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Express your views on global press freedom

On May 4, as part of its ingoing coverage of World Press Freedom Day, The Globe and Mail will devote the Opinion Section to examining the state of press freedom around the globe. We invite letter writers to share your views on the role of a free press, and will publish a cross-section of responses in the Letters to the Editor section on May 4. Letters addressing the role of a free press should be submitted no later than April 29, and be kept under 200 words. Letters to the editor must include a name and city of residence. E-mail: letters@globeandmail.com

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Open this photo in gallery:

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to the press following the First Ministers' Meeting in Montreal late last year.Christinne Muschi/Reuters

Welcome to the pram

Welcome, Alberta, to PRAM (Provinces Run by Angry Men).

Here in Ontario, we’ve got lots of great policy ideas you could pick up on, such as forcing gas stations to promote government propaganda, unilaterally slashing city councils (Edmonton would be a prime candidate, since they voted in a bunch of pinko lefties there), and telling groups that help people with autism that they’re in for four hard years if they refuse to back the government’s position (read: propaganda – we’re very big on pushing propaganda down people’s throats).

Oh, and buck-a-beer.

That one’s very popular.

I know you’ll have ideas of your own. Declaring open war on the folks in British Columbia was truly brilliant, a real vote-getter. Just like us in Ontario, you’ll probably have to put up with elitist, latte-sipping weirdos, who, like The Globe and Mail’s editorial board – is the board into lattes? – will want you to be reasonable (Anger Wins Votes. Now It’s Time For Reason – editorial, April 18). Farcical, right? I mean, how many votes does “reasonable” get these days?

So, again, welcome to PRAM. Just don’t let anybody try to push you around.

Steve Soloman, Toronto

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The new Alberta government’s threat to turn off the tap on shipments of oil and gas to B.C. is a last-ditch attempt to make hay while the sun still (sort of) shines on the oil industry.

Ironically, the higher gas prices that would result will hasten the B.C. public’s acceptance of alternative forms of energy, thereby accelerating the decline of a sunset industry.

Scott MacEachern, Vancouver

Best-by CPP and OAS dates

For someone with a sedentary job, raising the age for CPP and OAS to 67 might be valid, but not all workers have that kind of occupation (How Raising The Age For CPP And OAS To 67 Would Benefit The Whole Country – April 15).

I’m thinking of construction workers and farmers, just to mention a few. Their bodies may be more than worn out by 65, and suffer severe damage by having to work well beyond their “best by” date.

I remember with concern a man who installed our kitchen flooring some years ago; his knees were in a sorry state, yet when the flooring needed repair, there he was, several years later (and still not an ancient of days), still at it, even while he was hardly able to get up off the floor. No doubt he and many others whose work is punishing physically will upon retirement need considerable medical care to be able to function at all if they have to work until 67 – or who knows, 70? – if accountants have their way. The latter don’t face that same physical risk!

Surely it would not be beyond human capability to design a system where the type of work a person does would be reflected in the age at which CPP and OAS eligibility is set. It might actually save some health costs, too.

Ellen Pye, Delta, B.C.

Accountability, M.I.A.

The electorate could give Ontario Premier Doug Ford the benefit of the doubt regarding his motives for trying to make negligence lawsuits against the provincial government nearly impossible (New Law Could Limit Suits Against Ontario, April 17). That said, his actions would all but eliminate government accountability. Authority in the absence of accountability is completely unacceptable.

A good many valiant Canadians made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of accountable government. The measures being proposed must be resisted with every means available. If Mr. Ford’s government believes litigation to be frivolous, he has means at his disposal to make his point. That will have to suffice.

Greg Longphee, Victoria

Disinformation shakeup

Tyler Cowen’s impassioned defence of Big Tech fails to get to the nub of the matter: The new social media were expertly manipulated by a foreign power to affect the 2016 U.S. election (Breaking Up Big Tech Would Be A Big Mistake – Opinion, April 13). The primary reason is that social media platforms do not consider themselves media outlets, but “technology platforms.” Translation: They’re not responsible for the content. This is a significant change from previous influencing attempts, where information needed to go through traditional media, with its gatekeepers and fact checkers.

The idea that “The social responsibility of business is to come up with new and better conceptions of the social responsibility of business” has never been valid, and especially not in this disinformation age. Business should not take on defining matters, such as political influencing, as their social responsibility, but should jump at the chance to work closely with governments and other agencies that do.

It is indeed time for a shakeup.

Bob Walker, Vancouver

Books, love, bedtime

Re Bedtime Stories Led To A Programming Tool For Alexa (April 16): “Time-saving” interactive electronic devices to replace parent-child bedtime reading?

Einstein is reputed to have said, “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” It seems he understood the value of encouraging imagination in children. Left unmentioned is that this creates important parent-child bonding experiences.

Parents “too busy” to read bedtime stories replace this important parent-child nurturing experience with machines. Teenagers spend increasing blocks of time online, while exhibiting greater degrees of depression. Numerous self-help platforms offer relief from the “busy life” syndrome.

The one human “application” being lost is speaking to and spending time with each other. Alas, the arrow on the electronic map indicates, “We are here.”

Steve Sanderson, Quispamsis, N.B.

Politics at the pump

Re Doug Ford’s Carbon-Tax Sticker Shock (editorial, April 16): Premier Doug Ford must truly be counting on poor arithmetic skills in this province if he thinks stickers on gas pumps will fool people. Our gas tank holds 57 litres: 57 X 4.4 cents per litre equals about an extra $2.50. With a $300 rebate from the federal government, that’s enough to cover the difference on 120 fill-ups.

The people who complain about the tax are likely the same ones lined up at the Tim Hortons or Starbucks drive-through every day, cars idling, while awaiting an order where a 10-ounce specialty coffee can easily cost upward of $4. How long does that fill-up last in a human tank? About an hour.

Best to do the math and get our priorities straight.

Marilyn Murray, London, Ont.

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If I were a gas station owner, I would erect a sign next to the official one, pointing out that “The opinions expressed are not those of the management.”

Needless to say, I doubt that sign would be produced by Deco Labels.

Ronald Charles Epstein, Toronto

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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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