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Too partisan to judge
Re PM Under Fire For Denying MPs A Role In Top Judicial Appointments (Aug. 3): According to this government, MPs are not too partisan to set the rules by which they are elected, but they are too partisan to set the rules by which Supreme Court judges are selected. Yet, which of the two holds the greater potential for conflict of interest?
If you can't trust MPs to be impartial enough to select Supreme Court justices, surely you can't trust MPs to select the rules by which they will be elected.
David Beattie, Chelsea, Que.
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Surtax logic
Re Why B.C.'s Tax On Foreign Nationals Is Unlawful (Aug. 3): In his opinion piece, Sean Rehaag suggests that the tax on foreign buyers of Vancouver properties is discrimination against a "marginalized community." Strange logic.
It is the ordinary Canadian who cannot afford a multimillion-dollar starter home who is marginalized and discriminated against.
Peter Bartha, Aurora, Ont.
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I get a bit frustrated about the continued emphasis on Chinese investors in this discussion. This is not an issue about race. It is an issue about class. It is about very rich people, regardless of their national origin, buying up all the available real estate. The fact that a lot of them happen to be Chinese is beside the point.
Jane McCall, Delta, B.C.
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The Big One
Re A Groundbreaking Effort Against 'The Big One' (Aug. 3): There is this thing, this investment opportunity, this supposedly certain lifeboat to which the wealthy of the world may flee when things go sour at home. It is such a desirable thing that the people who have lived there forever are being priced out of the area, which is the coast of British Columbia. This opportunity is making billions for the wealthy.
But when – not "if" – the massive quake comes, it is the government of Canada that should provide, with my taxes, an "emergency backstop" to protect the inflated equity in this luxury lifeboat? In my opinion, a 15-per-cent tax to cool foreign purchases pales in comparison to the 50- or 60-per-cent insurance surcharge that should be applied to every one of those foreign-investor purchases (Shaken To The Core – Report on Business, Aug. 3).
Lloyd Lovatt, Edmonton
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CSIS replies
Re Bill C-51: Why The Liberals Aren't Moving On Changes (Aug. 2): You state that Bill C-51 gave the Canadian Security Intelligence Service powers to make arrests on suspicion that someone might carry out a terrorist act. This is incorrect.
CSIS does not have powers of arrest and C-51 did not change that. Instead, C-51 provided CSIS with a new threat-reduction mandate in order to respond more effectively to the current threat environment.
This new mandate authorizes CSIS to take measures to diminish threats to the security of Canada as defined in the CSIS Act. These defined threats have never included lawful advocacy, protest or dissent. Moreover, the measures must be reasonable and proportional and must meet the threshold for reasonable grounds to believe and not "suspect," as noted in the article.
Today's threats are fast, complex and dynamic, and CSIS's threat-reduction mandate bolsters the government's capacity to actively respond to these threats. Canadians can be assured that everything that CSIS does is consistent with Canadian law and Canadian values. Frankly, we would have it no other way.
Michel Coulombe, director, Canadian Security Intelligence Service
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Anchor the Games
Re What Went Wrong With Rio's Security? (Folio, Aug. 3): Deteriorating public safety, the lack of readiness, the polluted water, citizens pushed from their homes – the problems accompanying Olympics all begin to sound familiar and repetitive.
Who is benefiting from the Olympics, and why aren't we learning something from the problems created as the Games move from country to country? Who really profits from moving them? It does not appear that the host country does in most cases – nor the athletes exposed to the conditions they must compete in, depending on the host chosen from among the bids.
Considering all this, the answer seems obvious: The Games belong in Greece. Anchor them there and leave them to be perfected where they originated.
Darlene Besant, Toronto
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The inquiry business
Re Inquiry To Probe Into Indian Act, Systemic Causes: Source (Aug. 3): My fearless forecast is that the much needed inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women will turn into the lengthiest, most detailed inquiry ever. There will be so many voices clamouring to be heard, I predict the budget will be expanded to near-infinity.
Equally so for the timeline.
The potential locations for inquiry are so geographically diverse, that providers of such services as travel, accommodation and venues will be rubbing their hands, not to mention that inquiries have become vast consumers of the services of lawyers, consultants, photocopiers and security personnel.
What this country really needs is an inquiry into inquiries.
Ian Guthrie, Ottawa
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Fobbed off
Keyless ignitions are not only annoying, they also pose lethal risk from roll-away or asphyxiation if you have an automatic (Bring Back the Keys to My Heart – July 28). With a key, you know the car is in park and off if you have the key in hand. Not so with a fob; you can walk away with your fob even if the car is running or in a gear other than park.
Due to this design flaw, I had two experiences that shook me in one year. When I hear of an actor pinned by a rolling car or people asphyxiated in garages, I wonder if keyless ignition was the cause.
Why is safety being designed out of cars? Where are the recalls, the regulators, the investigative reporters?
A quick web search suggests the lawyers are on it.
Roy Cameron, Kitchener, Ont.
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Life continues anew
I appreciated Kevin McGowan's story of his termination from his job: the anticipation, the event, the aftermath, the recovery (I Knew My Tuesday Was Coming – Facts & Arguments, Aug. 2).
Having been on both sides of this very common situation, I endorse his simple summary: Life continues anew.
In that life, and in the job, I think it helps to maintain confidence in yourself, and even when you have a job, remember: No one owes you a living. You are not your job. Present your offering, not your need.
You will not be doing forever what you are doing now.
Ken West, Bobcaygeon, Ont.