Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer delivered a keynote address at a private conference attended by oil patch interest and politicians.JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press
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Predictable bedfellows
Re Tories, Oil Patch Join Forces Ahead Of Federal Election (April 25):
Sigh. I fear I’m at risk of sounding like one of those old curmudgeons who say, “I’ve seen all that before.” But when I hear about suits from the oil patch sitting down with Conservative politicos – that is, with the folks they back with their dollars – to map a path forward that ensures their continued mutual profitability, I can't help but think of the tobacco company executives and their lobbyists sitting down with friendly politicians circa 1965.
Ken Cuthbertson, Kingston
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So Conservative leader Andrew Scheer and executives of the Alberta oil patch got together to strategize on how to defeat the Trudeau Liberals in the next federal election. Wondering if the meeting’s organizers bothered to invite the federal energy minister. After all, the Canadian government owns a $5-billion pipeline.
Tony Falsetto, Ottawa
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Unchecked, the so-called “miracle of modern hydrocarbons” will destroy our planet. Scientists at oil giant Shell knew this in 1991, when they made a documentary, Climate of Concern, as a warning about the dangers of climate change caused by fossil fuel use.
The company ignored it and, ever since, the oil industry has been concealing the peril from their shareholders and the public alike. According to Canada’s Changing Climate Report, our country is warming twice as fast as other nations. The terrible fires of 2016, 2017, and 2018 have cost our governments, citizens, insurance companies and other businesses billions of dollars so far. How much destruction are we willing to countenance before facing the facts? The truth will come out, regardless of what anybody says.
Though Conservatives champion the fossil fuel industry, it is not really a conservative thing to do, but extraordinarily reckless. And for what are we putting up with all this destruction? It’s not as if we don’t have alternatives. In Texas, for example, the cost of electricity generated by wind keeps falling and according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), wind surpassed coal in generating capacity in 2017.
Claudia Cornwall, North Vancouver, B.C.
How Kenney really won
Preston Manning would have us believe that Jason Kenney won the recent Alberta election by exposing the incompetence of the outgoing NDP government (Jason Kenney Won Because He Understands Albertans, April 23).
That government took office at a time of sharply declining oil prices, after decades of Conservative governments that had failed to save in good times, failed to diversify the provincial economy, and failed to invest in youth and education. They even failed to build a refinery.
Mr. Kenney’s nasty campaign, blaming just about everyone in the rest of Canada for Alberta’s economic woes, is hardly convincing that he will be successful at a time when the tar sands are on the downside of their productivity. Mr. Manning’s fatuous nonsense doesn’t deserve space in a discussion of the province’s economic future.
Joan Macdonald, Victoria
Eating their own
Re Wilson-Raybould Takes Aim At Liberals’ Record On Reconciliation At Gathering Of First Nations Leaders (April 25):
If former Liberal cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott’s end game is to place Conservative leader Andrew Scheer in power this fall, they could not be doing a better job. By continuing to tear apart the party which offers the best hope for First Nations people, and by continuing to fragment those voters who wish for a more progressive Canada, these two would-be spoilers have had their day.
The continued focus on their every inhale and exhale is also creating a further divide in a country already splintering.
Carol Ann Weaver, Waterloo, Ont.
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So she’s at it again. Ms. Wilson-Raybould is intent on sinking the government which entrusted her with such opportunity. Handed the levers of power she chose to grind the gears. She will be a very lonely maybe-not-even opposition Liberal when the Conservatives take power. See how she likes their Indigenous, social, feminist and environmental policies then.
Suzanne DePoe, Toronto
It’s no joke
A letter writer’s characterization of U.S. President Donald Trump as a “comedian elected to high office” is an insult to comedians (Jokers In Office, April 25).
As the notorious essay Why Do Some British People Not Like Trump? puts it, “While Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. ... He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty. Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.”
Jack Kirchhoff, Toronto
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In referring to the U.S. President as a “comedian,” the letter writer not only has insulted comedians but also has conflated “comedians” with “clowns.”
Frank Foulkes, Toronto
How old is too old?
For Democrats hoping to replace Donald Trump with one of their own in 2020, Joe Biden’s announcement that he is once again running for president is not welcome news (Early Days May Make Or Break Biden’s Run, April 25).
Benefiting from legacy name recognition in a crowded field of rivals, he immediately jumps to the top of the current leaderboard but potentially damages the candidacies of other more worthwhile and exceptional choices, such as Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris.
Mr. Biden would be 78 years old in commencing a presidency, 80 halfway through a first term. Regardless of his personal vitality, this is simply too old to assume the mantle of the world’s most difficult job.
There is a minimum age requirement for the job; similarly, there should also be a maximum. The Democrats already have one ancient warrior, Bernie Sanders, challenging for the nomination. They don’t need a second.
Frank Malone, Aurora, Ont.
Spare a book?
Great to hear that The Globe and Mail has partnered with Margaret Atwood to start a book club (Margaret Atwood Chooses Globe Book Club’s First Title, April 24). I’ve heard great things about her first choice of books, Barbara Gowdy’s The White Bone.
Would you mind sending a few copies to Orillia, Ont.? Now that the Ontario Conservatives have cut funding to libraries, I won’t be able to request the book through interlibrary loan.
Ryan McVeigh, Orillia, Ont.