Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomes Marilyn Gladu, MP for Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong, to the Liberal Party on Wednesday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Floored
Re “A Liberal Party in a triumphal mood finds it easier to accept conflicting values” (April 10): I believe the recent spate of floor-crossing MPs casts serious doubt on Canada’s electoral process.
In Canada, the vast majority of constituents vote for a party and its values, and the MP they vote for happens to be the person who represents that party. Now that floor crossing seems to be en vogue for MPs of all stripes and colors, the public can justifiably ask why bother voting at all when MPs can simply change parties when convenient?
What does this say about democracy? If MPs want to change parties, then they should resign and run in the next election. That would be real democratic change.
Brian Rotenberg London, Ont.
Common interests
Re “Doug Ford says his vision for Toronto’s waterfront, Billy Bishop Airport will expand economy” (April 4): Kudos to Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz for reminding Doug Ford that, while he can “push like I’ve never pushed before” to implement his vision of Toronto’s waterfront, there are millions of residents he hasn’t consulted, who have a different view of their backyard.
This section of Lake Ontario is indeed a crown jewel in Canada’s largest urban centre, enjoyed by tourists and people from every corner of the city who don’t own Muskoka cottages. A jet overhead every few minutes and an exponential increase in traffic downtown should not be a national interest project and Ontario’s Premier hasn’t demonstrated how it is good for the economy.
May I remind Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin, Transportation Minister Steven MacKinnon and Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson that they, too, have jurisdiction here. Liberal candidates in upcoming federal by-elections should also take note.
Sally Bliss Toronto
More the merrier
Re “Government-run grocery stores: A leftist idea coming from the heart, not the head” (Report on Business, April 3): If public grocery stores are truly doomed, why the concern with them threatening the competitive position of private grocers in the marketplace?
Could it be that competition from public stores would actually pose a threat?
David Carman Vancouver
Out of this world
Re “Artemis II is about to break a record that should never have been” (April 6): For the Apollo 13 mission, engineers from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies made essential calculations that enabled the safe re-entry of the astronauts.
On April 16, 1970, UTIAS experts Phil Sullivan, Rod Tennyson, Peter Hughes, Barry French, Irvine Glass and Ben Etkin were called to determine the precise tunnel pressure needed to jettison the lunar module. Their rapid calculations minimized the risk of damaging the command module during separation.
The UTIAS scientists thought they were one of a number of organizations and institutions doing the calculations, but it turned out they were mistaken – they were the only ones NASA had called on to resolve that issue.
Elizabeth Sisam Toronto
I am fortunate to have lived through the previous manned missions to the moon between 1968 and 1972, including the exciting Christmas Eve broadcast of Apollo 8 as men from Earth orbited the moon for the first time.
Apollo 8 also gave us the famous Earthrise photo, showing the planet in a brand new perspective as a “grand oasis in the big vastness of space,” in the words of astronaut Jim Lovell. Seeing our fragile planet in its entirety from such a distance was and is a reminder we all share the same home, and we all have a responsibility to ensure its health and well-being so that it can continue to sustain life.
It is exciting that several generations of people who weren’t born then now have the opportunity to share in the experience. Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is a trailblazer for the new generation of explorers venturing into deeper space.
Jeff Buckstein Ottawa
Butt out
Re “How to stamp out the scourge of cigarette butts” (Editorial, April 3): Bravo for acknowledging the environmental impact of cigarette butts. I am, however, disappointed that your recommended solution is to only work on smokers’ attitudes.
Cigarette manufacturers repeated for years that regulating their products was not necessary; governments simply needed to educate people that smoking was bad for you. If we had listened to them, smoking rates would not have dropped as far and as fast as they did.
The primary problem is the plastic in cigarette butts, so the primary solution should address this. Cellulose acetate can be replaced by non-plastic materials, which already exist. Another option, somewhat equivalent to cutting tailpipe emissions, is to cut the amount of cellulose acetate in cigarette filters by half or more.
But using education alone will not “stamp out” this environmental problem.
Denis Choinière Gatineau, Que.
While I generally applaud all clean-up efforts, I find major theoretical and practical problems with the solution of “plenty of smoking-specific garbage cans.”
At Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, we support methods that reduce litter without increasing tobacco’s visibility. Public ashtrays send the wrong public health message toward renormalizing smoking. They serve as free advertising, a reminder to smoke on every street corner.
Dedicated butt bins are the tobacco industry’s preferred method, and they are often behind funding such projects, allowing them to appear as if they are being good corporate citizens. Practically, while these may collect some unsightly butts in densely developed urban areas, the more environmentally damaging butts littered in rural or undeveloped areas aren’t collected.
Much better options include a cigarette-deposit return project, which we proved effective in a pilot, or the mandatory requirement of carrying a portable personal ashtray for purchase of a pack of cigarettes.
Stuart Kreisman Director, Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada Vancouver
Read on
Re “Trying to read more? These professional bookworms share their tips” (Arts & Books, April 4): What a treat to once again find contributor Russell Smith in The Globe. His observation, that reading among males is jeopardized by the double whammy of reduced concentration and a dislike of fiction, is legitimate.
For anyone in this boat, allow me to suggest two titles: Backs to the Wall: The Battle of Sainte-Foy and the Conquest of Canada by D. Peter MacLeod and A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine.
The phone won’t stand a chance.
Luc Bouchet Calgary
At 76, I am at the time in my life when I can read to my heart’s content. Unfortunately, my body is not co-operating.
As an avid “senior” reader, I have learned to keep a book at eye level with pillows or a bed tray in bed, or a tablet-holding tray at a table. Eyedrops help with dry eyes and eye strain. Use reading glasses, if needed, and a good bright light.
Also remember to stretch your hands, get up to walk about and move your head at least every hour.
Lynn Goruk Hamilton
I’m taking time away from Robert K. Massie’s Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman to comment on my love of reading.
Many years ago, 2002 to be exact, my son asked what I was going to do in retirement. “Read,” I said.”
“No, seriously, Mum. What?“
“Read a lot,” I repeated.
And I have. Catherine the Great is the 1,749th book I’ve read since I retired from teaching.
I’ve been slower this past year due to moving from the house we had occupied since 1974, but I’m picking up speed again. Our new living room/library has many comfy chairs and reading lights, as well as wall-to-wall windows. It’s heaven.
I’ve written reviews for all the books I have read. Catherine the Great will be the second entry in my beautiful mauve Moleskin (book journal No. 18) my daughter gave me for Christmas.
Much love to all my fellow bookworms.
Edie Lewis Brantford, Ont.
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