'Stupidity'? Tax it
Re Measles Push-Back (letters, April 4): Drive behaviour through the tax system. We cannot legislate against stupidity, but we do not have to reward it either.
Require a parent to provide proof of a child's vaccination to the Canada Revenue Agency in order to claim a deduction for the child as a dependant, or to access various grants or rebates on tuition. In the private sector, medical insurance providers may refuse an unvaccinated person specific coverages.
Adrian Dorn, Toronto
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Political cynicism
Re Tory MP Adams Digs In Against Party (April 4): Eve Adams and her fiancé Dimitri Soudas have added a few more bricks to the wall of political cynicism. What did she achieve to deserve being referred to as a "rising star"? The only political contribution I can ascertain is sitting behind Stephen Harper for Question Period TV footage.
She abandoned her Mississauga municipal council constituents early in that mandate to run for a federal seat. She is now abandoning Mississauga once again to try to run in an Oakville riding, where she feels entitled to be the nominee.
To try to excuse her behaviour and that of Mr. Soudas by trotting out her health and telling us how great she usually is was pathetic.
Arrogant and self-serving opportunist are descriptors that come to my mind. That might qualify her as a potential candidate for Stephen Harper's Senate appointee list but it's not the kind of person I want making decisions involving the future of our country.
David Gelder, Mississauga
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Perhaps the behaviour of MP Eve Adams coming to light at this time is a blessing in disguise for the Conservatives. It provides guidance to the party members in choosing a candidate for the new Oakville North-Burlington riding.
Rob Mackay, Milton, Ont.
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It's interesting to watch the nastiness and rule-bending surrounding certain candidate nominations at the same time that Democratic Reform (sic) Minister Pierre Poilievre continues to insist that his party can be trusted to unilaterally rewrite our election rules to ensure fair elections.
It's one thing to play dirty in-house, but quite another to change the rules for general elections, opening them up to potential abuse at the hands of a political party whose data base figured in the robocalls scandal.
Peter Manhire, Newmarket, Ont.
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Our Prime Minister has worked so hard abroad to project a statesmanlike image. Why then does he leave his at-home image to the likes of Pierre Poilievre?
Joseph Gougeon-Ryant, Victoria
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Hmm …
PQ Leader Pauline Marois may not win enough votes to be re-elected as Quebec's premier today, but last Thursday she surely won entrance to the Politicians Hall of Fame (Marois Plays Tax-Cut Card Late In Election Campaign – April 4). When asked why she left promising to cut taxes so late in the campaign, she replied: "The Chamber of Commerce asked me the question. Not many people have asked it before."
Tim Jeffery, Toronto
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Oxy for guns?
The request by two American senators that Canada stop production of a form of oxycodone to stem the flow of crushable OxyContin at the border seems reasonable (Canada Urged To Ban 'Hillbilly Heroin' – April 3).
I wonder if, to reciprocate, the Americans would stop producing guns.
Ellen Grant, Toronto
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Energy positives
Opposition to fracking is on the rise, a positive trend (Exxon Agrees To Report On Management Of Fracking Risks – Report on Business, April 4). This method of extraction liberates previously inaccessible fossil fuel, the very thing we need to limit if we're to avoid catastrophic climate change.
The other encouraging development is new support for safer alternatives. A recent Oracle Poll found 80 per cent of respondents in Alberta want wind energy to reduce reliance on coal-fired power.
It's not just that people are critical of fossil fuel, it's also that, in large numbers, they embrace renewables.
Gideon Forman, executive director, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
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Re It's More Than Just Hot Air (editorial, April 3): Major polluters like China are waking up to the challenge of climate change and taking meaningful steps to reduce carbon emissions by investing in clean energy. Canada can ill afford to be left on the sidelines.
Until Canada develops a credible plan to transition to a clean-energy economy, which includes placing a predictable and transparent price on carbon, we will all feel the brunt of rising costs due to a warming planet, and miss out on opportunities to diversify our economy through the innovative clean-technology sector.
Cheryl McNamara, Toronto
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Generations to come
Re If Kerry Goes, Blood And Pain May Follow (April 4): Christopher Hitchens predicted blood and pain a long time ago. Because the "parties of God" in the Middle East all believe that their "God" gave them a special warrant or writ for a specific land, there will be only bloodshed, misery and mayhem for this generation and generations to come.
When religion and politics are mixed, diplomacy, human language and rationality are out the door.
Elie Mikhael Nasrallah, Ottawa
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Letterman lament
Re David Letterman To Retire From Late Show In 2015 (April 4): Now that he has announced his retirement, my Top 10 reasons why I'll miss him:
10) His gap-tooth smile;
9) His self-deprecating humour;
8) His weird laugh;
7) His crazy animal and human tricks;
6) His jokes about Toronto Mayor Rob Ford;
5) His campaign to put Ball State University on the map;
4) His love for his mom, who has occasionally appeared on his show;
3) His plain looks, which show you don't have to be handsome to make it in show biz, just talented;
2) His humbleness, the source of his ease in relating to his guests;
1) His Top 10 list.
Kenneth L. Zimmerman, Huntington Beach, Calif.
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Wouldn't Toronto Mayor Rob Ford be an excellent candidate to replace David Letterman? One has to be American to be president, but one doesn't have to be American to be a talk show host.
And Mr. Ford does have entertainment experience.
Douglas Cornish, Ottawa