Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks as he visits the production facilities of Honda Canada Manufacturing in Alliston, Ont. on March 16.COLE BURSTON/Reuters
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Hard times
Re Self-esteem Issues (Editorial Cartoon, July 1): The depiction of a distressed Canada lying on a psychoanalytic couch made me smile. In a time when many are skeptical of the power of the unconscious, we can’t suppress it.
Freud is dead. Long live Freud.
Gordon Yanchyshyn, Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Toronto
Lineup etiquette
Re Montreal Passport Office Delays Spark Anger, Frustration (June 25): I am reminded of the time I visited Chicago years ago. My partner and I went to Lou Mitchell’s, a highly recommended breakfast restaurant, where we encountered a lineup around the block.
A server invited us to join the line while telling us the expected wait time. She appeared periodically with updates on when we could expect to be seated, while offering the most delicious doughnut holes ever.
Now, I don’t expect Passport Canada to serve pastries, but surely they could have employees monitoring lines to inform clients not only of estimated times for service, but also of what applications are being accepted at that location. That wouldn’t be too much to ask, would it?
Brian Caines Ottawa
Vote of confidence
Re China May Have Tried To Discourage Canadians From Voting Conservative (June 24): That’s almost a reason to vote Conservative in the next federal election. Almost.
Michael Arkin Toronto
Nothing to see
Re UCP Leadership Race Points To Alberta Autonomy Remaining A Key Issue (June 25): I find no best candidate in the United Conservative Party leadership race. My only best candidate was Michelle Rempel Garner, who sussed out the chaos in the UCP and took flight. Wise woman.
I find the other young female candidates are altruistic, but lack experience. The men seem like Jason Kenney clones and Danielle Smith a fantasist: icebreakers indeed, and an Alberta sovereignty act. She would likely repeat Mr. Kenney’s tedious attacks on Ottawa to appeal to the party’s rural base. I am so tired of whining about the federal government.
UCP politicians should grow up and, with luck, lose the 2023 election to force them to transform into a united, intelligent political force with real potential to lead. What Alberta needs is genuine leadership, which I believe only Rachel Notley can provide.
David Lawson Calgary
All in the family
Re Ford Taps Nephew As Minister In Cabinet Reshuffle (June 25): In conversation with a table full of American friends, I casually let slip what I thought was a universal and well-known phrase: “And Bob’s your uncle,” meaning that something was easily done. They had never heard it before.
Google searches ensued. It turns out that the phrase most likely stems from a British political scandal where a high-placed official, nicknamed “Bob,” caused a nephew to obtain an appointment for which he had no qualification, and would never have been independently considered.
In light of the most recent announcement of the Ontario cabinet, it seems we should be updating the phrase to, “And Doug’s your uncle.”
Dan Dowdall Toronto
The word “nepotism” has come to mean patronage bestowed by a person in power on the basis of a family relationship, as in business or politics. Ironically, the term is derived from nipote, a 17th-century Italian word meaning “nephew.”
Right on.
Irv Salit Toronto
If, then
Re Afghanistan’s Earthquake Survivors Are Still At Risk, Official Says (June 28): Taliban leaders pleaded with the international community and humanitarian organizations for more help with the Afghan disaster.
The Taliban seized billions of dollars in U.S. weapons following the withdrawal of troops from the country. They could demilitarize by selling off all the weaponry and use the profit to rebuild and reintroduce democratic ways.
The international community just has to receive some solid promises of reform, if it is to divert more money that is desperately needed elsewhere.
Barry Robinson Greater Napanee, Ont.
In the long run
Re Loblaw To Stop Offering Single-use Plastic Shopping Bags In Stores By Early 2023 (Report on Business, June 21): Some environmental policies help prevent climate change. Others make matters worse. Unfortunately, banning plastic grocery bags would be an example of the latter.
As an environmental sustainability consultant, I’ve done lifecycle studies quantifying the carbon emissions for plastic, cloth and paper bags. In all cases, single-use plastic grocery bags have lower carbon footprints than those manufactured from other materials.
Plastic bags require significantly less energy to produce. To come out ahead, bags manufactured from other materials would need to be reused hundreds of times before achieving a carbon savings. Most such bags cannot withstand that much use before being replaced.
Plastic grocery bags also often have other uses, such as waste-bin liners or pet-waste scoopers. Consumers will now be forced to purchase greater numbers of special-purpose plastic bags for lining waste bins and scooping pet waste.
So, the net effect of banning plastic grocery bags would be more carbon emissions.
Ian Lipton Toronto
Turn it down
Re Let’s Get Tough With Uncaring Noisy Drivers (June 25): It’s good to see I’m not alone in my opposition to the disturbing level of unnecessary and unacceptable speed and noise from inconsiderate motorcycle riders and drivers.
I live on a major thoroughfare in Mississauga and am totally fed up with speed and noise on my street, particularly after midnight. Peel Regional Police launched “Project Noisemaker” this year to address noise pollution, yet I haven’t noticed a decrease in noise or speed.
On the contrary, the vehicles sound louder and noisier. Where is the enforcement? I complained to my councillor and to the mayor. Will it be taken seriously?
Harry Ansara Mississauga
We wholeheartedly sympathize with columnist Marcus Gee in his complaint about urban noise pollution. However, let me disabuse people of any illusions about small towns in the country. In Ontario, those motorcycles and unmuffled cars roar up and down the main streets of Creemore and Thornbury, making outdoor patios about as pleasant as airport runways.
Add to this the delightful hours we spend in the cacophony of lawn-care-obsessed neighbours. Local bylaw officers tell me there is no limitation on volume or duration. The only restriction is that one may not cut one’s lawn in the middle of the night.
We have asked neighbours to show some restraint and even environmental awareness, but requests like that are not well received.
Roger Stein Collingwood, Ont.
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