A Westjet aircraft at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond on Sunday.Chris Helgren/Reuters
Stuck between
Re “Carney rules out using energy as leverage in U.S. trade talks” (July 30): I almost burst out laughing when I read that oil was a “powerful potential leverage point” which could be used to pressure the United States. It could, in a pinch, obtain oil from Venezuela, Russia or Mexico.
Where else could Alberta send four million barrels every day? Oh, that’s right, exactly nowhere.
Martin Stockton Stone Mills, Ont.
What happened?
Re “Arrested NATO intern has history of fraud, was ordered to take ethics course” (Aug. 1): What an inappropriate response given the findings. Attending an ethics course doesn’t make someone more ethical, in the same way that reading the Criminal Code doesn’t make someone law-abiding.
When a manager finds someone has engaged in dishonest conduct in an attempt to be hired, surely the appropriate response is to not hire the person. And even if for some reason they are hired because they “slip between the cracks,” why would Canada not, at minimum, do its due diligence and inform NATO?
If Canada wants to be seen as a credible country, we need to do a lot of things better. Let’s start by being competent and fully transparent with our allies about Canadian employees they are considering allowing to work with them.
Robert Pruden Winnipeg
That must have been some special ethics course. I wonder if it set up her next career move?
If this is the outcome, who needs a watchdog? If we are to sustain the Public Service Commission, one can only hope it undertakes a serious process and procedure review.
Someone should explain that our world is increasingly difficult and complex, and a naïve staff isn’t helping make Canada or the world safer. How Canadian is this?
Stephen Kouri Toronto
Age-old wisdom
Re “Tobi Lutke’s idea that pensioners be excluded from voting is offensive. The concern behind it isn’t” (Report on Business, Aug. 4): I disagree, as I find both the idea and the concern offensive.
Voting, said Shopify co-founder Tobi Lutke, should be limited to those “with a stake in the future.” A foundation of our democracy is that all citizens have the right to vote, and each is entitled to one vote.
What would he propose next? Should we disenfranchise those with cancer or other conditions with compromised life expectancy, or those with incomes below a certain threshold?
Maybe we should give those with high incomes multiple votes since they contribute more tax dollars to government coffers. Maybe we should take away the voting rights of the unemployed, welfare recipients or those with disabilities on government subsidies.
I, for one, was embarrassed to read this opinion.
Michael Gilman Toronto
As a pensioner, I find this view disrespectful and unfair. Having retired for more than a decade does not mean I lose my ability to think critically or make informed decisions about the future of my country.
I have spent decades working, paying taxes and exercising my democratic rights in elections. Those experiences give me valuable perspectives that deserve to be represented at the ballot box as much as anyone else’s.
I reject the assumption that pensioners only vote in self-interest. We care deeply about the future that our children, grandchildren and younger generations will inherit. Every voter brings different life experiences and priorities, regardless of age.
To me, democracy is strongest when every citizen has an equal voice, not when we start deciding that some people are no longer worthy of voting simply because they have reached retirement.
Dono Bandoro Calgary
We are warned about the “deprioritization of economic growth,” primarily among seniors but also the middle-aged middle class. I can’t help but laugh.
We have mindlessly pursued ceaseless, accelerating economic growth at the cost of the environment, our health and often our sanity. The natural result of such government policies is the world we live in today, one with which many in my youthful generation are deeply disenchanted, one of oligopolies and profound economic inequality. Happiness and quality of life is clearly linked with systemic inequality.
Instead of pursuing economic growth as our main goal, and hoping in the face of all evidence that the rising tide will lift all boats, the government should make its priority to deliver practical improvements to quality of life for all citizens, but especially the most deprived.
Pharmacare and dental care are a good start. How to pay for it? A wealth tax comes to mind.
Iain McInnes Ottawa
Essentially
Re “WestJet’s strike may be over, but travellers are still reeling from delays” (Aug. 4): The WestJet strike left tens of thousands of Canadians scrambling to salvage vacations, family reunions and business commitments during one of the busiest travel weekends of the summer. While workers have every right to bargain collectively, deliberately timing a strike to inflict the greatest disruption on the travelling public is difficult to defend.
This raises an important question: Should our airline industry be treated as an essential service, with disputes resolved through binding arbitration rather than work stoppages that hold the public hostage? The current system gives both sides powerful leverage, but it is ordinary Canadians who end up bearing the costs. When a service is as vital to our economy and mobility as air travel, I see a strong case for Parliament to ensure it continues to operate while labour disputes are settled.
Canadians deserve a system that protects both workers’ rights and the public interest.
Kensel Tracy Chelsea, Que.
Give up
Re “The real danger of AI isn’t what it creates – it’s the human agency we are giving away” (Opinion, Aug. 1): This definition of “cognitive surrender,” in relation to the expanding use of artificial intelligence, is interesting but far from a new concept in humanity’s history.
What is the QAnon phenomenon on social media, if not an example of mass cognitive surrender? How about the sheep in the classic novel Animal Farm? Or the mass hysteria in response to The War of the Worlds radio drama?
Cases of new technologies being used to invoke cognitive surrender on larger and larger scales are legend and exploit base human nature. History demonstrates that it is a normal state for most humans.
Hope exists in the minority who don’t surrender, the rebels who are often persecuted in their own time, the thinkers who refuse to be bound by convention. It is there that hope for humanity lies, past, present and future.
Ellis Barefoot Toronto
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