Safety, off the rails
Re Derailments Cast Doubt On New Safety Standards (March 9): As another set of tankers carrying crude oil comes off the track and burns, we must ask ourselves: What will it take for effective changes to be made?
The government, in spite of its many fine statements, is clearly more interested in seeing oil transported than in the well-being of its citizens and countryside. Pipelines that could more safely transport oil are being held up in the regulatory process. Any sort of national policy to increase the use of renewables and decrease the flow of crude is a non-starter with this government.
My fear is that a derailment will occur in the heart of a major population centre, resulting in another Lac-Mégantic or worse. I live in Winnipeg not far from the CN main line and can only imagine the carnage should one of those trains crash and burn.
Are Canadians content to wait around until that happens before we get serious about dealing with the problem? Apparently so.
Joseph Leven, Winnipeg
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Surely it is naive to believe that even the best-built oil and chemical tank cars can survive being tossed down embankments, or into rivers, logjam-style, without leaking, polluting, burning. What about the state of the rail bed?
Why do we read so little about tracks, so much about tank cars?
Ila Bossons, Toronto
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This fine man
Reading the obituary for Ernest Côté was reading the modern history of Canada and then some (A Centenarian With A Multifaceted Life – March 9). I feel embarrassed to have only recently learned of his roles in D-Day, the creation of the World Health Organization, and at the birth of the UN. I learned of his romance and marriage to an officer in the Canadian army, his building of a cottage by hand during "retirement" and his role during the FLQ crisis, among many more threads of Canadiana.
His dignity and loyalty to our country shine through. As Canadians, may we learn from his example, and offer condolences to his family and our nation for the loss of this fine man.
David Keegan, Calgary
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The right thing
Re Thalidomide Victims To Seek Clarity On Compensation From Ottawa (March 9): This package is so inadequate to the needs of the victims that it is insulting to the Canadian people and to the MPs who unanimously voted for a compensation package.
These victims of government negligence are few in number. They are ill and dying. Treating them with compassion does not set a precedent, or open the doors to newly discovered victims.
It is a finite number of people – but the rest of Canada cares about them and is watching.
Barbara Horvath, Caledon, Ont.
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After reading André Picard's column on Ottawa's response to the reasonable demands of thalidomide victims, the only words that come to mind are: callous, disgusting (Government Offers Little Cold Hard Cash, Much Cold-Heartedness – March 7).
That a government that can find millions of dollars to send military aid to Ukraine cannot find the money for 95 Canadians who, through no fault of their own, have been condemned to a lifetime of marginalization and suffering beggars belief.
Marion Livingston, Stratford, Ont.
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Slippery slopes
Elizabeth Renzetti points to the dangers of the five- to seven-degree slope of sidewalks at curbs (A Prison Of Ice And Snow – March 9). I venture to say that a far greater danger to pedestrians is the slope now afforded to cars at each driveway entrance.
Negotiating an icy sidewalk means single file only and keep to the high side. Stray onto the slope and one ends up in the gutter. Why does the city favour cars over people?
Tony Cook, Toronto
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Litany of disgrace
It was obvious long ago things were terribly, desperately wrong with Canada's prisons, specifically in regard to the use of solitary confinement ('We Can Only Do So Much As An Institution' – March 6). But this story about what happened to Edward Snowshoe adds to the litany of disgrace.
In addition to the long list of failures due to bureaucratic bungling, laziness and sheer ignorance, the fact a health-care professional should have to conduct an assessment through a "food slot" is as grotesque today as something from the Middle Ages.
And that a parole officer should have to be concerned about being "perceived as a con lover" by the guards shows the tail is wagging the dog in regard to prison management. Guards are employees and required to follow the orders of management, like all other employees. Their feelings about their job should not come between them and their duties.
If they do, they should quickly find themselves subject to discipline, up to and including having their employment terminated.
Peter Newton, Hamilton
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May I suggest federal lawyer David Stam try solitary confinement for 162 days before he dares to say Edward Snowshoe should have been "more co-operative."
Brenda Carr, Stratford, Ont.
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China, Canada
Re China Allows Canadians To Apply For 10-Year Visas (March 9): The reciprocal agreement on long-term and multiple-entry visas – valid for up to 10 years for business travel, tourism or family visits – is another remarkable achievement in the development of our bilateral relations.
I have noticed the strong desire from Canadians and Parliament to facilitate our people-to-people exchanges. This arrangement will fulfill that wish.
China issued 230,000 visas to Canadian citizens last year, and 80 per cent were for business, tourism and family visits. This indicates a vast majority of Canadian travellers will benefit from this.
Last year, China-Canada trade volume reached $55.2-billion (U.S.). China is Canada's second-largest trading partner, and source of import and export market; Canada is the second-largest destination of China's overseas investment.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and Canada. Both countries have identified 2015-2016 as the Year of People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges: This arrangement will take bilateral relations to a new level.
Luo Zhaohui, China's Ambassador to Canada
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Doggy calling cards
Re Cult Of The Lawn Rock (Facts & Arguments – March 9): While I can't speak for the essayist's locale, there's no mystery to the rise of the urban "lawn rock."
It's a direct result of having to replace too many expensive shrubs and patches of dead lawn because of the, ahem, specimens left by leg-lifting chihuahuas, Great Danes – and all breeds in between.
Sarah Hoag, Toronto