24 Sussex Drive, built between 1866 and 1868, is the residence of the prime minister.
Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com
..................................................................................................................................
This old house
That the official residence for the leader of the Canadian government is an abandoned, crumbling ruin is a national disgrace. (Ottawa Mulls Renovations Beyond 24 Sussex, Feb. 3).
The reluctance of successive prime ministers to renovate because of petty party politics is pathetic. Let there be a non-partisan fund set up so that philanthropists of all political stripes can support the building of a home worthy of the prime minister. The government can provide matching funds if need be.
Tear down the old place; build something that meets current standards, and that can become a source of pride for all Canadians.
Bill Adams, Victoria
.........................................
After noting, goggle-eyed, that the prime minister's decrepit residence needs $40-million in renovations, I can only wonder who, in their right mind, would even consider approving the idiotic plan to sink that amount of Canadian taxpayers' hard-earned dollars into an antiquated structure.
For far, far less than that, couldn't the place be demolished and a brand new super-luxury home erected in its place? A bidding war among builder would almost certainly result in a reasonably decent price.
Peter A. Lewis-Watts, Barrie, Ont.
.........................................
How do we fix 24 Sussex and Stornoway? Make it a renovation reality TV show, paid for by a surtax on developers. Make it a contest between the TV media companies to see who will show it, and let's all watch the renovations of both houses.
From the choice of architects to watching Mike Holmes make it right, I can see a couple of years of entertainment.
Barbara Klunder, Toronto
.........................................
Hire Canadian
Your article on arts organizations hiring non-Canadian leaders made me groan in frustration (The Outsiders Who Got In, Feb. 3).
Every now and then we seem to go through a cycle where directors of arts organizations can't seem to get their collective head around the fact that we have a vibrant, flourishing cultural sector which is fully capable of filling most of its top jobs from within the country.
Non-Canadians should not be routinely prospected, but only considered in exceptional circumstances, especially given that all these outfits receive substantial government support.
Chris Marston, Toronto
.........................................
Joy of chit-chat
Thank you Elizabeth Renzetti for reminding us just how important human contact is to us all (No Lines, No Registers, No Fun: Amazon Go's Sterile Future, Feb. 3).
As an educator, a health promoter and a fellow human who enjoys chats in grocery store lines and the like, I agree heartily – and so does the research. In a time of escalating concern about mental health (not to mention opioid use, happiness or lack thereof ), how about we all make an effort to extend a friendly hello or maybe even just a kind glance. Simple gestures have potentially life-changing impact.
Cindy Andrew, Victoria
.........................................
I was thrilled to read Ms. Renzetti's defence of line-talkers. Amazon Go is just one example of technology that's streamlining daily tasks in the name of efficiency. Most of us seem willfully blind to all the intangible, non-commodifiable losses we incur as a result of this process – one of which, Ms. Renzetti points out, is social connection.
Efficiency is appealing, but to what end? It's beginning to seem that technology is reducing the time it takes to consume goods and services simply to allow for more time to consume other goods and services.
If this kind of efficiency is treated as a virtue for its own sake, people are reduced to mere economic units. I, for one, am not content to let myself be defined as such. Amazon Go can go take a hike. I'll be talking to someone in the grocery line.
Jody Zink, Victoria
.........................................
Pipeline politics
For as complex as the Trans Mountain pipeline issue may appear to be, there is also a political simplicity to it (Notley Threatens Trade Battle With B.C. Over Trans Mountain, Feb. 1).
It is this: B.C. Premier John Horgan is playing to his voting constituency – and his Green Party allies, all three of them, by seat – in his battle to keep the pipeline from running through British Columbia. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is likewise playing to hers.
All of this is fair and, in some ways, maybe even reasonable, at least from their personal political perspective. Mr. Horgan and Ms. Notley were elected to represent their view of provincial interests, not national ones.
That responsibility belongs solely to Justin Trudeau and the feds. The Prime Minister has stated that the line will proceed.
He has acknowledged that Canada – all of Canada – loses when a vital commodity cannot be brought to world markets, at world-market pricing.
Have we not talked this to death? I ask our Prime Minister to put a stop to the endless going-nowhere chat and just get on with the job.
Alan Coates, Cambridge, Ont.
.........................................
The Trans Mountain pipeline debate presents a major political problem for Canada. But this is an example of a significant problem that could be resolved with a made-in-Canada technical solution.
How about we design, construct, inspect and maintain the pipeline to Canadian nuclear pipe standards before a rupture can occur. If done properly, the probability of a pipe rupture leading to an oil spill can be made extremely small.
Of course, it will be expensive, like everything else of high quality. But an expensive, leak-proof pipeline is a much better option than the two other conventional ones – namely no pipeline or a standard pipeline, which can be prone to leakage.
Paul James Sedran, Mississauga
.........................................
Alternative for Amazon
It saddens me to learn that Toronto's offer to Amazon is a pig sty of a block in an inaccessible, rundown area of Toronto (Fixer-Upper: Can Toronto Turn A Patch Of Urban Wasteland Into Amazon's Jewel, Feb. 3).
Did the city not read the wish list given by Amazon? Airport nearby. Public transit. Reasonable home prices.
That equals suburban Downsview in north Toronto (on main highway and transit lines, and close to Toronto Pearson International Airport). That would give our pitch some gravitas.
Rob Graham, Claremont, Ont.