Priorities, questioned
We're not going to count natives in the unemployment numbers. We're not going to find out why 1,200 native woman have gone missing or been murdered.
Now, we're not going to meet the compensation deadline for thalidomide victims (Ottawa To Miss Aid Deadline Set By Thalidomide Survivors – Jan. 26).
We are, however, going to hunt down the people who are thinking "terrorism" thoughts.
Stephen Harper ignores certain issues and hopes they will go away, then puts on his cowboy hat and yells "national security" (Tories To Target 'Promotion Of Terrorism' – Jan. 26).
Sydnie Crockett, Woodstock, Ont.
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'A true original'
Re 'Theatre On Ice': Trailblazing Cranston Famed For Creativity, Artistry (Jan. 26): Toller Cranston could do seven airborne splits in a row, each one timed precisely to a climax in the music.
Nowadays, it's all quadruple leaps and robotic-arm shtick, totally unrelated to the music which is invariably Ravel's Bolero or some tired old theme from Phantom of the Opera.
He was a true artist, an anti-minimalist to be sure, but close to a modern-day Klimt. His paintings looked like face cards in the world's most ornate deck, and his home was over the top: every inch of it adorned with his paintings and collections.
He was a true original.
Huguette Kihl, Grand Forks, B.C.
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Cold logic on trade
Gordon Ritchie, an experienced, widely admired trade expert, is right about Canada using the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act against Buy American. He didn't mention why Canada had available just that aggressive weapon, which has only produced a stalemate (Cold Logic On Alaska – letters, Jan. 26).
Canadian provinces are the main problem. When an exemption, now expired, was begged from and granted by the U.S. from Buy American following the 2008 recession, so Canadian suppliers had access to the huge U.S. bailout funds passed to states, Canadian provinces could have joined 37 key U.S. states that were already members of the WTO Agreement on Procurement by subnational governments. Reciprocity was required by those states. Canada's provinces passed.
Observers (this writer included) said then we had only ourselves (our provinces) to blame for Buy American limits on those funds.
So watch for details of completion of our free-trade and investment agreement (CETA) with the European Union. We will learn there how far provinces have opened their procurement doors to EU countries.
Perhaps they could also, belatedly, co-operate with Ottawa to fill that hole in NAFTA?
Trade law – foreign and within Canada – is slow, hard work for federations, especially Canada. But 27 EU countries and 37 U.S. states can get it done; it's time we did better.
Michael Robinson, Toronto
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Proud of Prentice?
Re Prentice Hints At Snap Election For Spring (Jan. 24): Jim Prentice thinks that now might be a good time for an early Alberta election.
Of course, the Premier is right.
Having effectively dismantled the opposition, the outcome of a spring vote would be easily predictable, and he could claim "the triumph" as "a mandate from the people" to impose all sorts of new or higher taxes to pay for the mismanagement and overspending of his two predecessors, and to keep on spending.
Machiavelli would be proud.
Frank Casey, Calgary
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Buffalo meets oil
Preston Manning's parable of the bison and the wind has a further, less-uplifting chapter (Into The Wind Like Buffalo – Jan. 26).
Having survived the natural elements, these huge herds were driven to extinction by men with horses, guns and profitable markets (winter coats for Winnipeg policemen?). The lesson of the buffalo is obviously not survival, but rather that uncontrolled exploitation and unfettered greed lead to disaster.
In an economy dependent on expanding petroleum exploitation, fracking has taken the place of guns and horses. Carbon fuels will eventually follow the buffalo.
Unfortunately, the remaining mess represents a far more serious threat to our environment than the bleached buffalo bones scattered across the Prairies. No loaves and fishes in this parable.
Ramsay Cook, Toronto
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Bumping logic
Re Why Do Airlines Think $200 Is Enough To Get Me Off My Flight? (Jan. 24): Surely the fairest way to "bump" passengers is to pick the last who booked.
The airlines' policy should be: First come, first served.
Sheila Barnum, Kingston
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Stuck in inequality
Doug Saunders argues that Oxfam's report on extreme inequality is "about social mobility, not inequality." But it is not an either/or issue (It's About Social Mobility, Not Inequality – Jan. 24).
When 1,654 billionaires control $1.9-trillion (U.S.) – more than the combined military spending of every country in the world – it is clear that a wealthy minority can, and does, wield great power and influence over governments and decision-makers. The richest have opportunities, like education, which when governments strip public services, can become closed off to those who can't pay. The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. And in unequal countries, social mobility for women is a virtual impossibility because of systemic discrimination.
As Mr. Saunders points out, there are solutions. Public and universal education and health care, a thriving civil society and a living minimum wage are policies that are more likely to support greater equality and social mobility. These same policies also support greater gender equality.
World leaders are beginning to talk about these life-and-death issues. But beyond rhetorical recognition, practical steps toward eliminating extreme inequalities, including gender inequalities, are urgently needed. Now.
Julie Delahanty, executive director, Oxfam Canada
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Re The Seven-Year Slump (Report on Business, Jan. 24): I'd have thought that by now the reason for the global economic slump would be obvious: Grotesque worldwide income inequality.
Concentration of wealth in the hands of a few means less spending power for everyone else.
When your experts cite "too much capacity," what they mean is not enough buyers, because they – all us "average" consumers – don't have the money to spend.
Roderick MacGregor, Ponoka, Alta.
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Hmm …
John Doyle had a good idea when he told readers not to watch Miss Universe on TV (What Not To Watch – The Miss Universe Pageant – Arts, Jan. 24). Here's another idea: Don't write about it.
John Harder, Priceville, Ont.