Cans of food are seen at the Renfrew & District Food Bank in Renfrew, Ont., in January.Keito Newman/The Globe and Mail
Priceless
Re “Tobi Lutke’s idea that pensioners be excluded from voting is offensive. The concern behind it isn’t” (Report on Business, Aug. 4): Shopify co-founder Tobi Lutke calls for multiple votes for some – the rich – and no votes for others – non-taxpayers, pensioners. The criterion: Who has a stake in building for the future?
The many people who volunteer for the myriad charities in Canada provide enormous benefits to our society. While they are not enriched by their “work,” they provide services that otherwise would be paid for by rising taxes. Many are low-income or pensioners.
Our present and future would be bleak without volunteers.
Peter Woolstencroft Waterloo, Ont.
Re “One person, one vote is basic democratic principle. We should try it some time” (Opinion, Aug. 1): I was surprised to read that columnist Andrew Coyne seems to think U.S. Congress has better representation by population than Canada’s House of Commons.
While it is true that the U.S. House of Representatives is closer, the equally powerful Senate has the same number of senators for each state. The roughly half-million people of Wyoming elect the same two senators as the 39 million people of California.
Mark Taylor Sarnia, Ont.
No more
Re “Toronto police investigate damage done to two Jewish-owned bakeries” (July 27): I am a Jew. Not a religious one, I was born to secular Jewish parents. I will not be intimidated by whoever shot up Kiva’s Bagel Bar.
To show that, I will do what I never did: I will begin to wear a kippah in public.
Think this is a provocation? No. I have had enough of cowering in my life.
Decent people should not be provoked by the sight of a kippah, cross or hijab. Canada is a country of decency.
Ezra Hauer Toronto
Brakes on
Re “AI model creates viruses not found in nature” (Aug. 7): This report is full of red flags.
First, although the new viruses are based on ones that infect only bacteria, we know that biological organisms are nothing if not adaptable. There are many cases of formerly benign viruses making the jump into human hosts, with unpredictable results.
Second, while these artificial intelligence programs have been “trained” on viruses that do not infect humans, these systems have proven adept at finding whatever information they choose, authorized or not. Also, it is in the nature of AI programs that they can set their own methods and priorities.
Finally, while ethical scientists and legislators dither about appropriate safeguards, I am certain there are people who would not hesitate to use any technology for malign purposes.
This is a runaway train, and it is headed straight for us.
Douglas Campbell Victoria
Basic stuff
Re “Canada’s new Food Security Strategy won’t end food insecurity” (Aug. 3): I agree that food insecurity in Canada is not a food systems problem, but an affordability problem. The most obvious solution: a guaranteed livable basic income for everyone.
As noted, during the pandemic when emergency income supports were put in place, both food insecurity and poverty decreased significantly. And programs such as the Canada Child Benefit, Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement have had major influence in lowering poverty rates for children and seniors.
Isn’t it time to make the benefits of such programs available to those between the ages of 18 and 64 with a guaranteed livable basic income for all Canadians?
Ellie Topp Ottawa
Take care
Re “The Great Urban Shift is here, and our urban ecosystems will never be the same” (Opinion, Aug. 1): I suggest an additional measure that can be undertaken in one’s own home or office buildings. Residential and office windows, particularly those considered medium-rise, are responsible for massive bird mortality, especially during migration.
According to the government, lethal strikes range from 16 to 42 million per year, not counting those injured from collision only to die later. These collisions can be reduced by installing strips of small white dots on the outside of windows. Viewing from inside is not compromised.
Organizations patrolling high-risk facilities document dead birds, capture those injured for rehabilitation and continue to advocate on their behalf. Judging by the increasing bird-friendly windows I see in residential and office towers, awareness and action is thankfully happening.
Migration will begin soon and our feathered friends will face these man-made hazards once again. Taking additional measures saves countless avian lives.
John Nightingale Safe Wings Ottawa
Ecologists can find lots to study in our urban environments as we create new habitats through planting, watering and landscaping. Our city attracts a variety of wildlife including eagles, moose, antelope, deer, raccoons and even the odd cougar.
It also occurred to me while reading this that our cities are like zoos. The animals are on the outside looking in – and we are inside our houses, yards and cars looking out.
Peter Wallis Medicine Hat, Alta.
Take me back
Re “What’s happened to the lazy Sunday drive?” (First Person, Aug. 3): This fine essay reminded me of our outings.
There might have been some picnic food, but there was always a spade kept in the car trunk, so our father could dig up a promising roadside sapling for our mother’s garden.
Sue Careless Toronto
Re “Preserving places means letting them change. My family’s Kenora hotel taught me that” (Opinion, Aug. 1): Like reporter Nancy Macdonald, I have a vested interest in the Kenricia Hotel.
My roots are there, where my grandfather Hector served as administrative manager of the Lake of the Woods Milling Company’s flour mill in neighbouring Keewatin. After serving in the Second World War, my father Howard founded Echo Lodge Camps, a hunting and fishing lodge on Inglis Lake and Lake of the Woods, where I spent my early years.
My brothers and I are now spread out across Canada, but cherish our younger days in Kenora-Keewatin. My youngest brother still maintains a home in Keewatin. For years, we have all hoped for a restoration of the Kenricia, truly an iconic landmark, and support the plan to bring new life and purpose to it.
As Ms. Macdonald writes, “Loving a place does not mean keeping it exactly as it was, but finding a way for it to endure.”
Reid MacWilliam Kings County, N.S.
This took me back to my youth of the 1950s, when my family lived in Winnipeg and we vacationed on Coney Island in Kenora.
Our rental cottage was the Chown family cottage, around the corner from the Kilgours. Geills (Jill) McCrae Kilgour became Jill Turner, John’s wife, and her brother David was a longtime MP.
We also belonged to the Royal Lake Of The Woods Yacht Club. One Saturday, I was lurking about hoping for a crewing job and was recruited by James Coyne, the former Bank of Canada governor.
My first big pash was Mary Ross, who married James Connacher and whose obituary was recently in The Globe (“Mary Jean Connacher” – Birth and Death Notices, June 6). I could go on.
(An aside: My father was publisher of the Winnipeg Tribune from 1951 to 1959.)
Thank you endlessly for this trip back 75 years ago in my life. My face hurts from smiling.
Barry Auger Vancouver
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