Canada's Megan Oldham celebrates her gold medal win in the women's freeski big air final at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Livigno, Italy on Feb. 16.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Justice prevails
Re “Doesn’t add up” (Letters, Feb. 24): A letter-writer believes the three U.S. Supreme Court justices in the minority opinion of the tariff case were “a real stain on the independence of the U.S. judiciary.” This highlights to me the fundamental issue with the judiciary and people’s perceptions: When decisions go one’s way, it is independent, fair and untouchable. When they do not, it is biased and ideological and people want new justices.
I would encourage people to read any split decision by both Canadian and U.S. supreme courts. The majority and minority both stack up the law in favour of their position. It’s not solely about the law: As former justice Rosalie Abella says, the Supreme Court is the final decision-maker on Canadian values.
It’s not a stain, then, it is the reality of the judiciary. At least in the United States, people seem to know the values of their justices before they are appointed.
Jason New Foothills County, Alta.
Business of sports
Re “Canada risks making its Olympic program a country club without proper federal funding” (Sports, Feb. 24): It’s gratifying to see the Prime Minister cheer on Canadian Olympians, yet the government has not adequately supported the development of sports in this country.
The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee reported that core funding has remained stagnant for nearly two decades, during which inflation has significantly reduced purchasing power. Last year, they requested a $144-million increase but did not receive it in the federal budget.
There is nothing like victory in sports to put a country on the map, raise morale and build national pride. Canada needs it more than ever right now. Investing a paltry $144-million, versus billions of dollars on defence, seems like a much better return for Canadians
The Prime Minister should take note, since raising voter morale is also good politics.
Adrian Heaps Toronto
For the next Olympics, might it be worthwhile to track total medals won per capita? It would add perspective to the incredible accomplishments of Norway and other nations.
Or is this comparison not valid, in the same way that “total medals won per annual snowfall” or “total medals per annual GDP” wouldn’t be?
William Mockler Toronto
God bless
Re “Crosby ponders future in Olympic aftermath, while Matthews just wants to ‘live in the moment’” (Sports, Feb. 23): The hockey gods deserted Canada.
Connor Hellebuyck joins the pantheon of great American goaltenders, including Jack McCartan in 1960 and Jim Craig in 1980, who have “stolen” Olympic victories for Team USA.
Also, what a pleasure to see the smile on Auston Matthews’s face throughout the tournament. I hope Maple Leafs management took notice.
What an awesome game.
Jim Breckenridge Cobourg, Ont.
On MAID
Re “Quebec’s advance-request MAID program offers a complicated example for other jurisdictions” (Feb. 18): We should proceed as a civil and reasonable country.
We shouldn’t limit a compassionate law such as medical assistance in dying in such a narrow and ironclad way, simply because very occasionally the choice might have been different. We shouldn’t wait until people are in excruciating pain before we grant the right to MAID.
The medical system is already overstretched, so we can’t solve the problem by transferring people to palliative care. There’s no room.
Wayne Jones St. John’s
Re “A better balance is needed on medically assisted death” (Online, Feb. 22): Canada shouldn’t permit medical assistance in dying for mental illness. It should also limit doctor-shopping and enforce the Criminal Code.
I’m concerned, however, that readers will miss one of your most important observations: “The point” of the MAID law “has blurred.” Canada originally linked MAID to end-of-life patients to protect suicide prevention goals. Since 2016, we’ve seen real mission drift in suicide prevention.
Track 2 MAID grants people with disabilities special access when their death is not reasonably foreseeable. It was legalized in 2021. As of 2024, 2,050 people who were not at end of life have died.
Track 2 MAID should be repealed.
Krista Carr CEO, Inclusion Canada; Fredericton
Re “Death and dignity” (Letters, Feb. 23): I believe a letter-writer misses a crucial point when stating that some people with severe dementia might, in fact, be content.
If I developed dementia, I don’t care a whit if I might be as happy as a pig in mud; I would do anything to avoid putting my children through the anguish of watching my decline.
For me, being accorded “dignity” means sparing my family. With an advance request for medical assistance in dying, I can be at peace at a time of my choosing and no one would be forced to guess at what I was thinking, hearing or feeling.
Jennifer Winter Di Cola Toronto
Take care
Re “Age-old questions” (Letters, Feb. 20): A letter-writer suggests that the experience of caregiving is “obviously demanding and painful” and “extreme difficulties,” as our bodies become dependent on assistance, should be avoided at all costs.
Suggesting that our bodies will “slowly degrade” makes me feel like a piece of meat kept out of the refrigerator. On behalf of the silent but happily decrepit, and with thanks to John Milton, “the mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”
We appreciate our loving, caregiving mothers at the beginning of our lives, when we can’t ask for help in our “extreme dependency.” Should its ending be all that different?
Blessed are the caregivers.
Joan McNamee Kamloops
Lifetime achievement
Re “What to consider when looking at your options for retirement income” (Report on Business, Feb. 19): This raises a subject too often ignored in retirement planning: how to fill the time and keep one’s mind active after leaving the work force.
Without a purpose or mission, retirement will not be paradise, even if income is not an issue. The old adage rings true: Don’t retire from something, retire to something – the absence of which means being alive, but not living.
Tom Driedger Toronto
Re “Golfers live longer, and not because they have more money” (Report on Business, Feb. 18): Several studies have shown that tennis produces the greatest improvement in mortality when compared to a wide range of other sports.
As an avid tennis player and golfer, I should be actively chasing balls until I am 115.
Don Forgeron Wolfville, N.S.
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