Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the foyer of the House of Commons.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Next up
Re “Poilievre could face leadership review as early as March” (May 31): Once again, the Conservative Party of Canada seems to be failing Canadians. It appears entirely focused on simply winning the next election.
That narrow focus should be elevated to asking, “Who is the best candidate we can offer to be a strong prime minister for Canada?” This necessitates winning the next election, but includes so much more with respect to leadership.
I would be shocked if the Conservatives really believe Pierre Poilievre is the best candidate they can offer. Leadership, character, experience – they matter.
I beg the party to alter its thinking.
Brad Vollmershausen Norfolk County, Ont.
Steel yourself
Re “Trump says he will double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50%” (May 31): If the U.S. government insists on a tariff-protected steel industry, one that will be uncompetitive in world markets, Canada should immediately take advantage of the opportunity.
To begin, we need our own steel for our own purposes: infrastructure, shipbuilding, railways, defence. Canada also has the resources and know-how to become a prime source of artillery ammunition for all our allies, including Ukraine. We can become an arsenal of democracy.
Of course, this would require both courage and imagination on our part. Are we up to it?
Tom Masters North Cowichan, B.C.
Come down
Re “It’s easy to announce the end of internal trade barriers. Eliminating them is harder” (June 2): As someone who worked on this issue years ago, I fully agree that political pronouncements are seldom sufficient to remove barriers to free movement of both goods and people across provincial boundaries.
Professional and trade organizations, as well as government regulation, present innumerable hurdles. Perhaps a measure of having achieved some success will be when a plumber licensed to ply his trade in Ottawa is free to unclog a toilet in Gatineau without any regulatory impediment.
Rod Taylor Halton Hills, Ont.
As the Prime Minister and premiers meet in Saskatoon to discuss nation-building projects, they will be doing so under a cloud of carcinogenic smoke resulting from the forest fires surrounding them. One can only smirk at the irony as they discuss the viability of building more pipelines.
About 75 per cent of global greenhouse gases are produced by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. In the midst of a literal inferno resulting from anthropogenic climate change, I hope that they connect the dots and agree to build green energy corridors.
As a species, we cannot continue to develop industries that make our host, planet Earth, uninhabitable.
Mary Burge Toronto
Fully invested
Re “Overstaffed, overpaid and underperforming, the CPP investment fund is in need of a sharp course correction” (May 30): The large number of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board employees and associated salary costs, aimed at trying to “beat” the market through active management, is stunning, particularly since it is well known in the investment industry that the chances of success are low.
So yes, the CPP does indeed appear to be in desperate need of a course correction. The question is, how do we make this happen?
Nick Harris Guelph, Ont.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has invested billions of pensioner dollars overseas in such projects as Latin American toll roads and foreign real estate.
The Carney government should encourage the CPPIB to invest serious dollars in the upcoming nation-building capital projects. It would be a win-win for all Canadians.
Lance Mitchell Ottawa
Another example of Canadians being administered to death. Why wouldn’t we follow the simple, more productive avenue when we can create bloat and poor performance?
Something all levels of government should recognize.
Martin Wale Dorval, Que.
Entry price
Re “To make housing more affordable, drop the tax hammer on real estate investors” (Report on Business, May 27): Why would an investor sell an investment property if capital gains were treated as regular income? In most cases, they wouldn’t.
Instead, investors would be incentivized to continually remortgage the asset over the course of their life to access equity. They would also place such assets in elaborate trusts to shelter them from tax when passing it on to future generations, thereby constraining supply of properties that reach the market.
Increasing down payment requirements on new purchases to 35 per cent and eliminating the ability to deduct mortgage interest would promote capital flight, which is precisely the opposite of what is needed for Canada to grow its economy and reverse the troubling trend of declining GDP per capita.
The inaccessibility of the housing market seems less a story of investor activity than a complex blend of land regulation policy, construction labour incapacity, immigration policy and cheap debt over recent history.
Adrian Mercer Kitchener, Ont.
Re “Despite rise in Vancouver rental vacancies, affordability is still a distant dream” (Real Estate, May 30): Rental rates in Vancouver have been declining for 16 straight months, hitting a 35-month low in March (“Average asking rents decrease for sixth straight month to $2,119, report finds” – Online, April 8). That happened because rental developers have responded to demand and increased supply from 1,000 to more than 5,000 units per year being approved in Vancouver.
The laws of supply and demand are working, but we can do more to encourage even more supply, which would help free up existing affordable rental apartments for lower-income renters. Fast-rising government taxes and fees of as much as $125,600 per unit are pushing costs higher than many renters can bear, making projects unviable and reducing needed supply.
All levels of government should quickly end taxing housing like cigarettes, and get serious about building for affordability.
Mark Kenney president and CEO, Canadian Apartment Properties REIT; Toronto
Just do it
Re “Toronto’s public spaces need results – not more plans” (May 27): When it comes to making such basic improvements, I have to wonder about mindsets that tolerate chronic inaction. All of these suggestions are sensible and doable, yet progress is thwarted by hapless attitudes that seem to range from “stuck” to “shrug.”
When we talk about Canadian productivity, rarely does anyone mention how important it is to champion a can-do mindset in every citizen for achieving results. Reports and plans are not productive until they are acted upon.
How can we reawaken a sense of civic pride in our achievements? We can start with the hope that grows from providing bathrooms, seating and shade in our public spaces.
Sharon Vanderkaay Toronto
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