A physical therapist works with a patient at a field hospital operated by Care New England set up in a former bank call center to handle a surge of COVID-19 patients in Cranston, R.I, on Dec. 14, 2020.David Goldman
Pandemic preparedness
Re “With poultry stocks devastated, is there a whiff of the next pandemic in the air?” (Feb. 21): We’ve been here before, yet have much to learn.
The unprecedented mammal-to-mammal spread of H5N1 should be setting off alarm bells. In early 2020, the world stood (mostly) flat-footed in the face of COVID-19. Both vulgar viruses underscore the importance of pandemic preparedness, and how far we have to go.
We cannot afford to get the next pandemic wrong; we may simply not be as lucky as we have been to date. Politicians and health officials around the world should take existential pandemic threats more seriously.
We should prioritize investing in surveillance and strong pandemic countermeasures, such as adaptable vaccine technologies, next-generation personal protective equipment and new antivirals.
The next pandemic may be nasty, but allowing it to disrupt our lives and kill millions of citizens is a choice, not a given. Let’s choose to do better.
Kartik Sharma Vancouver
Lowdown
Re “Executive director of federal drug-pricing agency to step down” (Feb. 25): Once again the Trudeau government, which professes to have the interests of the average Canadian at heart, disappoints me.
In the midst of inflation and health crises, one policy the government could easily implement is a reduction in the high prices that Canadians pay for prescription drugs. But rather than accepting the recommendations of its own regulator or appealing judicial decisions aimed at maintaining high drug prices – and significant profit for pharmaceutical companies – the government delays the process once again.
When will the government stiffen its spine and defend the interests of common Canadians? Drugs are a matter of life and death, not politics.
Jon Allen Toronto
Left behind
Re “Danielle Smith’s corporate welfare for the oil industry” (Editorial, Feb. 23): Several Alberta Auditor-General reports have highlighted the inadequacy of the government’s Mine Financial Security Program in collecting money and security from polluting companies to pay for eventual cleanup.
Industry responses to proposed changes to tighten the program are instead proposing further weakening of the system and allowing insurance companies to provide sureties instead of real payments. Further, the Alberta Energy Regulator has a history of failing to rigorously audit the plans and payments of oil sands companies.
As The Globe and Mail writes, huge profit is being paid to shareholders, mainly from outside Canada, while taxpayers are left to pay the costs.
David Cooper Professor emeritus, accounting, University of Alberta; Edmonton
Oil producers in Alberta often tout the “ethical” oil that the province sells to the world. But I see little that is ethical about abandoning oil wells and laying waste to the land of farmers.
These oil producers have been wriggling out of their responsibilities for decades. When they are given subsidies (recently $1-billion from the federal government), the money seems to disappear down a hole with barely any orphan wells rehabilitated.
Canadian taxpayers should be enraged at how their money is being squandered. I certainly am.
We can thank Danielle Smith for greasing the wheels even further and, it looks, not blushing once.
Linda Hunter Calgary
Long live the King
Re “Canada should show more enthusiasm for King Charles’s coronation” (Feb. 21): I am reminded of standing on Parliament Hill on April 17, 1982, for the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution, including our groundbreaking Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It was a celebration of liberal democracy in an evolving constitutional monarchy.
The coronation of King Charles will be another opportunity to celebrate Canada’s parliamentary democracy and a monarchy that has served us well. We ignore the coronation as an opportunity to reaffirm our Constitution and democracy, that is the envy of many around the world, at our peril.
Richard Chambers Toronto
Offside
Re “Olympics are for everyone, even Russians, as unpopular as that is” (Sports, Feb. 24): The debate about sports as a unifier, versus sports as a state instrument to prove superiority, has a tortured history beginning in earnest at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Canada has signed the letter in question asking the International Olympic Committee to define “neutral.” At this point in time it is an esoteric argument, with no Olympic Games scheduled for the near future. Nothing of real consequence happens as a result.
Perhaps it is time to put more behind this endeavour and turn to professional athletes who have shown themselves to be less than neutral as it pertains to the war in Ukraine. Ban Russian athletes such as Alexander Ovechkin (still standing proudly with Vladimir Putin on Instagram) and others.
Columnist Cathal Kelly himself wrote that ”at some point soon, Ovechkin and his hockey-playing countrymen will have to pick a side” (March 5, 2022). Perhaps it is time to drive home the point.
Brett Kelly Haldimand County, Ont.
Looking back
Re “Outspoken artist Mendelson Joe blended music and art with activism” (Obituary, Feb. 22): Mendelson Joe’s father, Harry Mendelson, was my law partner. I never saw him smoking or drunk.
He was the only person I knew who could dictate a 25-page agreement without a note. He was a brilliant, well-respected lawyer. Mr. Joe’s mother, Elsie, was artistic, gracious and lighthearted. They did not deserve to be unfairly labelled in Mr. Joe’s autobiography.
The book was published 23 years ago. Both of Mr. Joe’s parents died long ago. Perhaps he changed his opinion of his parents, as many of us do as we age.
Donald Granatstein KC, LLM; Toronto
Curtain call
Re “Actor Gordon Pinsent, the friendly face and roguish heart of Canadian cinema, dead at 92″ (Obituary, Feb. 27): Gordon Pinsent was truly a Canadian treasure.
In the 1970s, on a trip to Newfoundland, my wife and I bought an autographed copy of his book The Rowdyman. We later got to see him perform as John, the small town Newfoundland mayor, in his play John and the Missus at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
My favourite line from the play came in answer to a question: “How are you, John?” His answer, delivered in perfect Newfoundland dialect: “No. 1.”
In 2012, we last saw him in a tribute to Leonard Cohen, who had won the Glenn Gould Prize, at Massey Hall in Toronto. He was one of those people who brought joy to life and made the world a better place to be.
Thanks to the “Rowdyman” for the great memories.
Bob Erwin Ottawa
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