Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Zero results
Re “Officials to continue trade talks after Carney leaves White House meeting empty-handed” (Oct. 8): It appears that Mark Carney has pulled off one of the biggest bait-and-switches in recent memory.
During the election campaign, he promised an aggressive “elbows up” approach with Donald Trump which would lead to a successful new trade deal with the United States, all the while cribbing Pierre Poilievre’s platform. However, since taking office he has missed multiple trade deadlines and has again come home from his latest meeting at the White House with virtually nothing to show for it.
It seems that as a central banker, Mr. Carney has been used to getting his own way, but the world of politics is nothing like the velvet boardrooms he has been used to. Time to show Canadians he has the stuffing to lead this resource-rich country into prosperity that is ours for the taking.
Nancy Marley-Clarke Cochrane, Alta.
Fall in rhythm
Re “PBO welcomes shift to fall budgets, but says capital spending definition ‘overly expansive’” (Report on Business, Oct. 8): Given the annual parliamentary cycle, it has been obvious to most people, except politicians and the Department of Finance, that the budget should be in the fall, which permits a meaningful main estimates consistent with budget decisions to be presented in the spring.
This would better permit the Parliamentary Budget Officer and related committees to carry out their primary function of holding the government to account for its detailed spending plans – if they’re interested, that is.
A.S. Brown Kingston
Convoy consequences
Re “Convoy organizers Lich, Barber receive 18-month conditional sentences” (Oct. 8): I am outraged that the key organizers of the “trucker rally,” which laid siege to my city, will suffer little more than house arrest for their crimes.
Can we at least have some trucks parked outside their houses with horns blaring constantly? I wonder if Pierre Poilievre will bring them coffee and doughnuts to make their confinement even more comfortable.
Tom MacDonald Ottawa
Game of drones
Re “Show of force” (Letters, Oct. 7): A letter-writer laments that drones don’t have the same psychological impact on the civilian population that real warships do. Possibly, but drones have become far more effective and deadly.
The gap between drones and more conventional weapons grows wider every day. Results will likely win over the masses.
I recently had the opportunity to see an old-fashioned battleship. It was magnificent to look at – and totally without use in modern combat.
We need effective tools to protect our sovereignty. It shouldn’t matter whether those tools are conventional or alternative, as long as they are the best.
The military is free to keep its pomp and ceremony, but where the rubber meets the road, we need the most effective solutions. Our freedom depends on it.
Ken Johnston Ottawa
Past transactions
Re “Another chance” (Letters, Oct. 7): A letter-writer suggests that if $800-million can be found for Algoma Steel, there should be something available for a pipeline in Alberta.
What about the tens of billions of dollars invested in the Trans Mountain pipeline? Does that not count for anything?
Geoff Stagg Comox, B.C.
Crisis management
Re “Too many Canadians are leaving ERs before getting assessed” (Oct. 6) and “Overcapacity” (Letters, Oct. 7): I have been in full-time emergency medicine practice for 30-plus years. I strongly disagree with assertions that Canada’s emergency department crisis “is not just about overcrowding” and urgent-care centres provide an effective solution.
My ED serves nearly 100,000 patients annually. Most days, we have more admitted patients than dedicated stretchers for assessing and treating patients. They remain in the ED, often for days, because hospital ward beds are full.
Diverting less urgent patients to alternatives such as UCCs does nothing to address this systemic issue. Emergency teams can handle busy. It’s not the inflow, it’s the lack of outflow that causes overcrowding.
Furthermore, UCCs draw financial and human resources from EDs, and Canada already faces a shortage of trained emergency physicians. Is it in the best interests of patients to have physicians and other providers without formal emergency medical education managing “broken bones, infections and other urgent but non‑life‑threatening problems?”
Jeffrey Eppler MD; Kelowna, B.C.
I spent four decades working in health care in five provinces, first as a family doctor, then a surgeon and finally as a senior hospital administrator. I spent much of my career dealing with hospital crowding. I agree with a letter-writer’s diagnosis, but I don’t agree that the primary treatment is more beds.
In my experience, the main problem is not that there are too few beds, it is that those people in the beds can’t be discharged. It is not uncommon for one-third of hospital beds to be occupied by people who don’t need to be there.
The worst place to be for people who don’t need medical care, especially the elderly, is in the hospital.
Mark Taylor MD, MHCM, FRCSC; Sarnia, Ont.
The lack of investments in effective community care models, coupled with an aging population, is a key driver of demand and significant proportions of hospital beds being occupied by individuals who really need alternate care placement. Reams of data suggest they could be better served ab initio, in the community.
It is clear to me we need both effective community care and appropriate hospital access.
Perry Kendall CM, OBC, FRCPC; Victoria
Home alone
Re “Despite Gen Z’s financial hurdles, some spend thousands a year on food delivery” (Report on Business, Oct. 7): By my calculations, spending thousands of dollars on food delivery is not that much different than the going price of groceries these days in urban centres, taking time for travel, shopping, meal prep and cleanup into account.
Many young people, without detached houses and sizable pantry, freezer or counter spaces that older generations are accustomed to, could not cook affordable meals if they wanted to. Purchasing in bulk, choosing family size packs or stocking up during sales is impossible without adequate storage to preserve or eat food before it goes bad.
As a divorced mid-30s adult who lives in a gorgeous midtown condo, the thing I miss most about my marital home is the full-size fridge and freezer. The reality for young people is that they are more likely to live alone, live in small spaces, work irregular hours and not have cars to cart home all those cheap groceries.
Grace Alexander Toronto
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