Prime Minister Mark Carney visits Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 20.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Low bar
Re “Canada will need to consider growing its relations with non-democratic Gulf States” (Nov. 19): While it is acknowledged that the United Arab Emirates is complicit in Sudan’s civil war, we are warned against “loud but empty moralizing” when dealing with the country and its neighbours. Instead, Canada should raise “the ceiling for success in efforts to diversify our trade and security.”
Will our economic partners have to clear any moral bar at all? So in pursuit of deals, we dare not voice our disapproval of the UAE, which is supplying forces now accused of executing civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan for the crime of belonging to the wrong ethnic group.
Adil Sayeed Toronto
Choose your fighter
Re “Sweden’s Saab offers to build entire GlobalEye military surveillance plane in Canada” (Report on Business, Nov. 19): Canada is poised to decide on a major fighter jet purchase. I find both options, the U.S. F-35 and Swedish Gripen, problematic.
The Gripen, although a good fighter jet, has fourth-generation technology as it lacks stealth capability. The F-35 program has gotten expensive, poses a potentially difficult supply chain for parts and upgrades and risks becoming obsolete as nations such as China develop sixth-generation jets with better stealth and artificial intelligence capability.
As an alternative, Canada should consider partnering with Sweden to construct a sixth-generation fighter jet. Not only could it create high-paying, knowledge-intensive Canadian jobs, it could also revitalize our aerospace industry and air force.
Lance Alexander Toronto
Re “Joly says Canada ‘didn’t get enough’ industrial benefits out of F-35 procurement deal” (Online, Nov. 18): So Lockheed Martin contends the purchase of 88 F-35 jets will produce upward of $15.5-billion in “industrial value” over the course of five decades.
Wow, that is an underwhelming amount of about $300-million a year. Trump change – sorry, I mean chump change – in the overall economic picture.
Hopefully any Saab deal can exceed this paltry Lockheed benefit.
Patrick Stewart Toronto
Go nuclear
Re “Canada needs to step up. We need Candu nuclear technology” (Report on Business, Nov. 19): Jean Chrétien and Mike Harris: A collaboration I did not expect, and a breath of fresh air into the deeply divided political scene of today.
It is also a collaboration on a most worthy topic: Canada’s need for reliable clean energy across the country. I believe nuclear meets those criteria and Candu meets it best.
Before our southern neighbour’s last election and while we still felt comfortable about our friendship, a decision was made to build and install small modular reactors, an American design where the enriched uranium needed is available only from the United States or Russia. Why, oh why, did we not stick with our own proven technology in Candu?
A few SMRs are not likely to provide more than a small fraction of our looming energy needs. Let’s finish the SMR project and turn our attention to what we do best: Candu.
Canada’s energy future is waiting.
David Kister Kingston, Ont.
Coast to coast to coast
Re “Union leaders say they are still in the dark about budget cuts, buyout rules” (Nov. 19): If the Liberals want to undertake lasting reforms, it should look at the civil service.
As of March, 2024, 42.3 per cent of federal civil servants work within the National Capital Region. Issues important in Ottawa are often irrelevant in communities situated thousands of kilometres away.
This high degree of centralization did not exist a few generations ago. There were federal civil servants working in offices across the country and living in the communities they served.
A highly centralized federal civil service, then, is a myopic one. The needs of forestry-based communities in British Columbia are very different from fisheries-based communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. The economy and lived experiences in Nunavut are dramatically different from those in Toronto.
Our government, to understand and serve all Canadians, should have reasonable regional decentralization from Tofino to St. John’s.
John Shepherd Richmond, B.C.
Have the courage
Re “As a physician, I see how gender-affirming care benefits youth” (Nov. 20): Once again, the notwithstanding clause is brought into sharp focus with it use by the Alberta Premier to enforce certain restrictions on the trans community.
It has been described as the most loathed part of Canada’s Constitution, but also a powerful tool for democratic expression. On this latter point, I support its use to restore parliamentary supremacy over parts of the Charter, but with a caveat: If a government believes its use is necessary, then ensure that a majority of constituents support the policy to be enacted.
If this condition were respected, would we have seen its use to override the Charter rights of gender-diverse students in Saskatchewan, ban public service workers from wearing religious symbols in Quebec or reduce Toronto city council by half, to name but a few?
It takes courage to lead. My plea to the premiers: Listen to all voters.
William Pascal Ottawa
Shifting gears
Re “Driving a stick shift is a holiday treat, even in Italy” (First Person, Nov. 5), “DIY” (Letters, Nov. 12) and “Vibe shift” (Letters, Nov. 19): The more subtle skill of double-declutching has not been mentioned.
Perhaps it’s an age thing: I was taught to drive by my father, who himself learned in the 1920s before synchromesh was invented. The necessary technique for noise-free gear changes was what he passed on.
When travelling to my hometown in the United Kingdom, I am still faced with a hairpin bend on a steep slope where it becomes necessary to change down to first gear on the move (most gearboxes do not have synchromesh on the lowest gear).
I won’t even attempt to cover in detail the more risky version of double-declutching: the “heel-and-toe” change as practised on my Triumph Spitfire, which involved going into a corner too fast, changing down successively in a hurry with one toe on the brake and one heel flipping the accelerator while winding down through the gears. Very dangerous to get it wrong.
A.S. Brown Kingston, Ont.
My friend drives an upscale European model with a manual transmission.
When speaking to his insurance agent and the police about the likelihood of it being stolen, he was told not to worry: The thieves wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to drive his car.
Tim Sellers Toronto
Sixty-five years ago, I signed up for driving lessons in an automatic car.
When I told my new husband, he said that he would acknowledge that I could steer a car, but he wouldn’t consider me a driver.
I immediately switched to learning in a manual car.
Elizabeth Thompson Oakville, Ont.
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