Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com
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Put a roof on it
Re Speculating About A 'Speculation Tax' (editorial, May 26): What Canada needs is a Homesteading Tax, similar to Florida's – a property surplus tax, 15 to 30 per cent, paid according to Canada Revenue Agency rules. Apply it to non-residents and citizens: If a Canadian or non-resident doesn't live in one permanent residence here for a required 153 days a year, they should pay a surplus tax.
The Ontario Ministry of Health has eligibility requirements, why not do it for property taxes?
Canadians are fed up with non-resident owners who don't look after properties and use Canada as an address of convenience while living abroad. Worse, hard-working permanent residents find themselves competing with foreign speculators for housing.
Not only is this not fair, it is illogical. Why are Canadian taxpayers funding foreign profits? Why are foreign speculators favoured by Canadian tax laws? When will the politicians level the playing field?
Cristina Panneton, Toronto
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It is hypocritical for Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson to call for a tax on housing-speculation profits. Vancouver has a housing affordability problem, but it isn't caused by foreign speculators. Some foreigners are buying high-priced houses, but the numbers are small, with minimal effect on the overall market. For the mayor to participate in this kind of populist speculation is shameful.
What is causing the problem is a lack of supply, which Mr. Robertson and city council can do something about by rezoning property to increase density. This could be done by permitting high-density development around SkyTrain stations, or allowing medium-density townhouse development in single-family neighbourhoods. Some rezoning has been done but much more is needed.
Also, where do people get the idea they are entitled to own a detached home? What they have a right to expect is decent, affordable housing. That could mean owning a townhouse or condo, but in the future is more likely to mean being able to rent one for a reasonable amount.
Garth M. Evans, Vancouver
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Customers come last
Re Ontario Ombudsman Dissects Hydro One Billing Nightmare (May 26): When Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli says an ombudsman would not be friendly to the securities sector, he is right on. In case he hasn't realized it, that's why we have an ombudsman.
Colin Proudman, Toronto
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According to Ombudsman André Marin, Hydro One mistreated and misled its customers about their billing: "Hydro One reacted in the worst way possible, with deflection and deception … It minimized the issue, misled its overseers, relied on public relations spin and put its customers last."
In a scathing reprimand, he continued, "One of the issues that really concerns me is how they obstructed and lied to the Minister of Energy's office, the [Hydro One] board of directors and the Ontario Energy Board."
But Mr. Marin rejected pursuing charges against anyone at Hydro One: "We'd have to build a new courthouse because there are a lot of people that you'd have to charge." So, how many Hydro One employees will lose their job after this scandalous behaviour?
Of course, had one of these employees insulted a female reporter at a soccer game, they'd be fired within 24 hours.
Hydro One justice: Harsh and swift – but it depends.
Lou D'Amore, Toronto
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Democracy, remade
Lawrence Martin remarks that "some form of proportional representation is needed" – but there are many forms of proportional representation, and building a national consensus around any one of them seems to always be a challenge for the coming decade (Have The Tories Remade Our Democracy For The Better? – May 26).
Meanwhile, no one talks about a simpler solution used in various other countries: runoff elections. If no candidate gets a majority of votes cast, a second election is held between the two leading candidates.
If we had runoff elections, we would no doubt debate the relative merits of the more complicated alternatives. But in the meantime, we would elect governments supported by a majority of the population.
Wouldn't that be a step forward?
Philip Raphals, Montreal
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Mail's in the cheque
Home mail delivery is well past its best-before date (Ontario Court To Hear More Opposition To Canada Post's End To Home Delivery – May 26). Like the penny, it's not needed. Retaining it would be tantamount to keeping hitching posts and community stables for those who still ride horses to work.
I have converted my mail to electronic delivery wherever possible, and receive virtually no physical mail of value.
Once the real estate marketing material and other unsolicited material is removed, there's nothing of a time sensitive nature delivered to my door.
However, as there are some real cases of need regarding home delivery, I'd like to offer a compromise solution. Charge the recipient for the privilege, on a fee structure tied to the ability to pay and the frequency of desired delivery (daily, weekly or monthly). Those with a disability and/or proven financial need could be granted an exemption.
A win/win: Canada Post makes money; those of us who no longer require a community barn to keep our horse in would not be required to pay for it.
Stuart McRae, Toronto
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Carry-on squeeze
I had a little chuckle when reading the letter to the editor acknowledging that Air Canada has had multiple public bailouts (A Right Carry-On – May 26), yet claiming air travel is a privilege not a right! If Air Canada expects public bailouts in bad times, it must expect public regulation in good, and we must not be afraid to do so. Air Canada's profits are now very comfortable. Passengers are getting squeezed – in the seat, baggage and wallet.
Peter Keleghan, Toronto
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The airlines have it backward: Don't charge for checked baggage, charge for carry-ons. Want to get on and off fast? It's $25 per bag carried on. Everything else goes underneath for free. The result would be happier staff and fewer delays in departure.
Mark Christian Burgess, Cobourg, Ont.
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BlackBerry, forsooth
The story of the rise and fall of BlackBerry, as told by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff, has all the makings of a Shakespearean tragedy – the rise to power, the hubris, the hamartia (fatal flaw, error in judgment) and the inevitable catastrophe (BlackBerry: When The Fall Began – Report on Business, May 23).
The excerpt has drama, tension, even pathos. I wonder if VideoCabaret has noticed? It would be a good addition to their project of dramatizing Canadian history in The Village of the Small Huts.
Patricia Vicari, Toronto