The Enbridge Terminal and Pipelines next to the Suncor Energy Refinery on August 23, 2023, in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto)NO USE FRANCEArtur Widak/Reuters
Just the one
Re “Floor-crossing is not a threat to Canadian democracy – in fact, it might be beneficial to it” (Nov. 12) and “Party power” (Letters, Nov. 14): Despite your best efforts, some of your correspondents still do not seem to understand the Canadian parliamentary system. They are convinced we are voting for a government, for a party and its leader, and thus feel betrayed should their MP cross the aisle.
But of course we only elect a representative, our MP. It is the prime minister, first among equals, who in turn chooses cabinet.
Rather than voting for a party line and accepting unknown candidates chosen by party executives, Canadians would do well to listen to and question all candidates in their riding, then vote for the best one.
An MP of conscience and sound judgement may indeed feel compelled one day to cross the floor.
Elaine Bander Montreal
Business case
Re “Teck dalliance with Vale gives Industry Minister Joly an alternative to Anglo merger” (Report on Business, Nov. 13): “It is promised to be a tough high-stakes decision for the minister.” No, it really won’t.
All that’s needed here is for the minister to review the purchases of Alcan, Inco and Falconbridge years ago. What promises and commitments were made by the purchasers? Which were kept? Virtually none.
Sorry to Anglo American: Teck Resources should not be for sale.
Martin Stockton Carleton Place, Ont.
Hard cap
Re “Liberal ministers avoid saying when emissions cap could be scrapped” (Report on Business, Nov. 10): If Ottawa’s carbon pricing will truly make the emissions cap redundant, then why not leave it in place as a safety backstop? It would be much better to have insurance for a livable future than risk missing our climate targets.
When we remember the damage of last summer’s wildfires, it should be clear that it’s not the emissions cap that will become superfluous in the future, but the socioeconomic gains of more oil production. The cost of fires, relocations and damage from climate change will likely far outweigh the potential jobs and revenue from more fossil fuel expansion.
Let’s expand our policies for an alternative green economy, not our leniency for oil producers. The emissions cap can help us move in that direction.
Joey Maslen Calgary
I advocated for and supported the cap on emissions. But if it has to go, it has to go.
If the industrial price on pollution can bring about the same emissions reductions, then that’s great. However, for any emissions reduction strategy to be effective, one thing has to happen: We need to actually do it.
This may sound trite, but we can’t abandon ship every time fossil fuel companies or certain provinces make a fuss. We can change the tools for meeting our climate targets, as long as we’re not throwing the whole tool box away every time someone doesn’t play nice.
Mary Blake Rose London Ont.
High bar
Re “Law Society of Ontario considers replacing bar exam with skills-based course” (Nov. 13): I can’t help but laugh.
When I was called to the bar in 1979, we endured a six-month course with exams every few weeks. Intense? Certainly. But “stressful?” Hardly, at least not compared to actually practising law.
In a few short weeks, these newly licensed lawyers will be unleashed upon the public. They could be defending people’s liberty in criminal trials, battling over custody of children or handling transactions involving their clients’ life savings.
Some will also be signing leases, taking bank loans, hiring staff and running their own small businesses, all while juggling the simultaneous demands of clients, creditors, regulators, courts and families.
And the Law Society of Ontario thinks writing exams, something law students have been doing since grade school, is too stressful?
Morris Sosnovitch Toronto
What a wonderful idea! Competence is egregiously overrated, especially when compared to the feelings and mental health of candidates.
I think other professions should immediately switch to this new model. So much better that dentists, doctors and accountants enter their professions with tip-top mental health and having experienced no whiff of discrimination because their education was suboptimal.
Paul White Toronto
If the Law Society of Ontario thinks lawyers should be examined on writing skills, client interviews and practice management, then they should add those to the curriculum rather than throw out traditional knowledge exams.
Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Jacques Konig Toronto
Box out
Re “The out-of-the-box upside of ending home delivery” (Editorial, Nov. 10): For several weeks, our mail delivery has been spotty due to rotating strikes. So what? It arrives in reasonable time and nothing has been missing.
That is preferable to walking a block to the local park every day, to unlock a box that could well be empty or stuffed to the gills with flyers, or swinging wide open because the lock was drilled out by some budding felon.
Here’s my better idea: Send a postal worker to urban addresses once a week. This would substantially cut down on costs, potentially making Canada Post solvent again.
Timothy Bond Toronto
Yes, postal costs would go down with community mailboxes, at the expense of convenient home delivery.
In my view, the cost of mail service is relatively low and has not kept up with increases in the cost of living. I would be happy to see a major increase in the cost of stamps to help the income side of the revenue equation.
I have enjoyed home delivery for many decades and appreciate the ease of using the mail.
Bill Roscoe Toronto
Chalk it up
Re “The end of the U.S. government shutdown is the result of a fraught compromise” (Nov. 12): This reminds me of The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht.
In this 1948 play, two women both claim to be the true mother of a child. To settle the matter, a judge draws a chalk circle and declares that whichever woman can pull the child out will prove herself the true mother. One women refuses, unwilling to hurt the child – and the judge declares her the mother.
In the tug of war between Democrats and Republicans, with the most vulnerable of the American public inside the circle, the Democrats have shown themselves the ones who care most truly. I hope this is understood by those it most deeply affects.
Philip Shepherd Toronto
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