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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Kajillionaires' tax
Re Realtors Voice Unease Over New Tax (July 28): B.C. realtors – who have made unprecedented profits of late, employed practices which are questionable if not right downright illegal, contributed to a housing market which has spiralled out of control making it almost impossible for most residents in Vancouver to buy or rent a home – are voicing unease?
Cry me a river. Realtors are major contributors to the housing nightmare we are in. "This is the tip of the iceberg," a well-known realtor said to me two years ago, as he prepared to pack his bags to open an office in Shanghai.
A 15 per-cent tax may cause nary a dent in the pocketbook of the kajillionaires moving their money here, but I live in a neighbourhood which is half ghost town – full of new, shiny, empty, multimillion-dollar homes. Can I handle my tear-down being worth a bit less so that my children – or me for that matter – won't have to move to some interplanetary outpost? You bet I can.
Annabel Kershaw, Vancouver
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While B.C.'s proposed tax on foreign buyers is probably a good thing, it is also worth noting that foreign investment creates positive economic spinoffs (Yes To A Tax On Foreign Buyers – editorial, July 28).
Housing construction is one of the largest drivers of economic activity in Canada. When demand (putatively created by foreign buyers) soaks up supply, prices do indeed rise, but the other side of this algebra is that pressure to increase supply also rises.
If that pressure is met (and arguably therein lies the problem), new housing will be constructed. If new housing is built, new furniture and appliances will be purchased, contractors and trades will be employed to build fences, pools and walk-in closets, and the general economy as a whole will benefit.
In our zeal to slay the foreign-buyer bogeyman, let's not lose sight of the fact that the housing industry is one of the principal drivers of economic well-being in this country.
Quinto Annibale, Toronto
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Not grampa's weed
What was more disturbing than bacteria about The Globe's excellent investigative study on retail marijuana was the high psychoactive THC concentrations of up to 27 per cent detected in the samples (Revealed: The Dirty Secrets of Retail Marijuana – July 28). Cannabis in the 1970s and '80s had about 3 per cent THC.
This increase in potency is like the difference between beer (5 per cent alcohol) and liquor (40 per cent alcohol). The same drug, but now a much greater risk.
Granddad's weed also had a greater concentration of the non-psychoactive and moderating compound, CBD, which reduced the adverse effects of THC.
Jim Wigmore, forensic toxicologist, Toronto
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Bacteria are everywhere. As controls for the bacteria you found in the marijuana, you could have tested the money that was paid for the marijuana, the dirt in playgrounds, and anything else that came to hand. All would carry pathogens. There is a reason humans have immune systems.
Chas Low, Victoria
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At odds on Clinton
Re To Win This Election, Hill Needs Bill (July 28): With its vilification of Hillary Clinton, the U.S. right has proven the adage that if you tell a lie often enough and loudly enough, it will be believed. While Hillary Clinton has no doubt made mistakes over the years, I'd like to know who hasn't. She has probably told some lies – show me a politician (or adult) who hasn't.
As a born and bred New Yorker, I've been in great despair over the state of my native land, where Donald Trump is a candidate for the Oval Office and so many Republican lawmakers are more interested in destroying the presidency of the incumbent than helping the people they were elected to represent.
Throughout her adult life, Hillary Clinton has done some remarkable things for others. As president, she will be able to do even more, but she won't get there without the help of her husband and the likes of those who've spoken up on her behalf during the convention.
Even more importantly, she has to help herself (and, by extension, the country) by publicly opening up to show the real Hillary to the voters. Those of us who have been privileged to be in her company in small groups know how warm, friendly and compassionate she is. It's time the electorate saw this as well. I'm proud to say that "I'm with her."
Sheila Dropkin, Toronto
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I can't understand how anyone could support Hillary Clinton for president. A woman who doesn't have enough self-respect that she would still stay with a man who had sexual affairs, some of which had international media exposure, shows lack of judgment – not a quality for a leader.
Maybe it also indicates how low she will go to achieve her goals.
Margaret Ethier, Sherwood Park, Alta.
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Turkey's path
Re Ambassador Replies (letters, July 28): Perhaps Turkey's ambassador might share how his government amassed the names of over 60,000 people suspected of sedition and worse? Surely there was no hit list? We'll assume it was just good fortune that there was a convenient path to a "foreign" agitator.
David Yorke, Toronto
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Patients' role in this
Re This Is Not How A Negotiation Works (July 27): The hard cap on medical services is impossible to achieve in an open-ended health-care system where the patient has a "credit card" for unlimited free care. It will be impossible to control costs, likely resulting in additional annual clawbacks of 1- to 2-per-cent per year on top of the current cuts of 6.95 per cent (for family practice). There is no patient accountability. What government will ever introduce measures to provide any? Therefore, the consequence of a hard cap by the end of the four years of this agreement will be a clawback of 11- to 15-per-cent.
What other profession, member, or group in society has to contribute toward the costs of the services it provides? Imagine if each MPP had to pay for the annual budget deficit out of his/her own personal pocket!
The number of Ontarians without a family physician has climbed from 800,000 to about one million since the last agreement – a situation which will get worse if this proposed agreement is approved. Having a full understanding of the issues involved helps clarify why the medical profession of Ontario is engaging in such an intense debate.
J.J. Rosenberg, MD, Toronto
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50 ways to …
There must be 50 ways to dump a pitcher, and Blue Jays brass Mark Shapiro, Ross Atkins and John Gibbons need to use one of them on their league-leader in home runs allowed, R.A. Dickey (Dickey At A Loss To Explain Ongoing Long-Ball Horror – Sports, July 28). Just show him who's boss, Ross. Tell him he's gone, John. Keep the ball in the park, Mark.
Rudy Buller, Toronto