Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre prepares to speak to the Canadian Club Toronto on Thursday.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
Parliamentary power
Re “The Conservatives have a bigger problem than a Liberal majority: Their leader” (April 17): While floor-crossings may undermine party politics, my sense is they can make government more effective.
Domestic and world imperatives at the moment of a general election will change as time goes on. We need MPs to anticipate and respond to these changing circumstances and not be hamstrung by party dogma.
Floor-crossing MPs know their own constituents best and will profit or suffer the consequences of their decision for the rest of their term. It is a decision they do not take lightly.
In business as well as in politics, it also matters who is the boss. The boss who is imaginative, supportive, effective and, yes, likeable wins every time.
Stuart Brindley Hamilton
Re “Conservatives contracting” (Letters, April 16) and “Swept up” (Letters, April 17): I’m proposing a pause on all posts pertaining to the pontificating predilections of Pierre Poilievre.
While it may seem paradoxical, sharing the positions of the Leader of the Opposition can be polarizing and problematic.
Patricia Phillips Toronto
What’s the plan?
Re “Mark Carney gets it right with bold new nature strategy” and “For Toronto, more sprawl or a green future?” (April 15): I was glad to read about Mark Carney’s nature strategy; it is the only path I see forward for Canada and the rest of the world if we hope to survive as a species, something Mother Nature reminds us of with each hotter, drier summer and increasingly violent storm.
But, as pointed out, Ottawa can’t do it alone: The provinces and First Nations need to be on board as well. While I have every confidence First Nations understand the importance of nature, I am pessimistic about Doug Ford’s plans.
What will happen to the green space that has been mothballed for the previously planned Pickering airport? This land should be maintained for agriculture and unspoiled nature, not more sprawling subdivisions and highways.
We’ve paved paradise and put up too many parking lots already.
Graham Farrell Toronto
Re “On Canada’s high-speed rail plan, the numbers just don’t add up” (Opinion, April 11): There are other costs associated with the proposed high-speed rail that are even more difficult to put a dollar value on: the loss of local farms and productive land in a time of food insecurity, fragmentation of critical habitat, including that within the Frontenac Arch Biosphere region, and the damage to rural communities that would be sliced by a rail corridor.
The preservation of these assets would be a greater public benefit than high-speed rail. Many of us would be happy just to have reliable, accessible, affordable trains on existing routes.
Anne Lougheed Kingston, Ont.
Preventable problem
Re “COVID-19 drove recent leap in preventable respiratory hospitalizations, report says” (April 16): As a physician who deals with the elderly and patients with significant respiratory disease, I am appalled at the frequency with which these high-risk patients are not up-to-date on vaccinations.
In most cases, this is not because of vaccine hesitancy but because of lack of knowledge with respect to the scheduling, access and importance of these vaccines. I can attest to the resulting unnecessary emergency room visits, hospital admissions, health care costs, morbidity and mortality. It doesn’t help that the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine is not funded for many high-risk patients.
In Ontario, it seems to me the provincial government would do better to spend money on educating the population about such vaccines, rather than inundating us with advertisements for its efforts toward “pie in the sky” projects such as the Ring of Fire.
Arthur Vanek MD, Toronto
Work it out
Re “Men must become gender partners at work to help women (and themselves)” (Online, April 13): Both women and men can feel unable to express feelings of vulnerability at work.
Women, however, are stuck in a double bind between appearing unfeminine and cold, while also embodying the masculine confidence needed for professional success. Women also face countless other challenges at work including harassment, fewer promotions and poor support for mothers.
Perhaps some men would only support gender equity if they knew they would benefit, too. Nonetheless, doing the right thing isn’t about self-interest. The fact that women’s suffering is not enough of a reason for some men to care shows how much work still needs to be done.
Men should absolutely encourage a healthier, more equitable work environment. But to solve a problem, one needs to acknowledge what it is.
Marie Erikson Vancouver
Home for a rest
Re “Reluctant to ‘rough it,’ retirees are trimming travel costs in other ways” (April 13): After decades of roaming the world, I’ve become an armchair traveller; not reluctantly but realistically.
The world of travel has changed dramatically in the last decade: the expense, the crowds, the sheer effort required. And I’ve changed, too. My body no longer has the stamina it once did, and I don’t pretend otherwise.
What I do feel is gratitude. I made travel a core value when I was younger, energetic and willing to live on a shoestring. Those years gave me a lifetime of memories.
Today, I’m content to explore from home.
Debra Dolan West Vancouver
Safety first
Re “Did anyone notice that AI companies have created HAL 9000?” (April 14): “None of my wrenches have ever tried to kill me.”
All my tools are out to kill me. No exceptions. I am 76 and have yet to meet a non-homicidal tool in a garage full of them.
There are other seemingly innocent but murderous objects around the house such as electrical sockets and ladders, even the lowly stool and not to mention stairs. I always have to be on my toes (if I don’t want to lose them).
But if these tool attacks are the fault of humans, I would argue so is artificial intelligence. After all, humans developed AI.
My advice? Treat AI like those deadly tools: Leave them safely locked up and don’t use them unless we absolutely have to. Even then, don’t do it alone without someone who knows what they’re doing.
Follow my advice and we’ll all be okay. After all, I am still alive.
Patrick Tighe Petawawa, Ont.
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