Matthew Perry attends the premiere of the film 17 Again in Los Angeles on April 14, 2009.Phil McCarten/Reuters
One for all…
Re “Trudeau’s Atlantic carbon-tax exemption may be a fatal miscalculation” (Nov. 1): I’m not particularly worried about the Trudeau government’s fate. I am worried about the planet.
I hope carbon pricing isn’t shattered by political pressures. I think it remains the best way to signal to people that carbon pollution must be controlled, if we are to rein in climate change.
Unfortunately, various polls in this country have shown that while people are concerned about climate change, few want to pay for it. And the Conservatives have demonized the tax, blaming it for inflation (the Bank of Canada has said it accounts for about 0.15 percentage points of the inflation we are experiencing) among other things.
But the Conservatives have unveiled no substantive climate plan of their own. Canadians should be wary.
Bill Doskoch Edmonton
While it is sound policy to tax what one wants less of, such as carbon pollution, it is important to note that not all fuels pollute equally.
Thus, providing substantial financial help to the small percentage of Canadian households still using heating oil, in order to kick this dirty habit, makes sense. Certainly, it is far preferable to exempting the dirtiest fuel from the tax.
Let’s crunch the numbers and make these homeowners a deal they cannot refuse to upgrade their heating systems. At the end of three years, Pierre Poilievre (if in power) would not uninstall new heat pumps even if he axes the tax.
As for the whinging and whining of the premiers, maybe a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones would help?
P. Diane Bond Kelowna, B.C.
Justin Trudeau claims he is helping low-income Maritime residents by offering a heating-oil rebate for three years.
How many of these low-income residents will put the savings aside to purchase a heat pump? I am guessing close to zero.
On the other hand, Mr. Trudeau offered rebates for those who purchased new electric vehicles. Who can afford a new EV? Mostly the rich and upper-middle class.
What happened to the tax-paying middle guy?
Barry Kaufman Sechelt, B.C.
I received a $536 carbon rebate last year. I live in a well-insulated, well-sealed home and use low-emission electricity for heating and driving, so I don’t pay much in carbon pricing.
Some premiers say it isn’t “fair” to exempt heating oil and not natural gas and propane. If there was no tax on heating, there would be a smaller rebate.
Reducing the rebate for someone who has invested in energy efficiency would truly not be fair. Don’t touch my rebate.
Glen Estill Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ont.
More women
Re “ ‘I consider her a fighter’: Supreme Court pick Mary Moreau hailed as a voice for minority rights” (Nov. 2): Of the Supreme Court from 1989 that included Bertha Wilson, Claire L’Heureux-Dubé and Beverley McLachlin, Ms. Wilson herself once quipped, “Three down, six to go.”
Mary Moreau’s pending appointment means women would take the majority in the court. Her former senior partner says that she would “rule from a principled legal perspective” because she’s “not a zealot about anything” and “not an agenda person.” Her predecessors were not agenda people, either, so there should be no expectation that a female majority results in a “feminist” court.
But consider the all-male decades between 1875 and 1982, before Pierre Trudeau appointed Ms. Wilson, and the male-majority courts since. Did male judges make a difference in the evolution of our laws? Of course.
Will women judges really make a difference? Stay tuned. Five down, four to go.
Ellen Anderson Summerside, PEI
Whose rights?
Re “Alarm grows as Saskatchewan bars third-party sexual health, sexual-abuse prevention educators from classrooms” (Oct. 30): It seems to me that the policies stemming from the so-called parental-rights movement are outright ignoring the most basic rights of children. I believe this policy increases the risk of suicide, abuse and other kinds of harm to kids, by depriving them of the resources and knowledge that can defend them.
Knowing how to identify abuse and find help is vital, and third-party educators are uniquely well-positioned to teach it. Scott Moe’s move to ban these programs, then, advances “parental rights” at the expense of children’s rights to life and security of the person.
Jaromir Sulja Vancouver
Book it
Re “Paying more attention to the health and social benefits of libraries is overdue” (Nov. 3): As social media becomes the primary information source for more and more people, it is worth considering the entwined values of the public library and the printed book.
Social media is managed by and accessed through privately owned, opaque algorithms that can be designed to amplify divisiveness, extremism and disinformation. Books lack this feature. So do public libraries, where mandates for collection building and management and community service are publicly stated, and where “feeds” amount to catalogues and shelf organization based on transparency, consistency and logic.
I believe social media is rooted in the corporate ownership and manipulation of our minds. Public libraries are based on the preservation and sharing of knowledge as a collective good.
Ryan Whyte Toronto
As someone who has visited these beloved public institutions for more than 60 years (from Dr. Seuss to Miriam Toews), I agree wholeheartedly. And, after all these years, one can still find books there.
T. M. Dickey Toronto
The end
Re “The One Where Matthew Perry Dies” (Nov. 1): I’ve been thinking about a 1997 trip to Israel to give a paper and see a Canadian friend and his then-fiancée.
They were not enjoying their time there. Suicide bombings and armed soldiers were not part of their lived experience.
But on afternoons we were in their apartment at a particular hour, his fiancée would yell, “Haverim!” We’d echo her call and run to the television. Haverim was the daily Friends rerun. It was a scheduled and reliable bright spot in their day.
Their engagement didn’t survive the pressures of Israel. And about 20 years later, my friend’s life was cut short by a brain tumour.
The respite of Haverim was silly, but no less real. My friend’s death, the war, that trip and now Matthew Perry’s death are all tangled up.
That’s the genius of the sitcom: conflict resolved in 22 minutes. Unless there’s the dreaded “to be continued…”
David Kinahan Toronto
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