A damaged building following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Just do it
Re “Qatar’s lesson: You don’t eliminate an enemy by bombing their path to retreat” (Sept. 11): But of course Israel was always going to try its level best to eliminate Hamas leadership, and so it should.
The means, location and timing of this particular attack may be highly questionable, but there are examples where leadership elimination has been successful. The Islamic State in the Philippines has been significantly degraded, including because a number of its emirs have been targeted. al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s killing in Kabul in 2022 is another.
Yes, there is a risk of organizational regeneration. But if a terrorist leader can be killed, that should be a good thing.
Richard Feakes Former Australian ambassador for counter-terrorism; Ottawa
Stay home
Re “Canadians made three million fewer trips to the U.S. during summer travel boycott” (Report on Business, Sept. 11): Well done. So many of us decided not to travel to the United States that Statistic Canada reports a $2.1-billion hit to the U.S. tourism sector.
Donald Trump says he doesn’t need anything from Canada and belittles our country. I guess he doesn’t need our spending, either. Many U.S. holiday locations have taken notice and are asking for our return.
We’ve given Americans a kick in the pants. Feels good, doesn’t it? Like delivering an elbow to the nose.
It seems Mr. Trump has much to learn. Keep up the good work.
Barry Hunter North Grenville, Ont.
I owe an apology to my fellow Canadians who are boycotting travel to the United States. In July, I crossed the border to celebrate my aunt’s 100th birthday.
I assure everyone that it won’t happen again as long as Donald Trump remains in office – or until my aunt turns 200.
Ken Myron Hamilton
Good business
Re “Teck Resources justified its takeover to shareholders – but not to Canadians" (Report on Business, Sept. 11): The Keevil family chose to provide a better opportunity for Teck Resources investors in this combination.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister was elected to get the economy going, including creating a more favourable jurisdiction for mining investment which, along with prospective geology, is critical to attract new funding.
The angst around the Anglo deal is disappointing to me. It feels typically Canadian and misses the point: Our country must attract investment to help lift the economy off its nadir. A head office location should matter not.
Stephen Gross Toronto
Stick around
Re “Help wanted” (Letters, Sept. 11): In 2019, I cycled in Morocco. Our guide was a terrific young man, husband and father. We stayed in touch and he announced that he would like to move to Canada.
My local bike store could not find Canadian workers and was happy to have my Moroccan friend – and pay a decent wage. He arrived two years ago and applied himself diligently. His wife and children joined him six months later.
He has worked as many as three jobs at a time and last year earned $72,000. The Canadian children of many of my friends and acquaintances are simply not willing to do this. He and his family would be a tremendous addition to Canada.
Now Ottawa has turned its back on foreign workers. He does not have enough points to be admitted permanently. He and his family may be deported.
What a shame that would be for Canada.
Dick Hamilton Gabriola, B.C.
Crime and punishment
Re “Carney will introduce legislation next month to tighten bail system” (Sept. 6): Crime is, at heart, a social problem.
Eliminate chronic inequity, then only morbid sociopaths would commit crime. Research on crime and punishment for hundreds of years has consistently demonstrated that severe punishments lead to more violent crime.
Our courts and departments of correction (a misnomer if ever there was one) should do a better job of identifying potential recidivists and returning one-time offenders to society as quickly as possible.
I believe bail reform is essential. We are fortunate in Canada that justice is generally as important as the law. “Presumed innocence,” while important, should be considered less so than preventing criminals being let out again to reoffend. We should have detention facilities that are not jails.
Public concern should be dealt with through data-based decision-making, rather than authoritarianism.
Len Ashby Toronto
Home turf
Re “Toronto home prices retreat to 2021 levels as red flags mount” (Report on Business, Sept. 10): I got a good laugh from this “grim outlook.”
Grim for whom? As if a buyer’s market is the coming of some type of apocalypse?
God forbid one might be able to buy a decent home in the Greater Toronto Area for less than $1-million, perhaps for a few years to come. I guess the industry fears common sense.
M.J. Martino Lunenburg, N.S.
Re “The biggest tax that you’ve never heard of” (Editorial, Sept. 9): No, no and no again. Development charges are not a tax. Even if they were, I believe they’re necessary.
Picture this: A family lives in a community with a certain amount of public services and amenities such as water and sewer mains, roads, parks, pools, schools. They pay regular property taxes to keep these running, and all is well.
Then imagine a new development is built and the community grows, which automatically drives up the demand for the aforementioned services. This leaves the local government with a choice: Either watch as services and amenities quickly become oversubscribed (think traffic, sewage backups) or raise property taxes to pay for more (remember that current taxes only cover the cost of operations, not capital builds).
Thankfully there’s another option: development charges that ensure existing homeowners are spared the cost of growth, while new residents pay their fair share.
Thor Kuhlmann Vancouver
Turnoff
Re “A not-so-glamourous day in the life at TIFF” (Sept. 11): After years of not attending, I decided to go back to The Toronto International Film Festival. While I have enjoyed the films very much, in three of five showings I had to ask someone to turn off their phone.
There were no announcements to turn off phones. Has this virus of looking at one’s phone during a movie infected TIFF? It’s why I don’t go to movie theatres anymore.
The industry blames streaming for low attendance. We should add cellphones to the list.
Would TIFF consider using secure phone pouches for even a select number of – or all – showings like was done with Othello on Broadway this year?
Jaime Rodriguez Toronto
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