Federal budget 2023 plus other letters, April 1: ‘Deficits … necessary to provide the best for most Canadians’

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Re “The Trudeau Liberals build a budget on a cloud, and collective amnesia” (March 29): Nothing like a federal budget is capable of exposing different political ideologies. And nothing like the deficit (and debt) brings into focus opposing sides.

On one side, the deficit is the enemy: creator of debt, denier of our children’s future, initiator of inflation, an indication of reckless spending. On the other side, it is an important ally: funder of social programs, cushion preventing extreme poverty, investment in the future, protection of the environment.

Let me be clear, I subscribe to the latter arguments. For most of my adult life, under the umbrella of deficit financing, huge strides have been made to benefit most Canadians: medicare, pensions and employment insurance, to mention a few.

This continues with today’s budget. The dental plan will cost money. So be it. In spite of naysayers, deficits, large and small, are often necessary to provide the best for most Canadians and move Canada forward.

Robert Milan Victoria

Political accountability

Re “Other world leaders may be brought to account, but Canadian prime ministers, it seems, are invincible” (Opinion, March 25): From one who sees the Liberals as currently the most well-suited to govern this country: if only they would just show a little more respect for our democracy and a less patronizing attitude toward our intelligence, especially on foreign influence.

It is apparent to me that Liberal backbenchers will not put the interests of Canadians above self-interest. Either that or they don’t have the backbones to confront the Prime Minister.

In columnist Andrew Coyne’s comparison to British democracy, he posits that this is primarily due to our differing systems of government, where Britain encourages more independence of parliamentarians. I believe that not to be the case, and that British MPs just have more gumption.

Ross Hollingshead Toronto

Too slow

Re “Canada isn’t broken, but it will be if we don’t make the right decisions” (Report on Business, March 25): A better headline for this excellent article would have been “Canada is breaking.”

The essential problem I see is twofold. First, we are slipping into massive consultation without equal effort on consensus-building. Second, many of our notable aspirations are not matched by more fundamental understanding of what it takes to achieve them.

In the 1950s, the St. Lawrence Seaway was built in about five years and the original Trans Mountain pipeline in two years. Apply today’s Impact Assessment Act and we would have spent at least 10 years in consultation before any shovels hit the ground. Net-zero by 2050 may be a laudable goal, but where are the massive power and mining projects required to make it happen?

One can argue that earlier projects perhaps did not have enough review. However, politicians today seem to know that if some is good, more is better and too much is just enough.

Chris Tworek Calgary

No rush

Re “Canadian immigration targets respond to, and create, generational tensions” (Report on Business, March 25): Contributor Paul Kershaw advocates for government to further tax the Old Age Security and property wealth of boomers.

However, many boomers are already choosing to share their relatively comfortable income and wealth directly with their cash-strapped offspring. They prefer to so directly, rather than having it lost in taxation. And in the next 20 years, the so-called wealth of boomers will find its way back into government coffers and the economy as we eventually die.

Let’s not be panicked into increasing taxes on OAS and real estate before boomers can enjoy a few years of retirement.

Michael Brophy St. Catharines, Ont.

Cool off

Re “Prominent tech leaders call for temporary pause on AI development over ‘profound risks’ " (March 30): The calls for a pause on further development of artificial intelligence, as everyone ponders its implications, mirror the notes of caution surrounding the emergence of CRISPR gene editing, which also holds great promise but also great potential risks.

The sobering reality is that our capabilities can outpace our wisdom.

Paul Thiessen Vancouver

So 1,300 apparently terrified top tech brains have issued a cri de coeur, proposing an immediate six-month moratorium on further development of artificial intelligence. This is more than extremely worrisome.

On a planet where international co-operation on anything of similar magnitude has produced nothing of adequate import, just how do they propose bringing this about, especially posthaste? It brings to mind the tale of the drowning sorcerer’s apprentice – minus the requisite sorcerer to save the day – and swiftly followed by visions of woe-begotten Luddites attempting to stop industrialization.

Brave new world.

Alan Scrivener Cornwall, Ont.

Family tree

Re “In uncertain times, more parents are choosing to have only one child” (March 25): Eleven years ago, I learned that there is no telling what may happen to one’s child. I now have only one child, although I had two for 32 years. At least I have two grandchildren to give thanks for.

After learning much about my family genealogy, I have concluded that it takes at least three or four surviving offspring to have any assurance that one’s family line will continue. Even my mother had 12 grandchildren; with all but one of them now over 30, there are only three great-grandchildren.

How well will current Canadian values survive if older Canadian families die out?

Joanna Anderson Burlington, Ont.

Mess it up

Re “Bless this mess: Why we’ve taken our fear of clutter too far” (Opinion, March 25): From the first sentence, I was delighted by this essay on Mark Pupo’s discovery of the need for a certain amount of messiness in childhood.

What stood out was his experience of offering, seemingly against the warnings of pediatric experts, the chance for his neurodivergent son to leave his iPad behind and help make pancakes. The child’s resultant joy, and mess, reaffirmed for me the importance of minimizing technology with young children, and rather immersing them in real sensory experiences.

Thanks for this wonderful picture of a child cooking together, somewhat chaotically, with a “good-enough” parent.

Carol Lewis London, Ont.

“Our shared clutter fears took root in the seemingly self-evident belief … that a messy home is a sign of a disordered mind.”

There is a wonderful quotation, usually attributed to Albert Einstein: “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”

Jeremiah Allen Crowsnest Pass, Alta.

Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com