Bet on it
Ontario's governing Liberals need a reality check (Premier Can't Afford Misgivings About Gaming – March 13). Next, can we expect to see a tax credit for those who spend more than $1,000 a year at the province's casinos?
It's a sad commentary when a government depends so heavily on gambling revenue to keep core services operational.
Don Forsey, Toronto
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People, not prisons
Investing in people, not prisons, would be a good start in addressing the problems that so often contribute to society's ills. Stephen Harper's prison-promotion strategy, with its $19-billion price tag, will be disastrous for all Canadians (Harper's Promise Fulfilled As House Passes Crime Bill – online, March 12).
Inmates return to Canadian streets without counselling, without rehabilitation, without mental health care, without addiction treatment and without the supports necessary to be successfully reintegrated into communities. Interest in rehabilitation has been lost in favour of punishment. This crime legislation will make us less safe as a country.
Instead of prisons, use the money to lift people out of poverty, improve health care, addictions and mental health care, end child poverty and homelessness, give our seniors a decent standard of living, address high unemployment rates, invest in postsecondary education, address the plight of our First Nations communities and enrich our social programs to narrow the gap between the rich, the poor and the vanishing middle class.
David Simpson, St. Thomas, Ont.
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Chicken, egg, jobs
Once again, it does not surprise me when a public-sector union – in this case, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario – espouses the virtue of high-paying jobs toward bettering the economy (ABC's Of Pay – letters, March 13). Unfortunately, they think this includes public-sector jobs.
What does, in fact, contribute to our economy is high-paying private-sector jobs, because ultimately it is the taxes collected from the private sector that support the public sector. The chicken has to come before the egg.
Stephen Charbonneau, Hillsburgh, Ont.
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Like many Ontarians, I am the beneficiary of the collective effort of many excellent teachers. It is views like those of the president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation, however, that blunt my former enthusiasm for his profession.
The day that Sam Hammond and his federation support a system where the best teachers are paid the most and the worst are invited to pursue other employment, is the day teachers will regain public respect. Until then, the public debate about teacher salaries is framed by jibes about long summer holidays, extensive benefits and generous retirement plans that are the exception in the private sector.
Bryan Davies, Whitby, Ont.
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Chicken, egg, milk
Surrendering subsidies may mean a lot more to Canadians than the economic impact on producers (Why Protecting Dairy, Egg Farmers Is No Sacred Cow For PM – March 11). We enjoy a steady, reliable food source. By way of comparison, consider this: Milk is currently significantly overproduced in the U.S., lenders and suppliers are wary of investing in that industry for fear of financial failure – failure which could result in a seesaw of supply and prices. Canadians welcome a steady, evenly priced supply chain, coupled with an exceptionally high level of food quality and safety. These are at risk when price alone rules the market.
Finally, it should not be a given that the recent dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board is a signpost of the future of Canadian agricultural policy. This has created huge rifts in Western Canada. Now, with foreign investors circling Canada's Viterra, it seems highly likely the Harper government may see the political need to step in with another Potash Corp. rescue.
Martin C. Pick, Cavan, Ont.
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July 32nd? Woohoo
Letter writer Doug Blair's view that Daylight Time "is silly" (Time's Up – March 13) may be true, but I've always thought that the situation with leap year was even worse. Why put the extra day, Feb. 29, in the winter? If we're going to get an extra day, why not put it in July, when the weather's nicer?
John Barker, Sarnia, Ont.
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Fixing it
Hard as we may try to turn robo-call into Robogate and the end of our great Canadian democracy, it pales with what's going on in the Great Democracy to our south.
In a March 12 poll released by the Public Policy group, 52 per cent of likely Republican voters in Mississippi think Barack Obama is a Muslim – and another 36 per cent aren't sure. Alabama comes in at 45 per cent and 41 per cent respectively.
Our "issue" can be fixed. The U.S.?
Robin Lecky, Vancouver
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I don't know what's worse, the dishonesty of employing robo-calls, the feigned outrage of members from all parties in Parliament who are discussing the act, or the speed by which it is descending to farce. I just wish they would all grow up and make some constructive recommendations in a manner reflecting their positions.
Richard Dean, Nelson, B.C.
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Totally like awesome
Re Uh Oh, Am I Turning Into My Girlfriend? (Life, March 9): Perhaps readers will recall Valley Girl, sung by the then 14-year-old Moon Unit Zappa in 1982. The lyrics of this 30-year-old song reference shopping, pedicures, endless talking on the phone, playing video games, etc. The intonation of Moon's voice persists to this day in many young women and men. Words such as "totally," "like" and "awesome" still have currency. Young women are prime targets for advertisers' branding, and we see in Valley Girl evidence of the strong foundation of consumerism spawned in the '80s in California and spread by mimicry for three decades and counting. The author is not turning into his girlfriend, rather he has at last become a member of the herd.
Ian Alexander Robson, Brantford, Ont.
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1812 outcome
Here is the outcome of the war of 1812 (The Myth Of 1812 – Focus, March 10), and why Americans ignore it:
They have New York, Chicago and L.A.; we have Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
They have Harvard, Yale and Stanford; we have McGill, U of T and UBC.
They had Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Truman. We had John A. Macdonald, Diefenbaker, Bennett and Trudeau.
They have Hollywood; we have Toronto.
They have Hawaii; we have Newfoundland.
They beat Japan; our troops were PoWs.
They have the Metropolitan, the Smithsonian, Art Institute of Chicago and the Albright-Knox. We have the ROM and the AGO.
They had Faulkner, James and Williams. We have Margaret Atwood, Margaret Atwood and Margaret Atwood.
David Allan Stein, Toronto