People walk past real estate properties in Toronto, on July 12.Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail
Call back
Re “Katie Telford, long-serving chief of staff, is the last woman standing in Justin Trudeau’s inner circle” (Sept. 16) and “Will of…” (Letters, Sept. 23): In 2006, the Gomery Commission made recommendations to limit the political power of the Prime Minister’s Office and give more power to elected MPs. Those recommendations were rejected by Stephen Harper and his government, including Pierre Poilievre.
This gave rise to the unelected power of Jenni Byrne as Mr. Harper’s co-deputy chief of staff in the Prime Minister’s Office. So this concentration of power in the PMO did not originate with Justin Trudeau and Katie Telford.
In fact, I believe Ms. Byrne is still very active in Mr. Poilievre’s Conservative Party. Maybe we should be asking him if he will implement the recommendations of the Gomery Commission.
Bill Bent Halifax
Opioid options
Re “A safer supply won’t end the opioid crisis” (Editorial, Sept. 15): Both Canada and the United States have approached addiction, in part, with supervised consumption and in Canada with uncontaminated supply, all without significant reductions in abuse.
The ultimate goal should not be allowing addicts to use safely, although that is an important factor, especially as a tool to attract addicts to attend facilities. Ultimately, we should want addicts to adopt strategies that end addiction, allowing them to improve their lives.
(Better statistics gathering is critical to hold these programs accountable to the government and taxpayers.)
Addicts in the criminal justice system and under supervision should be required to participate in drug treatment courts, which have years of solid research demonstrating their success.
We have the tools to improve outcomes. Do we have the will?
Eugene Hyman Judge, Santa Clara County Superior Court (retired) Los Altos, Calif.
Re “Way out” (Letters, Sept. 20): A letter-writer’s three suggestions for action on the opioid crisis did not include a fourth: a massive prevention effort.
I do not know how active schools are in educating young people on the deadly risks of experimenting with so-called recreational drugs. But if they ramped up current efforts tenfold, and dissuaded even one youth from going down that rabbit hole, would it not be a success?
I am living with cancer that will one day kill me. It is one thing to see some of my fellow patients fighting to live longer lives with the use of poisonous drugs. It is quite another to see a healthy young person die because they thought their taste for a similar poison was recreational.
Forget “safe” supply. I don’t believe it exists. Treat this scourge like the cancer that it is. Keep fighting for our youth by never ignoring the option of prevention.
Helen Thibodeau Cobourg, Ont.
Count it
Re “Trees burn – of course they do. That doesn’t make them climate-change villains” (Sept. 25): Carbon-absorbing forests are a key ally in fighting climate change.
One way to better incentivize the protection of forests in Canada would be to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions from the logging sector are fully counted and reported, something the federal government is failing to do (as Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development reported this spring).
Canada’s logging industry should be responsible for the significant climate pollution it emits when clear-cutting carbon-rich forests, as is expected of other industrial sectors.
Michael Polanyi Policy and campaign manager, Nature Canada Ottawa
Cancel culture
Re “Ontario will not compensate Greenbelt developers, housing minister says” (Online, Sept. 27): The flip-flop over the Ontario Greenbelt will cost developers billions of dollars. Does anyone actually believe that they will simply accept that loss?
Be prepared that, like the provincial cancellation of electric-vehicle subsidies, this matter will end up in court. I suspect that we, the taxpayers, will have to pay developers billions in compensation for Doug Ford’s mess.
Achim Krull Pickering, Ont.
Home truths
Re “Nuts and bolts” (Letters, Sept. 21): A letter-writer states many good points, the largest being that developers do not build affordable housing, they build houses to maximize profit.
As well, inner-city redevelopment does require upgrades, water, sewage and so on and have net-zero parameters. But new developments would cost more in providing those same services to newly acquired greenspace, under the same net-zero parameters. Then add the cost of providing roads and highways.
I think that inner city redevelopment would be cheaper by far. Of course, we would have to fight NIMBYism, upon which we all agree.
Craig Cherrie Toronto
With 30 per cent of residential property now owned by investors (”Investors account for 30 per cent of home buying in Canada, data show” – Report on Business, Sept. 9), more and more homes are starting to take on the character of stock certificates.
An investor-owner often has little reason to care about the livability of the property they own, because they are never going to live in it. This has been reflected in the dollhouse-sized condos that have been built in recent years in Toronto, allegedly aimed at first-time homebuyers.
Toronto should place minimum standards on unit sizes in new multiunit buildings. For example, a studio could be required to be at least 400 square feet, a one-bedroom 600 sq. ft. and so on.
Whatever the ultimate standards settled upon, we should have rules to ensure that every new house or apartment is suitable to become a home, rather than just a line in an investor’s asset profile.
Arthur Wilson Toronto
Tax envy
Re “Rest of us” (Letters, Sept. 22): Many years ago, I had a friendly argument with friends who lived in a small city outside the Greater Toronto Area. Their complaint was that their property taxes were higher than those in Toronto, which I found mean and indefensible.
Indeed, they did pay more than I did. However, they had a 60-foot frontage lot with a two-lane, 35-foot driveway leading to a double-car garage. My Toronto lot was a typical 33-foot frontage with a mutual driveway that lead to a single-car garage tucked away in the backyard.
We should not fume about the comparative taxes of others. It is difficult to compare different properties in different jurisdictions, even when we know the corresponding mill rates.
It’s a parlour game with no winner. No one is cheating.
Like the price of gas, it’s what the market will bear.
Brian Emes Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
On the house
Re “Best bagel?” (Letters, Sept. 29): It strikes me that if one wants fresh or freshly thawed bagels, the simplest and most effective strategy is to make one’s own.
There are lots of recipes online with oil (less chewy and less kneading) or without. Decide on the ratio of whole wheat to white flour and choose toppings and add-ins. My partner loves a cinnamon raisin bagel for breakfast, while I like to add crushed tomatoes and top with sesame seeds for sandwiches on the golf course or Nordic trails.
I find that larger than 3.75 ounces is a good size. Your working time is 1.5 to two hours for 30 bagels. They freeze really well.
A satisfying Sunday morning project.
Dave Bird Fernie, B.C.
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