One reader is 'now convinced of the one reason Canada should finish the pipelines, east and west: to preserve sovereignty and national security in the face of foreign leaders such as Mohammed bin Salman,' seen here on March 10, 2020.BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
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Pipeline parity
Re Saudi Crown Prince’s Moves Show What A Danger He Is (March 10): I’m now convinced of the one reason Canada should finish the pipelines, east and west: to preserve sovereignty and national security in the face of foreign leaders such as Mohammed bin Salman.
Rick Walker Toronto
Re Berkshire Hathaway Drops Out Of Énergie Saguenay Project (March 6): What did Quebec Premier François Legault think was going to happen after such strong opposition to the prior Energy East pipeline, and now after the rail blockades? Why would any investors consider Canada when there seems to be no government support for oil and gas projects and a lack of law enforcement? Even the average guy can figure this one out!
L. G. Anderson Spruce Grove, Alta.
Drip, drip
Re UNDRIP Legislation Would Be Chaotic In This Country – And The Blockades Prove It (March 10): Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister makes a forceful case for “respectful partnerships” with Indigenous communities, rather than “regulatory processes.” The current upheaval in oil prices seems to strengthen his argument.
Market volatility of this magnitude calls for experience, a steady hand and deep pockets. This is not a game in which Indigenous communities should want to take an active role.
Norman Paterson Collingwood, Ont.
Brian Pallister argues that incorporating the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Canadian law would lead to chaos. He points to recent Wet’suwet’en-inspired blockades as proof. I believe the Manitoba Premier has it backward – if anything, the blockades come out of a failure to embrace the rights articulated in the declaration. Yet he is confident that it would upend advancements in “developing a coherent framework for how to respectfully consult and accommodate Indigenous concern.”
It all sounds like the same songbook to which more repressive leaders worldwide have long turned. Those tired lyrics offer protestations around stability and progress, and insist that human rights stand in the way. Global leadership should champion human rights as the way forward, as the path to justice and stability. That should have happened long ago with respect to the rights of Indigenous peoples in this country. It should not wait any longer. Implementing the declaration across Canada should be a necessary next step.
Alex Neve Secretary-general, Amnesty International Canada; Ottawa
Medical response
Re Seniors’ Care Homes Form Virus-response Group (March 10): I just received a “COVID-19 Member Alert” from the Ontario Medical Association. I reasonably expected a useful update on the epidemic. Instead, the first three bullet points for Ontario doctors covered income stabilization, compensation for additional practice costs and the reintroduction of OHIP fee codes for telephone service.
It appears that OMA leadership is primarily concerned with incomes ahead of the safety and well-being of the public.
Philip Berger MD, Toronto
Guess who?
Re Blaming Sexism For Warren’s Loss Is A Disservice To Women (March 9): Can U.S. voters imagine a viable female candidate who is almost 80, who had a recent heart attack, who promised to release her medical records but then refused to do so, who spent rallies wildly gesticulating and wagging her finger, who voiced tired clichés and conspiracy theories? Neither can I. Yet Bernie Sanders persists as a candidate in the Democratic race.
On the day she suspended her campaign, Elizabeth Warren was asked by a reporter if sexism played a role in her downfall. She said, “If you say, ‘Yeah, there was sexism in this race,’ everyone says, ‘Whiner!’ If you say, ‘No, there was no sexism,’ about a bazillion women think, ‘What planet do you live on?’”
That’s how sexism works. Saying that sexism played a role in her downfall is not the same as blaming sexism. She made many mistakes in her campaign, but she constantly had to deal with the question of likeability, which male candidates don’t get asked.
Manuel Matas Winnipeg
March break
Re Strikes To Escalate If No Deal Reached: Union (March 10): It troubles me greatly that the people in power in Ontario seem to lack foresight. The consequences of strong-arming teachers into accepting less than decent compensation for the responsibilities they carry feel unconscionable.
Today’s students are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and providers. The government has a responsibility to ensure the next generation is equipped with the skills to succeed in the new world, but moreover is equipped with the moral and ethical values necessary in society. I see teachers as important contributors to society, to a much greater degree than politicians of today.
The government should pay these valuable people what they are worth today, considering the value of the people they develop for tomorrow.
Richard Mertl Hampstead, Que.
Ontario’s teachers seem to have a sense of entitlement that lets them believe only they can decide what is right for the education system and for students. The unions’ failure to strike a timely bargain after the government’s retreat on class sizes and e-learning shows to me that this dispute is about compensation, not students.
So the impasse goes on and I continue to watch entrenched union leadership hold students, parents and taxpayers hostage.
Paul Clarry Aurora, Ont.
Mathematical feats
Re The Olympics Are Great – When You Can Afford Them (March 7): Contributor Adrienne Tanner concludes that sometimes the right answer is no if British Columbia were to bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics.
The three largest expenses are the competition sites, the athletes village and security. The existing sports facilities in Vancouver, West Vancouver and Whistler that were used in 2010 would need little more than a touch of paint. A new athletes village could be turned into social housing after the Games. As for security, surely it would not be too much to ask that Canadian police forces and Armed Forces be paid for lots of overtime hours.
It seems to me a simple yes – but am I missing something?
Christopher Cottier West Vancouver, B.C.
Nothing wasted
Re Kitchen Tricks (Pursuits, March 7): Two additions to the tricks that have solved three problems for a busy lawyer: eating more veggies, reduction of food waste and having more healthy, ready-to-eat meals.
I make morning smoothies based on frozen old bananas and fruit, kale and spinach, ugly carrots, and so on. And for a quick meal at day’s end that satisfies, without heaviness, I like to make “clean out the fridge soup,” started with homemade stock of peelings, skins, stems, stalks, ends of herbs and older frozen veggies.
Just be prepared for guests to ask why there is garbage in the fridge.
Barbara Legate London, Ont.
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