Prime Minister Mark Carney in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Feb. 11.David Kawai/Reuters
What do we know?
Re “Some Iranians hoped the war would bring regime change. Now they doubt it” (March 10): It seems to me the war with Iran will leave the United States largely unscathed, Israel somewhat diminished, Europe effectively punished, Russia buoyant with Europe now buying its energy again, Ukraine abandoned, China encouraged by American timidity and the rest of the world faced with higher costs and inflation.
Edwin Lang Markham, Ont.
I’ve carefully monitored the war coverage. I’ve concluded that no one knows why the war was triggered, how long it will last and how much damage will occur; what impact it will have on rates of inflation, the markets and oil prices; how the Iranian regime will transform and how the Iranian people will respond; how U.S. voters will respond and the extent to which Canada, Britain and the European Union will get sucked in.
I know only one thing for sure, as reported by Sun Tzu: “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
Rob Young Toronto
All the small things
Re “The major plus of minority governments” (Editorial, March 9): In discussing the benefits of minority government, it is apparently assumed that each party will vote as a monolith.
The same benefits of a minority government can be obtained if each MP votes to their conscience. This would require the need to retain the confidence of the House – the whole House.
When the governing party votes as a monolith, it governs like a dictatorship of the prime minister, a situation that has been allowed to develop in Canada too long. What is the purpose of MPs if their election merely chooses which “dictator” is installed?
Pierre Mihok Ajax, Ont.
I have always thought our best governments are minority Conservative ones; trying to be fiscally responsible yet being held socially responsible.
May we have a business-like government that has respect for Parliament and empathy for its constituents. I believe this is sort of what we have at the moment.
I hope it continues.
Brian Emes Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
A minority government can also be a plus in trade negotiations.
Demands for concessions can be met with credible arguments that the government would fall if they were made. A government under existential threat is often better positioned to stand fast.
Think jiu-jitsu and transforming vulnerability into strength.
Tom MacDonald Ottawa
As a former federal and provincial public servant and former president of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, I was able to see the accomplishments of majority and minority governments from a public service perspective.
The Pearson minorities of the 1960s brought us our flag, our national pension scheme and medicare. The Davis and Peterson minorities in Ontario were more productive than the majorities that followed.
I believe that an element of proportional representation, as recommended by the Task Force on Canadian Unity, would make our governments more reflective of our diverse country and more conducive to the constructive compromises it needs.
Don Stevenson Toronto
Full speed ahead
Re “Upgrade the Trans-Canada at all due speed” (Editorial, March 4): The bottleneck that is our so-called Trans-Canada Highway through Northern Ontario does indeed “cut the country in half” whenever closed by bad weather or serious collisions.
As someone who suffers this route in the spring and fall during an annual round trip to our summer home in Ontario, I can verify that the journey from the Manitoba border to Sudbury is a wearisome and sometimes dangerous slog even at the best of times. It is also exceptionally expensive and time-consuming for the thousands of heavy commercial vehicles that travel this pokey two-lane route each day.
If the Prime Minister is truly committed to fostering efficient interprovincial trade and enhanced Canadian unity, he would do well to work with Ontario to make this crucial highway project an infrastructure priority.
Terrence Downey Calgary
Hands off
Re “Ottawa consults on allowing hunting of tundra swans to dismay of bird lovers, conservationists” (March 9): More tourists come to see tundra swans enjoy their natural habitat than those who want to kill them. There just isn’t anything more beautiful than watching waterfowl enjoy their day.
One of my student jobs was working with rangers to inspect birds shot during fall duck-hunting season. Some hunters shot anything on water. I can’t see hunters differentiating one type of swan from another.
Canada should continue to protect all swan species, as well as any other wild bird that looks like one.
Ken Stock Veterinarian; Port Hope, Ont.
Tundra swans are remarkable birds that fly 6,000 kilometres from wintering habitats to breeding habitats in northern Canada. Their wetland resting habitats along the way are decreasing, making this astonishing migration more difficult and putting pressure on the species.
Rather than hunting these birds, we should work to preserve their migratory wetland habitats. A country like Canada should respect and protect wildlife, rather than expand its trophy-hunting industry.
Hands off the swans, and the mourning doves for that matter.
Mary Burge Toronto
Mourning doves, which are also being discussed, are placid, gentle birds. They are slow to frighten, yet hardy survivors of nature’s many dangers. Their soothing, melancholic cooing offers a comforting refrain to hot summer afternoons in suburbs, towns and villages in eastern Canada.
That Environment and Climate Change Canada is even considering allowing hunters to shoot these wonderful creatures is inconceivable to me. Let not mourning doves be driven in fear from human settlements.
Let their safety be preserved along with tundra swans, which should also be protected from human predation.
Geoff White Ottawa
Romance languages
Re “At a school in France, the threat of being fined helped me learn French” (First Person, March 4): In 1963, I was an engineering student at a Welsh university. That summer, I worked in Brussels for six weeks as an exchange student.
Without any apparent effort on my part, toward the end of my stay, I was not only speaking but also dreaming in French. However, a colleague later suggested that the most enjoyable and efficient method of learning a foreign language was in the company of a girlfriend with the required language skills, something he referred to as ”the horizontal method."
Howard Dallimore North Vancouver
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