U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on a National Security Initiative virtually with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, inside the East Room at the White House in Washington on Spet. 15.TOM BRENNER/Reuters
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Altogether now
Re Kenney Steered Alberta Into A New COVID-19 Crisis – Now He’s Backpedalling (Sept. 17): The pandemic has highlighted the pitfalls of having the federal government “pass the buck” and allow each province to mandate its own response, particularly in Alberta.
Health care is one jurisdiction that should demand equal and equitable delivery to every Canadian coast to coast. I suspect COVID-19 may have been better controlled if everyone had been on the same page at the same time. Ending decentralization could have other benefits too, such as easing the implementation of national pharmacare and dental programs.
This is not the first pandemic, and it won’t be the last. The experience of this one should be a learning experience for what to do differently in the future.
Joanne Wiggins RN Victoria
At the polls
Re Voting Agency Warns Of Election Challenges (Sept. 16): On top of everything else, this’ll be my cue to opt out. If this was the election nobody needed, I’m all for giving a break to the countless volunteers who make necessary elections happen quickly and professionally.
Jonathan Bishop Toronto
I was a poll supervisor for advance polling. Poll workers logged 13- to 15-plus-hour days. There was no breakroom or kitchen.
Because this is a federal election, provincial rules on masking and vaccination do not apply. Indeed, over four days we had a number of electors who did not wear masks. We treated them the same as every other voter and there were no incidents.
Training did not include anything on protesters. As my team consisted of students or retired individuals, two of whom used walking canes and one a walker frame, it was highly improbable that we could have removed anybody from the site.
When voting, please respect poll workers who are toiling under extremely challenging conditions for little more than minimum wage, to allow us to exercise our democratic right.
Alan Humphries Victoria
Leadership lessons
Re The Pre-fab Erin O’Toole Is Sticking To The Script (Sept. 16): At Ottawa’s last Capital Pride festival before the pandemic, how many participants represented each party? The Liberals had about 200, the NDP 150 and the Conservatives perhaps 12. That is not a misprint!
Erin O’Toole may have turned, but it is inconceivable to me that the majority of his rank and file have as well. Similarly, I find that much of the Conservative platform, at least for this election cycle, has to be a 160-page fantasy.
I think most Conservative MPs would balk at having to follow through on many of their leader’s liberal promises.
Walter Wilmot Ottawa
Re When It Comes To Indigenous Reconciliation, The Liberals Have Not Kept Their Promises (Sept. 14): We predictably saw personal attacks as the campaign wound down. In the case of Justin Trudeau, we saw something I believe unprecedented: multiple ex-members of his party denouncing him.
Jody Wilson-Raybould has been vocal against Mr. Trudeau, but Celina Caesar-Chavannes has also given scathing descriptions of him. And when questioned by Annamie Paul during the debate about anti-feminist behaviour, he chose to attack her.
For me, his nonanswer and attacking response lends more credence to the negative reports from his previous inner circle.
Rob McCullough Edmonton
Re Alberta’s Pandemic Response Spurs Vicious Finger-pointing By Trudeau, O’Toole (Sept. 17): What kind of leaders do Canadians need? No one wants a street fighter. In the years I have spent researching leadership effectiveness, one element stands out: good character.
Do they have the courage to tell the truth, even when it is potentially unpopular? Are they respectful of opponents? Do they show compassion and humility even in difficult circumstances?
Canadians need leaders they can trust, leaders with integrity and who can manage their behaviour with generosity and common sense. The recent debate – which highlighted brawling – did nothing to help us see those qualities.
Kathleen Redmond East Gwillimbury, Ont.
Sidelined
Re Canada Caught Off Guard By Exclusion From Security Pact (Sept. 17): Canada was “kept in the loop” on talks among the AUKUS countries. That means one is out of the room. If one is out of the room, one is out of the deal.
Skilled politicians, senior bureaucrats and experienced business people know this. Canada should not be claiming surprise, but it deserves to feel embarrassed.
John Budreski Vancouver
It is clear to me, from many actions, that the United States has no confidence in the current Canadian government.
Disappointment that Canada has so far failed to ban Huawei, even though the other Five Eyes members have done so, seems to be confirmed in the lack of President-Prime Minister communication, as well as the defence agreement between the U.S., Britain and Australia.
The U.S. knows it can count on Australia – on Canada, not so much.
Joe O’Brien Halifax
Canada’s exclusion from this security pact should be seen as an undeniable evaluation of the country’s status, particularly its security status.
To be effective, a security pact cannot afford weak links. The recent breach at the infectious disease lab in Winnipeg would not inspire confidence (Chinese Major-General Worked With Fired Winnipeg Lab Scientist – Sept. 17).
Perhaps this will prompt Canada into developing security systems that meet the requirements of the 21st century.
Jo Balet Mississauga, Ont.
In 1987, the Mulroney government announced it would develop a nuclear submarine fleet. It named two national contenders, Britain and France, that could meet Canadian needs for efficiency and cost.
I was a counsellor in our Paris embassy and attended negotiations with French officials. They were skeptical, describing themselves as “the bad boys of NATO” in contrast to Britain, which had long military and commercial ties with Canada. No one was more surprised than the French when told they had been selected to build the submarines.
The United States was opposed to Canada’s plans, preferring to maintain their own Arctic activities without Canadian surveillance. (Canada’s nuclear submarine ambitions ended in 1988, the product of tight budgets and the Cold War winding down.)
The U.S. has again set Canada aside in its proposal with Britain to outfit Australia with nuclear submarines. Perhaps it is time for Canada to again return to the French.
Robert Hage Ottawa
Whenever Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor get safely out of China, the AUKUS security pact will likely become CAUKUS.
Barbara Yaffe Vancouver
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