Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, are separating after 18 years of marriage. Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Grégoire Trudeau make their way to a government plane as they depart the airport, Sept. 16, 2022, in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
At what cost?
Re “A lesson in the importance of raising productivity, from Down Under” (Editorial, Aug. 5): In 30 years, GDP per capita in both Canada and Australia has tripled. Where do we think this is going?
When are countries like Australia and Canada, like all developed countries, going to realize that economic growth cannot be infinite? That we have evolved into a gigantic, wasteful, overconsuming society?
If Australia’s “better” performance is in large measure due to its liquefied natural gas infrastructure and exports, is that something to be imitated? It serves the owners of the resource and governments receiving royalty payments, but how does it serve the planet? Would LNG workers not be better employed in greener industries of the future?
The sooner we begin to come to grips with the need to stabilize growth, get off fossil fuels and start meeting our needs in less wasteful ways, the better off we would all be.
Erwin Dreessen Ottawa
Air gap
Re “Our cyberspace invaders: Why nobody can seem to solve Canada’s massive hacking problem” (Report on Business, Aug. 5): I remember reading in technical journals, more than 30 years ago, that data security was a major threat for microcomputers.
But these were articles written for low life: programmers, database administrators like myself, system managers and the like. Company executives were not the target audience.
It turns out that warnings about data security were well-founded. But the major response so far has been to persuade people to, instead of using their dog’s name as a password, use random sequences of letters, numbers and special characters committed to memory and changed every month. Apparently this does not always help.
My own method, which works tolerably well, is to shut the computer off. A somewhat less draconian solution is not to have a company’s mission-critical systems and data connected to the internet. Don’t make it available unless it has to be.
John Horman Waterloo, Ont.
Various platforms
Re “In its push to digital, the CBC is starving its news coverage” (Opinion, Aug. 5): As a regular CBC Radio listener, I am not surprised that my old friend continues its popularity as No. 1 in the market. I am sad to see the decline of CBC Television, a trusted news source as well as innovative entertainment provider.
The fact that CBC News Network is not considered a free channel, at least in the Rogers universe, might account for a loss of some viewers. It is, after all, a publicly funded channel that we taxpayers support.
I do enjoy the CBC’s free digital news highlights. I shared a story with my nephew, who was never a major TV viewer. He subsequently subscribed to CBC digitally “because it’s a news service I can trust.”
The operative word is “trust.” CBC’s digital services might have a future with younger viewers.
Barbara Pope Toronto
Foreign fare
Re “Why Hollywood studios are spending like drunken sailors piloting the Titanic” (Aug. 5): I too was weaned on Hollywood. But for years I have turned to India for the best feel-good films and rom-coms – with dancing!
I think France, Eastern Europe, Japan and the Middle East turn out superior dramas (with Oppenheimer being an increasingly rare, solid U.S. entry). My favourite crime shows, often presented as limited series, come from Britain and Scandinavia.
Even Tom Cruise’s latest flicks have to compete for my attention with offerings from China, Australia and elsewhere when I want to watch car chases, fight scenes and things blow up. I am still discovering what’s out there, thanks to streaming services that show up on my television, on my schedule, in the comfort of my living room.
In which arena is Hollywood still top dog? As far as I can tell, only toy- and comic-based movies and, of course, massive promotion campaigns.
Donald Hall Ottawa
End of an era?
Re “Professional women’s soccer league essential for Canada to remain competitive, says Diana Matheson” (Sports, Aug. 5): In 2002, my family was privileged to watch Canada’s under-19 women’s team in Edmonton. That team introduced us to all-time greats such as Erin McLeod, Sasha Andrews, Kara Lang and Christine Sinclair.
The talent, teamwork and camaraderie of those teenagers propelled Canada to a questionable semifinal defeat at the 2012 Olympics, then an unexpected but deserved gold medal in 2021. Those players inspired a generation, including our daughter and son, to play soccer throughout their youth.
Our children are now in their 30s and I believe the golden age of Canadian women’s soccer has passed. The Women’s World Cup shows, once again, that individual talent cannot match teamwork and cohesion.
Given our small population, spread over a massive geography, many national team sports cannot thrive. Canada should accept that we may soon be a third-tier country for women’s soccer, struggling for qualification at Olympics and World Cups.
Alan Humphries Victoria
Aftershocks
Re “Our attitudes and rituals around divorce deserve a rethink” (Opinion, Aug. 5): “I have thought a lot about this, having been through it myself.” So have I – as a child of divorced parents.
I was a boy in the 1960s, when my brother and I were among the very few youngsters in our neighbourhood whose family endured a divorce. It is sad and hard on all concerned: children, parents, grandparents and other close relatives and friends. But it’s especially tough on kids.
I’m not a fan of our Prime Minister. Public criticism about Justin Trudeau’s on-the-job performance is fair game. But the Trudeau family’s situation calls for compassion, not lame jokes or political trash talk.
Mike Lightstone Halifax
Coming of age
Re “How a summer camp taught me what it means to be Jewish in North America” (Opinion, Aug. 5): At the “Jewish” camp I went to, what we learned had nothing to do with being a Jew in North America. Our altar was nature: the mist rising from the water at dawn, forests of pine and birch, sunsets behind the opposite shore, thunderstorms raging across the corrugated lake.
We became skilled swimmers, learned to sail and handle a canoe with ease. We trudged through portages without complaint. We cooked freshly caught pickerel on an open fire, told ghost stories by the smouldering embers and slept under the stars on improvised mattresses of cedar boughs.
Camp was a time of bonding, discovery and personal growth. And it was where I met my first girlfriend.
The ancestry of most of my co-campers was Jewish, but camp was where our roots got planted deeply and forever into Canadian soil.
Robert Eisenberg CM, Toronto
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