Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives at Parliament with MP for Nunavut Lori Idlout, who crossed the floor from the NDP to the Liberals, in Ottawa on Wednesday.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Acceleration plan
Re “Poilievre pitches tariff-free auto industry pact with U.S.” (March 16): A perfect plan for the auto industry. A win-win for both Canada and the United States. Lower costs for manufacturers, lower prices for consumers. Sadly, it likely won’t work today.
The U.S. President is determined to move automotive plants from Canada and thinks tariffs are the solution. He doesn’t seem interested in win-win plans.
If we’re to have any success in upcoming trade negotiations, we’ll likely need a better plan than Pierre Poilievre’s that includes Asian and European autos replacing U.S. ones in the Canadian marketplace, if necessary.
A lose-lose plan to be sure, but maybe enough to convince U.S. negotiators that the current trade agreement is worth saving.
T.S. Ramsay Guelph, Ont.
I consider Pierre Poilievre’s trip most concerning. My feeling is that it is disrespectful to our governing party.
How will the United States perceive a visit from the Leader of the Opposition? At this delicate and critical time of negotiating Canada-U.S. trade, how can this be anything other than a dangerous intrusion to the work already under way by Mark Carney?
Sydney Sharpe West Vancouver
Other side
Re “Which way?” (Letters, March 16): A letter-writer thinks that “Mark Carney just kicked” the NDP “while it’s down.”
Jack Layton was pivotal in bringing down the Martin government and bringing in a decade of Stephen Harper. Jagmeet Singh helped bring down the Trudeau government at a time when it looked like a huge majority for Pierre Poilievre.
Which party has historically been kicking whom?
Norm Ross Kitchener, Ont.
Re “Floor-crossings are part of a Canadian tradition – and fair play in our politics” (March 16): I’m a conservative. Do I support the leader and policies of the current Conservative Party? Not so much. I have certain political leanings, but I’m no partisan.
When it comes to floor crossings, I sense opportunism in each instance. One MP had stated his intention to resign for family reasons and previously ruled out crossing the floor. Another MP, just before crossing, gave an impassioned speech in support of a leadership candidate for her now-former party.
These actions feel like self-interest to me. If the governing party gains majority status, their parliamentary lodging is guaranteed until 2029. Perhaps that’s coincidence, but how will their constituents know unless the case is made directly to them through by-elections?
I hear time and again that “this is how our system works” (along with lists of historical floor crossers). It shouldn’t work that way any longer, and these recent instances prove it.
Matthew Larkin Ottawa
Columnist John Ibbitson documents very well the multiple instances of historical floor crossings and justifies them by indicating we vote for candidates, not their party affiliations.
While it is true that a voter’s “X” goes to a candidate, they still are linked to a party. Which is more important to voters? I think, in most instances, people vote for a certain party in their riding, whoever the candidate may be.
I know which party I voted for, but I must look up who my MP is. Am I alone in this? I do not think so.
Irv Salit Toronto
Short on cash
Re “Alberta needs a provincial sales tax. Hear me out” (Report on Business, March 13): You are preaching to the choir on this one.
Alberta, as the current problem child in our precious federation, should apply its superior frontier acumen to a few basic principles of adult bookkeeping. Mired in an annual swamp of red ink, its decades-long aversion to sales tax should raise the eyebrows of any junior accountant.
How is this brave new, but alas land-locked, province, with some aspirations of independence, contemplating how to pay for health care, policing, education, defence and pensions, let alone debt management, in a world of peak oil?
Good luck to Alberta with its remaining beef, canola, wheat, lumber and melting ski resorts 20 years from now.
Tom Bergen Squamish, B.C.
Access denied
Re “Ontario to introduce bill exempting Premier, cabinet from FOI requests” (March 14): I strenuously object to the Ford government’s proposed changes to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Cabinet discussions are already shielded from FOI requests. The Premier and his ministers do not need additional protection from democratically required public scrutiny of their actions.
Art Brewer Toronto
Ontario says proposed changes to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act are meant to “modernize” privacy and cybersecurity. But reducing transparency for elected officials would not be modernization, it would be a giant step backward.
By removing the offices of the Premier and cabinet ministers from access-to-information rules, the government would place many political communications beyond the reach of the public and the press.
Recent experience shows why this matters. During the Greenbelt controversy, access to internal records helped journalists reveal how decisions were made and who was influencing them. Without such access, the public might never have known what was happening behind closed doors.
Updating privacy and cybersecurity laws may be necessary, but shielding political offices from scrutiny risks weakening one of the public’s most important tools for democratic accountability.
Ontarians can contact their MPP and Doug Ford to express their concerns and demand public debate.
Elaine Tennen Toronto
Homecoming
Re “I love Italy, so I had to convince my Canadian-born husband to embrace his birthright” (First Person, March 11): As seen from my surname, 59-plus years ago, I, too, married an Italian-born young man.
Both my parents were born in Britain and I was born in Toronto. It was my great pleasure to meet Frank’s family and, of course, enjoy their warm hospitality and terrific meals when we visited.
They immigrated into Canada and most of them live in Windsor, Ont., with one brother in New York. Frank’s family accepted this “mangiacake” with open arms and has always treated me and our three children with love and respect.
Any trip we took to Italy was enhanced by Frank’s knowledge of his birthplace. No one who has been there can deny that the scenery, cuisine, arts and architecture of Italy are fantastico. There is so much beauty, it is almost overwhelming.
Frank and I are proud Canadians, too, and fully appreciate the great life we lead here in Canada.
Marie Medoro Mississauga
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