Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump meet in the Oval Office of the White House in October.Evan Vucci/The Associated Press
Better together
Re “Donald Trump wants to make an example out of Canada. How will we prepare?” (Opinion, Jan. 31): Does a Carney-led Canada have the capacity to survive a Trump-led America? This question is posed at a moment when Canada may already have passed its first test.
More than ever, global recognition is a prerequisite for global influence. Thanks to Mark Carney’s Davos speech, a Canadian prime minister is known in international media simply by his surname.
The Trudeaus are mildly famous, but this feels different. Mr. Carney has stolen the limelight. Whether we like it or not, the capacity to influence Donald Trump starts here, with ideas landing across the global media landscape.
Mr. Carney has taken the first steps toward answering the question.
Christopher Godsall Toronto
We all know the saying: “Don’t mess with Mother Nature.” What about “Father Topography?” This continent trades in north-south corridors due to the ease of transport. I learned that in Grade 10.
Yet here the federal government is nominated to ignore the Constitution and fix all our decades-old problems pronto. Talk about playing into the hands of Alberta separatists: The “we” referred to seems to be the Laurentian elite and Ottawa bubble who got us here.
Time for our Prime Minister to eat crow privately with the President, keep a low profile and focus on salvaging what we can of the USMCA. Meanwhile, drastically cut federal spending, cut red tape and get out of the way.
Tom Kent Calgary
The backbone of columnist Andrew Coyne’s proposed defence against Donald Trump is a strengthening of the federal government. This would be a mistake.
It would fan the flames of resentment among separatists in Quebec and Alberta, and lead Eastern Canada to question the federal government’s commitment to meeting its distinctive needs.
What should be required is a more supple federalism, one capable of nimbly shifting power amongst the provinces and the federal government in response to Mr. Trump’s varied threats to our country.
Jade Schiff Ottawa
Andrew Coyne’s column is, in my humble opinion, on par with Mark Carney’s Davos declaration.
At its heart is the rather novel concept of making Canada indivisible, in order to control outside interference from the likes of Donald Trump and prevent them from using whatever tactics at their disposal to break our confederation apart.
I do hope Mr. Coyne and other Canadian columnists, together with the Canadian public, pursue this theme so that it becomes embedded in our psyche going forward, until such time as we execute needed changes in Parliament.
Let’s nip this cessation movement in the bud.
John O’Driscoll London, Ont.
In my political science studies, I was intrigued by the positive effects of war.
No one wants war; however, it focuses the use of our collective resources for our best defence. While we acknowledge this may undermine the values of some and disturb our comfortable lives, accomplishments are made that might otherwise take decades to happen, such as great technological advancements, superproductive factories and supporting infrastructure. Communities pull together to support one another and hopefully maintain good homes to return to.
While democracies around the world realize how much we can be hurt by economic warfare, and heaven forbid real warfare, seeing solid direction from our government is refreshing. It’s too bad we have to be threatened for this to happen.
It’s time to take direction from the loudest voice, regardless of where it takes us.
Jamie Brougham Ottawa
Welcome home
Re “Canada’s Most Livable Cities” (Jan. 31): By far, the fastest-growing large city in Canada is Calgary.
The people of Canada have made their own choice very clear as to the most liveable city.
Bryce Code Calgary
Train dreams
Re “Canada’s passenger rail lines are getting revived after decades of vanishing service” (Opinion, Jan. 31): Yes! We need trains.
We need a transcontinental line to come through Calgary and a line from Lethbridge to Edmonton and points north. We should be able to get around Prairie cities by rail.
What we don’t need are expensive, luxury, tourist-based fares. We need basic, inexpensive service.
Lucretia Martenet Calgary
By observing that the “history of our railways is indissociable from the exploitation of impoverished labourers,” we are enlightened about a historical truth all too often forgotten in our romanticized view of rail travel. To go further, hundreds, if not thousands, perished in the process.
I applaud this recognition of the exploitation of workers in the building of Canada’s vast railway network. That’s something not usually acknowledged today.
Vincenzo Pietropaolo CM, Toronto
Weighing options
Re “How will cheaper versions of Ozempic tip the scales?” (Jan. 31): Why should the pharmaceutical industry be allowed to capitalize on society’s penchant for thinness? Health Canada may think these GLP-1s are to be the standard treatment for the country’s obesity ills, however I do not believe this quick fix is what it is looking for.
As a clinical dietitian, I realized there will always be a place for weight loss medications for people with comorbidities, but I do not think they are the panacea for our obesogenic culture. I often found food literacy and insecurity to be the problems at hand.
The government should consider spending less of our tax dollars on collecting data and more on public education and food security. Only then we can see the scales tipping in the right direction.
Jill Goddard Belleville, Ont.
Too soon
Re “Catherine O’Hara leaves a legacy of laughs and much more” (Jan. 31): Why do so many obituaries for Catherine O’Hara refer to her role in Home Alone as the “absent-minded” mother of Kevin McCallister? She was the one member of the addled clan that actually remembered him – too late, of course, but there wouldn’t have been a movie otherwise.
Safe to say that Ms. O’Hara will not soon be forgotten.
Andrew Leith Macrae Toronto
I recall working on Schitt’s Creek as one of two sound editors. Usually it was May or June when we’d start the post-sound work of editing dialogue and sound effects and continue until the fall.
We always had a break for the month of July: Catherine O’Hara insisted on spending that month at her cottage, and was not available to do her additional dialogue recording.
There was a lady who had her priorities straight.
Jane Tattersall Toronto
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