U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before he enters a restaurant near the White House, in Washington, on Tuesday.Alex Brandon/The Associated Press
Come together
Re “Can the courts stop Trump’s aggressive agenda?” (Sept. 10): My answer: not by itself.
Even if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against Donald Trump, there must be a means of enforcement. He may just ignore its rulings and carry on as planned.
The question, then, is will law enforcement do its duty to uphold the law? Mr. Trump has sidelined Congress, been using the National Guard as his personal police force and installed staunch loyalists to lead the military. Therefore, there is reason to fear that the United States will cease to be governed by the rule of law.
The loss of such a key component of democracy could easily lead to violent unrest and even civil war.
Mark Roberts Gananoque, Ont.
Help wanted
Re “Yes, Canada should (mostly) end our temporary foreign worker programs” (Report on Business, Sept. 9): I believe there is a simple solution to the Temporary Foreign Worker program: Give them the same rights as Canadian workers and eliminate the cost differential between domestic and foreign workers.
In fact, I would go further: They should be given a direct path to citizenship, if they so choose, after working in Canada for, say, five out of 10 consecutive years.
The same should apply to students. If they receive a work permit and work in Canada for a number of years, they should be able to become citizens.
Highly skilled foreign workers can fall under a temporary stream if a business, such as a foreign company, needs specialized skills for a limited time and purpose.
The TFW programs is being abused by many businesses to keep labour costs low, and abused by many temporary workers who really want to be citizens. Let’s get rid of the charade.
Michael Di Paolo Toronto
“An exception has to be made for some jobs in agriculture and food processing, because the sector has become dependent on people paid less than what Canadians would demand.” Why this sector and not, say, retail sales or tourism?
The Temporary Foreign Worker program provides cheap labour because many employers have not been willing to pay higher wages. Canadians aren’t demanding this unfair trade practice. It seems to be employer-led and it should be ended.
David Enns Cornwall, Ont.
Charged up
Re “Ottawa should pull the plug on EV mandates” (Editorial, Sept. 8): As the world races ahead with electric vehicle adoption, with 25 per cent of global vehicle sales set to be electric this year, Canada is out of step.
Yes, U.S. tariffs are putting unfair pressure on the auto industry. But hesitation risks leaving Canada struggling to keep up with a burgeoning global EV market.
We have everything we need to lead: a skilled work force, clean electricity and abundant critical minerals. As we bolster Canadian sovereignty, security and resilience, we can move beyond simply extracting and exporting the raw materials used to develop and sell advanced technologies to the world.
But leadership requires consistency. The EV mandate was developed in consultation with industry and, while times are tough, it remains the most efficient way for Canada to compete globally.
We can modify it, but nothing is more costly than starting and stopping – for consumers, taxpayers and businesses investing in this transition.
Adam Thorn Director, transportation, Pembina Institute; Toronto
I am disappointed and disheartened to read this argument for pulling the plug on electric vehicle mandates.
Even though these mandates were finalized in 2023, discussions around them have been going on for quite some time. The auto industry cannot argue it has been caught off guard.
Higher profit margins have steered the North American industry to high-end EVs, and thus not enough choice for consumers. The industry itself has a lot to answer for regarding the position it is in.
Regulatory measures are proposed to replace EV mandates. While the prescriptive approach provides a clear pathway to net reduction in emissions, the regulatory approach is more complicated. There is uncertainty in its effectiveness, and it is usually more expensive.
A combination of both approaches generally works better in most cases. Given the time frame for EV adoption, the less uncertainty, the better.
Jagjit Khosla Ottawa
Feeling blue
Re “Booze, business and populism: Doug Ford’s antics evoke lessons from the past” (Report on Business, Sept. 8): As a neighbour of Howard Ferguson’s mansion in Toronto, now occupied by the South Korean consulate, I was startled to read that he “laid the foundations for Ontario’s Big Blue Machine.” I always thought the credit for that lay with Bill Davis.
My recollection is that after winning the largest electoral victory in Ontario history in 1929, Mr. Ferguson escaped to London as Canadian high commissioner soon after the stock market crash. George Henry, his successor as premier, then went down in catastrophic defeat at the hands of Mitch Hepburn’s Liberals in 1934.
The party remained out of power until gaining a minority in 1943. At that point, the Big Blue Machine was more than a quarter-century from being born.
A more appropriate analogy for me would be to compare Doug Ford to Mr. Hepburn, both in style and policies.
Joe Martin Toronto
Hero status
Re “Ken Dryden was a national hero. Now that he’s gone, he has no replacement” (Sept. 8): I’m 62. I can’t explain it, but I’ve now cried when three well-known people have passed away: Arnold Palmer, who was my mom’s favourite (his magazine pictures are still pasted inside the cupboards at our cottage), Gord Downie and now Ken Dryden.
His stoicism in the most high-pressure moments, the way he stood on the ice with his blocker on top of his stick (we all emulated that in road hockey), his iconic masks (the pretzel and the bullseye), the save he made on Jim Pappin in the 1971 Stanley Cup final, the way he helped lift a nation’s spirits in 1972, his elegant prose in The Game: He demonstrated what it was like to be a fiercely proud Canadian.
His passing stirred something within me. I’m sure it has to do with what No. 29 symbolized to us all in those formative childhood years.
Jeff Howe Toronto
I am not sure that another hockey player should continue to be named “The Great One.”
In my mind, this moniker should be assigned to Ken Dryden, who has clearly shown us what greatness looks like.
Susan MacLean London, Ont.
No slight to Mark Carney, but if it is our destiny as a nation to have former goalies as prime ministers, Ken Dryden should have been the first.
Michael Park Uxbridge, Ont.
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