U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 35-per-cent tariffs on imports from Canada starting next month.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Our move
Re “Trump threatens 35% tariffs on Canadian goods starting Aug. 1″ (July 11): Yawn.
Mike Firth Toronto
So dropping the digital services tax without gaining any concessions, rather than appeasing the bully, just encourages him to demand more – as just about everyone expected, except perhaps our Prime Minister.
Any “deal” with Donald Trump likely won’t be worth the price of the Sharpie he signs it with. So if we are going to get hurt, let’s at least keep our self-respect and pride. China kept their dignity and retaliated, and he backed down.
Canada should immediately reinstate the digital services tax. We are going to get hit economically no matter what we do.
We might as well maintain our pride, dignity and sovereignty.
David Ross Canmore, Alta.
In attempting to negotiate with the United States, we are dealing with people who act capriciously and break formal agreements on a whim. It seems they don’t keep their word and don’t respect us.
I believe it’s time to treat the U.S. as unreliable. Stop thinking we can negotiate with them and trying to appease them. Move on to other trading partners.
Bill Hollings Toronto
Donald Trump’s latest 35-per-cent tariff threat should put an end to any illusions: Canada can no longer treat the United States as a steady trade partner.
Tying economic penalties to false claims about fentanyl isn’t policy – it’s posturing. It leaves Canadian businesses and workers in a constant state of uncertainty.
We can’t keep waiting for the U.S. to return to normal. I don’t think it’s coming back.
Mark Carney is right to delay the trade deadline and consult the premiers. But we need more than reaction. We need a shift in strategy: diversified trade, domestic investment and clear-eyed recognition that stability isn’t something we can import.
This isn’t a dramatic breakup. It’s a long-overdue adjustment to reality.
Rodney Beatty Sarnia, Ont.
Re “The U.S. is not our friend any more. Has anyone told Mark Carney?” (Report on Business, July 9): Beginning with the election campaign, Mark Carney has been delivering the message loudly and clearly that this U.S. administration is now an enemy of Canada. That he has so far wisely chosen not to poke the bear does not mean he has “completely misread the nature of the threat facing Canada.”
While the idea of any negotiation is rejected here as a waste of time and effort, Mr. Carney has chosen to try. Not even trying to mitigate the threat would be to accept dominance of and damage to our economy.
Failing a satisfactory agreement, Canada can walk away saying that it tried. I think Canadians will appreciate the effort.
After that, we can take the gloves off and raise our elbows again.
Jon Baird Uxbridge, Ont.
Rise again
Re “As the NDP faces financial crisis, radical flamethrowers play with matches” (July 10): Highlighted is a long-running debate within the NDP between its pragmatic electoral wing and its more ideological grassroots left.
The so-called flamethrowers represent the party’s founding vision rooted in democratic socialism, with calls for public control of key industries and more internal democracy. This faction sees itself as the party’s conscience.
Opposing that is the pressure to win elections, which requires a centrist leader who appeals to mainstream voters, many of whom reject a sharp shift left. Jack Layton came closest to balancing both sides. Jagmeet Singh, though less electorally successful, embodied the party’s conscience.
As a longtime member, I’ve seen this tension surface at many NDP conventions, including in 1995 when Alexa McDonough narrowly defeated Svend Robinson.
The left won’t “burn down” the party, as suggested. I believe the NDP will continue to wrestle with this internal struggle, and eventually unite both visions.
Robert Milan Victoria
Cause, effect
Re “Ontario college sector facing one of province’s largest mass layoffs, union says” (July 10): In Ontario, three great Progressive Conservative premiers – Leslie Frost, John Robarts and Bill Davis – built a powerful system of postsecondary education. Today’s PC Premier seems to be doing his best to undermine and undo their achievements.
Ontario’s per-capita investment in this field is the lowest in Canada. For years, Ontario colleges and universities have balanced their budgets by enlisting students from abroad at fees several times those charged to local students. The morality of this – in effect subsidizing Ontario taxpayers and students on the backs of families in the developing world – has always been questionable.
Now the economic risk is also apparent. The supply of foreign students has been reduced, so colleges are cutting staff and programs.
Knowledge, more than manufacturing, is the basis of national wealth today. A province that does not appropriately invest in education will not prosper.
Ian Montagnes Port Hope, Ont.
There is a financial crisis in Ontario postsecondary education.
Some blame federal restrictions on foreign students. Others blame chronic provincial underfunding. Still others blame greedy unions and administrative mismanagement.
Here’s a thought: Stop laying blame, show true leadership and leverage this crisis to rethink our priorities and reset the system. Eliminate program duplication, particularly college degree programs which compete directly with universities. Eliminate or merge academic programs with low uptake. Eliminate “cash-cow” programs with poor quality and outcomes.
Perhaps even rethink the mandate of Ontario’s community colleges within the postsecondary system. Focus on the types of programs and training that we will need in the years ahead.
Who has the guts to show real leadership in this time of crisis?
Gary Kapelus College professor and administrator (retired), Toronto
Not your fault
Re “Past lives” (Letters, July 10): I read with alarm the suggestion that early childhood neglect may be a significant factor in the development of bipolar disorder later in life.
While neglect may be experienced by some people with this disease, bipolar disorder is now accepted as a genetically rooted illness. My reason for alarm is that the family of a mentally ill person does not need yet another reason to blame themselves for the diagnosis.
Darlene Hammell MD, Victoria
Up in the air
Re “I had to say goodbye to my old Encyclopedia Britannica set” (First Person, July 8): We inherited a full set of the 1905 Encyclopedia Britannia. We also have library cards and Google. It remains interesting to look back in time and see how knowledge has, and has not, developed.
We are writing this letter from an airplane in flight – definitely couldn’t do that in 1905 – after reading a hard copy of The Globe and Mail, which could be done in 1905.
Art and Marcia Zalev Toronto
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