U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday.Matt Rourke/The Associated Press
Sticker shock
Re “The Liberals pander at the gas pump” (Editorial, April 27): On Monday, April 20, the price of gas was $1.50 in my area, dropping from $1.60 the weekend before. Two days later, the price jumped to $1.69 and has continued to escalate since then, so we are in the $1.70-plus range.
I believed Mark Carney when he promised a measure of relief for Canadians. Little did he know oil retailers would demonstrate their power over the Prime Minister’s promise.
Peter Neve Gananoque, Ont.
We can do it
Re “Jet fuel shortages are hitting the European travel market and the worst is yet to come if Hormuz stays blocked” (Report on Business, April 28): Aviation fuel shortages are disrupting travel and constraining airlines. Canada already has part of the solution in hand.
We are one of the world’s largest producers of canola, yet our farmers remain heavily exposed to volatile export markets, particularly China. At the same time, proven technology exists to convert canola oil into sustainable aviation fuel as a drop-in product compatible with existing aircraft.
This is not a distant or speculative idea. Other countries are scaling production now. Canada has the feedstock, expertise and infrastructure to do the same.
Redirecting even a small share of canola production toward aviation fuel would strengthen energy security, stabilize farm incomes and reduce reliance on unpredictable export market while advancing emissions goals in a sector with few viable alternatives.
Here is a clear opportunity to add value to Canadian resources while also adding to national resiliency. What is missing is not capability, but urgency.
John Cadham Ottawa
Apples, oranges
Re “The EU is overhauling its competition policies, but a big-is-best credo is no gift to consumers” (Report on Business, April 25): It’s become increasingly common to compare large tech companies to entire countries as a way to emphasize their scale. However, comparing a company’s market capitalization to a country’s GDP mixes fundamentally different metrics.
GDP measures economic output over time, while market cap is a snapshot of investor valuation. For example, Apple’s market cap, at about US$3.9-trillion, can be compared to France with similar GDP. But France’s total national wealth is closer to US$16-trillion, far exceeding Apple’s valuation; a more meaningful comparison would be Apple’s US$416-billion in revenue versus France’s US$3.9-trillion GDP.
Apple is enormous, but not comparable to the economic footprint of a G7 country like France.
Jeff Croxall Toronto
Safety first
Re “Trump says White House correspondents’ dinner shooting ‘would never have happened’ at new ballroom” (April 27): Donald Trump contends that “building the ballroom, which would include bullet-proof glass and measures to thwart drone attacks, would prevent such violence in future.”
Then let there be ballrooms – ballrooms for every school and place of worship in the United States. Add in every cinema, sports venue, and grocery store and pretty soon all “such violence in future” could be prevented.
George Olds Hamilton
FYI
Re “U.S. Department of Justice indicts former Fauci adviser for allegedly hiding e-mails” (April 29): As an “FOIA lady” working in the Ontario government for more than 20 years, I was always astounded by the seeming ignorance of senior officials who blithely wrote self-incriminated e-mails to one another, just like those quoted in the U.S. Department of Justice indictment. These men obviously felt protected by some invisible anti-freedom-of-information forcefield.
As for government officials who “took pains to keep their discussions off government e-mail services in a bid to avoid disclosure” through FOI, that practice is as old as the act itself, and just as prevalent in Canada.
Lise Hendlisz Lawyer (retired), Toronto
On MAID
Re “Psychiatry chairs at medical schools oppose expanding MAID for mental illness” (April 30): While medical assistance in dying for severe mental illness may seem logical in theory, I find it fails in practice. Even expert clinicians cannot predict with certainty that a long-suffering patient is beyond recovery.
This mirrors the argument against capital punishment. While it might seem justifiable for the most heinous crimes, a mature society rejects it because its application can lead to the ultimate error: the wrongful taking of life.
Whether it is an innocent person executed for a crime or a mental health sufferer who might have eventually found relief, the finality of the act allows no room for the system’s fallibility. The price of avoiding these tragedies is admittedly high: It requires us to accept that some will remain imprisoned, whether by literal bars or the shackles of severe mental illness.
It is, however, a price we should pay to protect the sanctity of life against human error.
Eric Stutz MD, Toronto
Showing up
Re “Ontario’s new legislation fails to address structural issues for school absenteeism, expert says” (Opinion, April 25): I grew up in the 1940s and 1950s in the west end of Toronto.
Western Technical-Commercial School was where I was in the “matriculation” group, as it was then called, with the objective of obtaining a “senior matriculation” certificate for Grade 13 graduation so I could attend university.
When I reached my first attempt at Grade 13, several of my buddies and I did quite a bit of skipping out on classes in early spring. I was called into the office and informed that, due to my spotty attendance, I would not be likely to graduate and the best plan would be to drop out and return next fall.
I did, then went to work in a machine shop factory. I was very happy to return to school with a better attitude.
I eventually graduated from Queen’s University in engineering.
Winston (Win) Bromley Langley, B.C.
Re “How a postcard helped curb absentee rates at a Northern Ontario school board” (April 25): Across Ontario, many students struggle not because they don’t value learning, but because they are navigating mental health challenges, caregiving responsibilities, housing insecurity, family stress and other pressures directly affecting consistent school attendance.
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation has rightly cautioned against turning attendance into a grading penalty. There is a different path as demonstrated by programs such as the PACT Urban Peace Program for participation, acknowledgement, commitment and transformation. PACT life plan coaching and leadership lunch clubs meet students where they are with coaches and mentors, long before disengagement becomes a crisis.
Last year, the majority of coached youth showed measurable gains in attendance and engagement. One student captured the impact better than any statistic: “I’m showing up more because I know someone believes in me.”
Programs such as PACT don’t just help students return to school, they remind us what keeps them there.
Barbara Benoliel Board member, PACT; Toronto
All in
Re “CFL revamps its calendar for 2027, with early season start and new playoff format” (Sports, April 29): Eight teams will make the playoffs in a nine-team league.
I certainly hope the last-place team gets a participation trophy.
Larry Custead Saskatoon
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