Striking Canada Post employees in Toronto listen to the news that Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to send the 50,000 employees back to work, on Dec. 13.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
‘Tis the season?
Re “Ottawa directs labour board to order striking Canada Post employees back to work” (Online, Dec. 13): Whether one agrees with Canada Post workers or not, one has to admit that choosing to strike during the holiday period, and thwarting the delivery of cards and gifts, has not won them much public support.
Laurie Kochen Toronto
It’s hard going for a lot of people right now. I still can’t figure out why postal workers chose to strike at a time of year that’s important to so many.
Why not strike in April, when they would be applauded by those who mail their tax returns as well as anger the government?
Miriam Clavir Vancouver
I am one of the lucky people who still gets home delivery from a mailman. He has a partner and two children. I want him to be secure in a union job.
If we dispense with the postal service as we know it, many aspects of the mail will likely switch to internet only. We would need a lot more server potential and electricity usage. This would not be a reasonable switch.
The postal strike reminds me of our pandemic days, when important aspects of daily life were missing or abbreviated. I think many of us are still in shock that things can change so much and so quickly. I would like a contract to be negotiated, but fairly.
I am glad that I can send a letter to Saskatoon, Tashkent, Tokyo or Inuvik. A real person moving in the real world brings me the replies, and to my mailbox.
Martha Gould North Bay, Ont.
At home
Re “On the Brink: Ottawa needs to restore the point of immigration – skilled workers” (Editorial, Dec. 10): While it is true that internationally trained candidates in health care face bureaucratic obstacles to be recognized by various provincial regulatory colleges, Canadian-trained health care professionals aren’t spared either.
Each province has its own regulatory college. Even someone fully vetted and licensed by another provincial college requires another bureaucratic blessing (for a generous fee, of course) to practice in a different province.
New graduates are subjected to exorbitant application fees ($1,035 in Ontario) in addition to steep annual dues ($1,735), and do not even pay a reduced rate for their first years in practice. Ditto for physicians on maternity leave.
While integrating internationally trained physicians is an important goal, Canada should start with a strategy to optimize the use of our existing pool, fairly and wisely.
Neil Rau Toronto
Work for it
Re “Trudeau avoids addressing tensions with Freeland over spending on GST holiday, $250 cheques” (Dec. 11): For a monetarily sovereign country like Canada, fiscal anchors (whether capped deficits, balanced budgets or declining debt-to-GDP ratios) should be seen as arbitrary statistical artifacts with little utility.
Instead, government spending should aim for full employment that maximizes production. Since more than 1.5 million Canadians are seeking full-time jobs, the economy can handle more targeted federal stimulus to increase goods and services without causing inflation.
If desirable socio-economic objectives are achieved, then whatever fiscal balance emerges would be appropriate. For John Maynard Keynes, tolerating long-term contingents of the unemployed was financially unsound. He counselled, “Look after the unemployment, and the budget will look after itself.”
Our politicians should shift focus from irrelevant budget balances to the creation of better opportunities for Canadians to earn their keep and contribute to society.
Larry Kazdan Vancouver
Not me
Re “Chrystia Freeland answered Senate questions on the GST break. It did not go well” (Dec. 7): I wish senators had pressed her equally about the Working Canadians Rebate.
The government says it will send a tax-free $250 cheque to each of the 18.7 million Canadians who earned $150,000 or less in 2023. However, this self-employed artist who earned both an income and a pension will not receive that dubious benefit.
In small print, the government states that as well as earning less than $150,000, one must have: claimed the tax credit for Canada Pension Plan contributions on employment or self-employment earnings; claimed the tax credit for employment insurance premiums on employment or self-employment earnings; or reported income from EI benefits;
Well as a recipient of CPP, I did not claim one of those. So no luck on the $250 for this elder who still needs to work to supplement CPP and Old Age Security.
There goes my vacation weekend to Grand Bend, Ont.
David Ferry Toronto
Close the book
Re “About that word, and about those books” (Opinion, Dec. 7) and “Ontario teacher reprimanded after speaking to author Lawrence Hill about being told to not teach The Book of Negroes” (Dec. 12): What a shame that high-school students under the London District Catholic School Board are being treated as if they have no capacity to learn and understand.
This short-sighted decision disrespects the intelligence of students.
Shaun Hunter Calgary
I’m not sure how the London District Catholic School Board has any credibility to make such decisions.
Aren’t these the same people who spent more than $16,000 for a two-day leadership meeting to determine classroom needs? I suppose encouraging students to read critically, think critically and be taught by competent teachers was not in their meeting agenda.
Nathan Stoffman Toronto
What a lot of claptrap from the London District Catholic School Board and the teachers union.
The board takes an “informed approach.” Really? Sounds more like a head-in-the-sand approach. And the union is “unable to comment on cases involving individual members.” This should be much more than an individual case.
Lawrence Hill’s book is an award-winning Canadian novel. It should be on the curriculum. It is an educational novel which provides a glimpse into real Canadian history. Would the board want it to be called “The Book of Some People?”
This is a disgrace. Woe is the education system if this is a widespread demonstration of a closed mindset.
Peter Belliveau Moncton
Alone time
Re “I let my nine-year-old ride his bike alone to the store because independence is crucial” (Dec. 2) and “On your own, kid” (Letters, Dec. 9): In 1963, my five-year-old sister walked me, age 4, to my first day of school in Leicester, England.
By lunchtime I knew school was not for me, so absconded, running through a graveyard and down a main street to a park with swings and a slide. After lunch, realizing I had legged it, the headmistress collected my sister as a spotter and they drove through town to find me.
Cornered at the top of the slide, I complained about noise levels. After accepting the offer that I eat lunch with the headmistress in her quiet office each day, I surrendered.
No phone calls to parents or police. No amber alert. And a quiet lunch on a tray every day after that.
Mike Firth Toronto
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