Prime Minister Mark Carney shakes hands with MP for Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong Marilyn Gladu in Ottawa, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian WyldAdrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Try again
Re “U.S.-Iran negotiations in Islamabad fail to bring war to a decisive end” (April 13): I am not surprised the United States and Iran failed to reach an agreement. Neither side seemed prepared to cede any advantage.
For the U.S., claiming to have won the war, it was odd to be negotiating with the vanquished. For Iran, the supposed defeated enemy, it was even more odd to be presenting a 10-point demand.
If either country wanted it, they could have started real diplomatic negotiations. Perhaps Iran is wary because the last time they were supposed to be talking‚ the U.S. and Israel decided to start the war.
Donald Trump’s declarations are not exactly the fountain of truth, nor is Iran the exemplar of good intentions. They obviously mistrust each other, and there lies the problem.
Norman Ostonal New Westminster, B.C.
Early days
Re “Orban’s far-right party swept out of power after 16-year reign in Hungary” (April 13): In celebrating the ousting of Viktor Orbán’s “electoral autocracy,” as the European Union has described it, which impoverished Hungarians, I remind myself that, just like his victorious opponent Péter Magyar, he started out in politics as a young dynamic reformer.
That this pattern so often repeats itself around the world – idealists over time turning into corrupt autocrats – is a sobering reminder of the seduction of power, and how norms and the rule of law can be slowly undermined until they quietly disappear. I hope that if Mr. Magyar backslides, the Hungarian people will once again prove their bravery and commitment to freedom.
I hope, as well, that the American people as resolutely say no to that great country’s decline before it becomes irreversible.
Brian Green Thunder Bay
Regretfully decline
Re “Canada would win some and lose some if it joined the EU” (April 10): and “Nearly 60% of Canadians support becoming a full member of the European Union, poll says” (April 13): I have no qualms paying a bit more for what are already luxuries – French cheese, Italian wine and Irish butter (Canada’s is just fine, thanks) – to avoid the Gordian knot of the European Union’s ever-increasing infrastructural rigours, not to mention the potential extraction from Canada, should we wish to surrender to fiscal ruin, of “billions of dollars each year flowing to people and projects in southern, central and eastern Europe.”
Given our current thriving trade with the EU and NATO membership, Canada stands to lose a lot and gain no greater economic benefits or security than it already possesses by shovelling our dollars into the EU’s economic vortex.
As for students, they will find their way back and forth across the Atlantic, as they always have, in pursuit of education, the arts and, hopefully, economic insight.
W. E. Hildreth Prince Edward Country, Ont.
Nearly 60 per cent of Canadians seem to have no clue what joining the European Union would entail: losing autonomy over Canadian laws and policy; subrogation of Canadian standards (i.e. food); residency and benefits for EU citizens; additional taxes to pay for EU bureaucracy and programs; compliance costs for Canadian companies; limits on conventional energy production; forced military integration; loss of Arctic sovereignty – and that’s just a start.
As far as EU membership is concerned, I’m with famed Hollywood producer Samuel Goldwyn: “Include me out.”
Ron Freedman Toronto
What were you thinking?
Re “Besides winning, what does a Liberal Party that will accept Marilyn Gladu actually stand for?” (Opinion, April 11): What does it say about Pierre Poilievre’s leadership that Marilyn Gladu, one of the most partisan members of his caucus, from a deep-blue riding she won by a landslide, jumped ship?
Not to mention the other Conservative MPs rumoured to be ready to cross with her (“Liberals courting as many as eight more potential floor-crossers, sources say” – April 13).
Grant Hoe Calgary
The Liberals are not changing any positions to suit Marilyn Gladu’s historical stances on vaccination, convoy protests, Christian dogma, conversion therapy or LGBTQ rights.
It would then follow that she has either had an awakening of sorts, or is willing to realign her views to those of the party. It’s not unreasonable to think that, if Ms. Gladu doesn’t, she will find herself on the outside looking in.
Frank Malone Aurora, Ont.
Last fall, when it became clear that the Blue Jays might go to the World Series, there was a dramatic groundswell in fan interest. Ticket price soared, classical music hosts and strangers on transit talked baseball and Toronto seemed to have a unifying script for the first time in recent memory.
In the same way, the U.S. economic attack on Canada has taken over the political realm, at least for some people. It is my sense that MPs crossing the aisle are not doing so out of political expediency or to hitch their wagons to a winning team, but because the issue of U.S. hegemony has displaced all others in their minds, making the move imperative.
Perhaps they are harbingers of the formation of a government of national unity, built from the ground up.
Eaton Lattman Toronto
Protest too much
Re “Deputy minister who broke conflict of interest rules defends intervening in hiring decision” (April 11): As a former federal public servant, I was well aware of the need to uphold the highest standards of personal judgment and professional integrity.
One would obviously expect the same of a senior deputy minister, but apparently she believes a double standard is permissible as long as one hauls out words such as “diversity” and “inclusion” to justify the indefensible. When did virtue signalling become more important than ethical behaviour?
The facts are clear: The deputy minister was called to account by the Ethics Commissioner for engineering the hiring of an individual for a position for which he was not even qualified. Instead of owning up to this serious breach, we get excuses and self-justification from someone who should know better.
The only proper course of action now should be her dismissal.
Michael Kaczorowski Wolfville, N.S.
ROI
Re “Port expansion near Montreal gets $1.16-billion loan in Ottawa’s first fast-tracked project” (Report on Business, April 10): For each federal subsidy into large projects, I’d also like to know what private sector investment has been secured.
I think we taxpayers have a right to know at least a rough idea of our return on investment, particularly when we are incurring tens of billions of dollars in extra debt to do so.
Corporations require cost-benefit analyses for projects before investments are made. Should we expect less from our governments?
Alison Dennis Calgary
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