Office towers in downtown Calgary.iStockPhoto / Getty Images
The lot
Re “Health Canada to review U.S. panel’s conclusion that common decongestant doesn’t work” (Online, Sept. 15): There has long been an enormous variety of head-cold remedies available, both at pharmacies and health-food outlets. None of them are consistently effective, including high-priced items such as Cold-FX and other ginseng derivatives.
This is not a new discovery. If phenylephrine is removed from the shelves, the rest of the lot should be as well. Full evidence of efficacy has never been present for any of them.
Colds are common, contagious and lead to absenteeism and lost productivity. The idea of relief or a cure sells. Unfortunately, desire for profit often trumps evidence of usefulness.
Perhaps P.T. Barnum was correct in saying the public likes to be fooled. He also said there is a sucker born every minute.
David Hughes Glass MD; Saugeen Township, Ont.
The office
Re “WFH” (Letters, Sept. 16): To those thinking that they don’t ever have to return to the office: Be careful what you wish for.
What is the difference between a Canadian working from home for a Canadian-based company and someone working for the same company from India? I can’t see any difference in the work, but I see a difference in salary and benefits.
Sure, there is positive impact to working from home in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But improvements in mass transit and urban planning can also reduce the impact of a daily commute.
As I approach retirement, I am grateful for the privilege of travelling to the office every workday for the past 35 years, earning a good salary with benefits, and having the pleasure to work with many colleagues. The social benefits of a communal workplace should not be overlooked when we consider our mental health.
Richard McFarlane Edmonton
Work rules
Re “Ontario court dismisses sex workers’ Charter challenge, rules laws are constitutional” (Sept. 19): There are many industries that have been dangerously exploitive of workers. Think of the garment industry.
Sex work seems no different, where the profession itself is not the cause of hurt, danger and exploitation, but rather our marginalization of it. It is driven underground, creating opportunities for danger and exploitation to appear.
We should listen to sex workers themselves. They do not want their work to go away. They ask to have a safe working environment, and we stop them from having that. We, then, are the problem.
The solution seems as obvious for sex work as it is for all work: Legalize the industry, bring it into the open, and regulate it.
Bill Hollings Toronto
Don’t mind the gap
Re “The quest for scientific wonders will never cease” (Editorial, Sept. 16): We are asked to imagine a train without wheels as we peer into the future. No imagination is needed.
Just jump onto Shanghai’s maglev train at Longyang Road Station to Pudong International Airport. It will cover the distance of 30 kilometres in eight minutes.
The technology exists; funding and willpower are what is lacking.
William O’Meara Toronto
We remember
Re “Private Jess Larochelle deserves the Victoria Cross” (Opinion, Sept. 16): I live in an area known as Currie, formerly Currie Barracks. It was named after General Sir Arthur Currie, leader of the Canadian forces in the First World War.
The developer has done a superb job in commemorating those who have done so much to preserve our way of life. Notable among the street names is Victoria Cross Boulevard.
Along this street are plaques honoring recipients of the Victoria Cross. I make it a point to ensure my grandchildren read these and are aware of the price paid by these folk on behalf of all Canadians.
I support retired general Rick Hillier’s position that Private Jess Larochelle be awarded the Victoria Cross now. Often, too little is done to acknowledge those whose contributions have meant so much to those who have survived together with our descendants.
Let us hope that those responsible for this award do the right thing quickly.
A. Webster Macdonald Jr. KC, Calgary
Well written
Re “Peter C. Newman was a legendary journalist and author - but I’ll remember him as a friend, too” (Arts & Books, Sept. 16): What a delight to read more from Robert Mason Lee.
His attunement to his subject and his wonderful descriptions are as evident in his polished portrait of his friend, Peter C. Newman, as they are in Death and Deliverance, his haunting 1992 recounting of the crash of a Hercules military transport aircraft on approach to Alert near the North Pole. One of my favourite books, a grippingly told, incredibly moving story.
It is a Canadian classic that deserves more attention than it has received in recent years.
Patrick Wolfe Victoria
On campus
Re “Why old, shared dorms are better than new, private student residences” (Sept. 16): I went to the University of Waterloo in the early 1970s and lived in residence for two semesters.
It consisted of floors with a combination of single, double and double-interconnecting rooms. There was one large common washroom per floor. Plus there was a common room with couches, a television and small kitchen. Each floor had 15 students.
The best feature was spirit. We would always get together as a floor and go to the cafeteria. We got to know each other as members of the same team, which was a lot of fun. There was also a senior don who monitored the floors for any problems.
This, in my humble opinion, is the best residence type, particularity for first- and second-year students.
Don Cooper Toronto
Some of the best times of my life were my three years in a student residence at the University of Toronto.
I lived in a two-bedroom unit. I got the bottom bunk because I arrived first.
There was fun and excitement with parties and pranks played with about 600 women and men in the residence facing us. Living and studying together was a lifesaver, from shared notes to comfort when sadness occurred.
The other great feature was the dining room with long tables seating a multitude. One might find themselves seated across from someone and suddenly drawn into conversation.
I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. The younger generation is more isolated with phones. Now some residences promote isolation, or “privacy.” If I wanted solitude and quiet, I went to the library.
It feels like this generation is losing social skills. Sadly, some residences seem to be contributing to it.
Joan Slover Wellesley, Ont.
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