July 27: ‘Say $1,000 for the first jab, $2,500 for the second.’ How to raise vaccination rates? Plus other letters to the editor

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Carney’s commitment

Re Carney Says No To The Rubber-chicken Circuit (July 22): The federal government should take a tip from Mark Carney and follow through with its commitments: implement the current budget, see the pandemic through and respect Canadians affected by it.

We are committed to getting kids back to school, opening local businesses, restoring supply chains for food and building materials etc. The next election is slated for 2023. Don’t waste our time and money now.

Peggy Hutchison Singhampton, Ont.

I am pleased that Mark Carney will not run for election. Any seat in the House of Commons would be a demotion for him.

Since the days of the Kyoto Protocol, it has been clear to many that climate change can only be tackled with the full involvement of the investment and financial community. Mr. Carney has the unique combination of commitment, experience and credibility to help guide finance in tackling climate change.

We should all encourage him to use these skills to help fix this problem.

John Roberts Markham, Ont.

The upshot

Re The Upside Of Vaccine Passports (July 23): Our political leaders could have led in the quest for achieving at least a 90-per-cent vaccination rate among Canadians. Instead, they opted for “personal choice.” What a quandary.

Here we are with stalling first vaccinations, a patchwork approach to restrictions on the unvaccinated and a glimpse of the future in Britain and other countries.

Our politicians should acknowledge reality. If we don’t favour mandatory vaccinations, a safe future would require the imposition of restrictions on those who choose not to get vaccinated.

Tony Hooper Toronto

Re Vaccine Mandates Are Not A Hill To Die On (July 21): In the face of continuing vaccine hesitancy, perhaps it’s time we adopted that most quintessentially Canadian approach to public policy: Offer refundable tax credits to folks getting vaccinated.

Say $1,000 for the first jab, $2,500 for the second – that should get some more sleeves rolling. The cost to the public coffer would be more than offset by the public-health benefit, as well as the cost avoidance to the broader economy otherwise incurred by dragging out this pandemic.

John Cadham Ottawa

When it was my turn, I rushed out and got my first shot. Later, when it was again my turn, I rushed out and got my second shot. In between, I stayed at home and basically only went to the grocery store once a week.

Today, I took a small road trip. As I was driving down the highway, I was reminded (in both official languages) that speeding could cost me hundreds of dollars in fines and several demerit points. I was also sternly prompted to wear a seatbelt or else face a $240 fine and two demerit points.

I wondered: If I choose not to wear a seatbelt or choose to drive a bit faster, shouldn’t I be met with kindness, understanding and compassion?

Richard Chong Toronto

In my wallet, I have loyalty cards for everything from Tim Hortons to Cobs Bread. Why can’t I have one for Ontario Health showing I have been fully vaccinated?

Elizabeth Thompson Oakville, Ont.

Party lines

Re The Green Party’s Nuclear Meltdown (Editorial, July 23): Sad to read about the Green Party. While always a small-c conservative, I have had many of my conservative friends become involved with the Greens.

The Liberals and the NDP always thought their environmental policies made the Greens redundant, whereas conservative parties across the country were found lacking in environmental policies by many of their own members, many of whom joined the Greens and even became candidates. For a number of years, I looked at the Greens as a branch of the Conservatives with good environmental policies.

Now they are seen as imploding and having very left-wing ideas. How things change.

Lloyd Leonard North Bay, Ont.

Paying for it

Re Ontario, Not Quebec, Holds The Model For Child Care (Report on Business, July 23): This model already costs Ontario taxpayers more than $3-billion a year.

School boards get about half the money, yet most working parents with children enrolled in full-day kindergarten still have to pay additional fees for “wrap-around” care, which covers the beginning and end of school days.

Municipalities get the rest of the money to manage the child-care system, including fee subsidies for lower-income parents. Yet in Toronto and elsewhere, there are lengthy waiting lists for both subsidies and licensed spaces.

This top-heavy model predates the Ford government. The Premier is right to be wary of any federal plan with more “public management and planning.” Ontario families can’t afford it.

Andrea Hannen Executive director, Association of Day Care Operators of Ontario; St. Catharines, Ont.

Real wealth

Re Canada’s Capital Gains Taxation Means We’re Being Taxed On ‘Illusory Gains’ (Report on Business, July 23: Columnist Tim Cestnick writes that a “sensible” tax law would factor in inflation when taxing capital gains, ensuring only real gains are taxed. Why?

It’s not clear to me, other than the fact most people do not factor inflation into their thinking when assessing their returns. Beyond the sense of unfairness he implies, Mr. Cestnick points to no real economic harms stemming from taxing full returns.

The only meaningful effect of such a policy shift would be a reduction in the tax burden on capital gains, which are already taxed at a far lower rate than income earned as salaries or wages. Given that capital gains are earned disproportionately by the wealthy, so much for fair.

Daniel Ribi Ottawa

Reading list

Re Downsizing My Personal Library (First Person, July 22): “Am I really going to read Jane Austen?” My God, yes, man, yes! Her novels are exquisite and delightful masterpieces. Trust me, please.

Gerret Kavanagh Thornhill, Ont.

There is no need to keep those heavy books. Project Gutenberg has more than 60,000 eBooks including Jane Austen, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jack London, all of Shakespeare and a great many more.

I recommend enjoying Austen outdoors in the summer.

Larry Custead Saskatoon

While I feel for the writer in his distress, he is overlooking a simple solution: Dispose of most of his furniture other than bookshelves. As Anthony Powell observes in A Dance to the Music of Time: “Books do furnish a room.”

Maggie Keith Ottawa

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