Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at a news conference in Calgary, Nov. 12.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Oil’s well?
Re “At least one part of the U.S. campaign against Venezuela makes sense: taking on the ‘dark fleet’ ” (Dec. 18): This seems to avoid questions of “cause and effect,” and trips over which legal framework should have primacy in deciding on oil tankers that can be seized on the high seas.
The United States brought in the first unilateral sanctions on oil tankers against Iran in 1979, and more recently in 2022 targeting Russia. The growth of oil tanker ghost fleets may be equated with the potentially devastating effect from U.S. oil sanctions.
The high seas are governed by international legal frameworks, but by legitimizing the U.S. seizure of a tanker off Venezuela’s coast, it should be made clear the U.S. is using domestic laws to assert control over Venezuelan cargo.
Further complicating the panorama around this seizure is the Department of National Defence’s admission that Canada generally continues to supply intelligence to the U.S. Coast Guard. Has Canada put itself in a legal limbo that could come back to haunt?
Rick Arnold Alnwick Haldimand, Ont.
After the seizure of a Venezuelan ship, Donald Trump was asked what would happen to the oil on it. “We keep it, I guess.”
I have no doubt the United States will keep it as part of its not-so-subtle plan to take over Venezuela’s massive oil reserves. The situation, then, is not about regime change in the country.
I refer to the 1975 movie Three Days of the Condor and its conclusion about machinations in Washington and beyond. In the words of Robert Redford: “This whole damn thing was about oil! Wasn’t it?”
Prophetic words. Stay tuned.
Norm Alexander Hamilton
Recent history
Re “A majority government built with floor-crossers is not legitimate, Poilievre says” (Dec. 18): I find it both amusing and ironic that Pierre Poilievre would suggest that floor-crossing could, by any stretch of the imagination, be deemed not legitimate. May he be reminded of his own actions, when he lost his Ottawa riding and dropped into a conveniently vacated Alberta seat so he could return to the House of Commons.
Michael Ma summed it up succinctly when he said he entered public service to “focus on solutions, not division.” Canadians are tiring of the constant negativity, criticism and U.S.-style divisive talk originating from the leader of the Official Opposition.
Time for a Conservative leadership review.
Martin Wilkins Calgary
Majority versus minority is simple math. How that mathematic reality comes to exist should be irrelevant.
Any rhetoric suggesting otherwise reinforces what seems to be Pierre Poilievre’s misunderstanding of what Canadians want during these difficult times, and what parliamentarians are trying to deliver: stable government working co-operatively to protect Canadian interests and improve our quality of life.
Mr. Poilievre appears to be the only politician in Ottawa who hasn’t figured this out. Very soon, he and his party may be mathematically irrelevant in Ottawa, and they would have nobody but their leadership to blame.
Walter O’Rourke Centre Wellington, Ont.
Crowd control
Re “Canada reports biggest population decline on record” (Dec. 18): Statistics Canada reported Canada’s population as 35,151,728 in 2016 and 36,991,981 in 2021. That’s a growth rate of 5.24 per cent over five years.
With a population of 41,575,585 in 2025, Canada has a growth rate of 12.39 per cent over just four years.
We could have a decrease in population of more than 2.5 million people over the next year and still match the 2016-to-2021 growth rate. For comparison, at a decrease of 0.2 per cent each quarter, that’s about 32 more quarters like this one, or eight years.
Scott Newson Nanaimo, B.C.
Canadians have rightfully questioned the impact of our country’s immigration policy on housing, health care, etc. But we rarely address the question in regards to geographic implications.
Smaller cities can benefit greatly from immigration. A policy that eases housing issues in Vancouver or Toronto causes the reverse problem in small urban centres.
In addition, international students are the lifeblood of regional universities. A policy that eliminates student visas to the benefit of small colleges in Toronto brings disruption to the finances of a growing university in a small urban centre such as Kamloops.
Perhaps it’s time we re-examine our policies to ensure that immigration and international students are welcomed in regions where they can continue to make positive contributions, and not continue a blanket approach.
James MacDonald Kamloops
Do the right thing
Re “Judges need different options when cases exceed deadlines, Justice Minister says” (Dec. 18): Our court system, particularly the criminal court, is one of the key engines necessary to keep the country running. But like most other things that have fallen into disrepair in Canada, the criminal justice system delivers justice in name only.
From judges shortening sentences to the dismissal of criminal cases because of inadequate staffing, the system is failing Canadians.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser looking for alternatives to staying charges is typical of a government that embraces mediocrity in all things, it seems, as long as the mediocrity is equitably rationed. The fix shouldn’t be to look for alternatives to staying charges, the system should be fixed by providing whatever resources necessary to eliminate wait times.
Our wealthy country can do this; all it takes is the will to be great.
John Harris Toronto
Which is it?
Re “Is Canada really stepping back from electric vehicles?” (Report on Business, Dec. 17): All the politicians, economists and opinion writers tell me that China’s electric vehicles are so advanced and affordable that they will bankrupt our auto industry, if we don’t ban them from our markets with 100-per-cent tariffs.
They also tell me that Canada’s path to future wealth is to build another pipeline to export oil to a world that is buying fewer gas-powered cars each and every year.
Seems like a contradiction to me.
John Dimond Toronto
Cold front
Re “I thought Canada was cold. And then I moved to England” (Opinion, Dec. 20): As a teenager in an English boarding school in the mid-1990s, one of the highlights of my winter days was coming back to my room at lunchtime and finding it frigid, with the windows having been left wide open by cleaning staff in an effort to air the place out.
In Canada, where it can get into double-digit negative temperatures, we have no choice but to heat or die. In Britain, where it hovers around freezing, they’ve chosen to just be cold.
Guess it helps keep their upper lips stiff.
Robert Coleman Ottawa
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