs. When an infection occurs, nearly the entire industry must stop production. It is mostly about making money and not about quality.
In Canada, we have many smaller businesses producing eggs with more quality control.
Many Canadians have already stopped U.S. vacations and buying U.S. products. Mark Carney should not trade our supply management.
M.A. Lacasse Ottawa
Around Toronto
Re “A party to celebrate a mistake” (July 19): I read with interest columnist Marcus Gee’s thoughts on the official renaming of what is now Sankofa Square. I agree and suggest that Toronto missed an opportunity in renaming it.
The city should have remembered and honoured Thornton and Lucie Blackburn, two enslaved people who fled the United States and, after arriving in Toronto, founded the first taxi company in 1837. The Blackburns became successful business people and helped many other freedom seekers settle in Toronto.
I propose that city council have prudent second thoughts and rename the square after two people who actually made a difference to the young city.
Deanna Groetzinger Toronto
Re “After 18 years of work, Toronto’s Port Lands opens to the public” (July 18): My favourite sight at the new Port Land’s park is the one that says “Fishing Area.“ I never thought I would see that in my lifetime.
The rerouting of the Don River, with its extensive walking and cycling paths along with a stunning playground, has created a space that is world class.
I hope Ontario Place planners take notice.
Tom Scanlan Toronto
Please pledge
Re “House passes Trump’s $9-billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid” (July 19): Among the minor consequences (if there are any minor consequences) of Donald Trump’s vindictive and misguided clawback of US$9-billion in funding will be more pledge breaks on public television stations. Brace for more aging rock, pop and folk singers dragging out their old hits.
Pass me the remote.
T.M. Dickey Toronto
Running wild
Re “Hulk Hogan’s wrestling career had no shortage of made-in-Canada moments” (Obituary, July 25): To Torontonian children of a certain age, Hulk Hogan stood apart from our other heroes for one particular reason: He knew who we were.
Every three weeks, there was Hulk Hogan, on my television, standing next to Hamilton’s Billy Red Lyons, telling me he hoped they’d “reinforced the CN Tower and told the streetcar drivers on Queen Street to hold on tight, brother,” because the Earth would shake when he slammed King Kong Bundy down at Maple Leaf Gardens, and I had better buy a ticket to witness it.
As much as I’d loved him when I was 8, now all I think of is a man who had a chance at redemption after being caught saying horribly racist things, but never took it. Instead of sincerely apologizing, he jumped on the Trump train.
Hulk Hogan sullied his own legacy. The real enduring commandment of Hulkamania: Don’t be a jerk.
Stephen Dame Toronto
Common ground
Re “My estranged father died in hospital after years of drug use. He was more than a statistic” (Opinion, July 19): Thanks to contributor Jordan Foisy for an insightful and moving examination of his father’s death and their non-relationship.
It speaks to the mystery of family linkages, even when they seem non-existent, and the cost of recognizing them.
Barbara Riley Ottawa
Contributor Jordan Foisy’s articulate and penetrating candour is like the lemon zest in recipes; many of his descriptive details are so poignant, though not melodramatic, that they needed a counterbalance.
Turns of phrase, such as “it was like we were building a puzzle of him but discovering that all the pieces we had were for the corners,“ had me in tears by the time I got to the last paragraph.
Brian Tansey Ottawa
I was interested in Jordan Foisy’s contribution at the headline. As soon as I saw that he was also from the Sault, I had to continue.
The other common thread we have is that both our fathers lost their lives as a result of addiction. I lost my father to alcoholism when I was 9.
I never had the chance to know him well, aside from random phone calls. Even then I struggled with not seeing him, but now know why I couldn’t.
I think the most important part of Mr. Foisy’s writing is that of inheriting empathy. There have been countless times when I have interjected with people complaining about the scourges of addiction, in order to relate my own personal story as to why I see things differently.
Addiction is not a choice. We should do better as a society to help those afflicted by it.
David Moore Georgina, Ont.
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