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Trade's easy part
Someone once quipped that unemployment was just a rumour started by a bunch of people without jobs. Very amusing – except for those who find that their jobs have disappeared through globalization.
Louis-Philippe Rochon provides an interesting perspective on Brexit: "As an economist, I see in Brexit the revolt of the working class, lashing out at the institutions that have imposed unfair economic policies.
"This was a referendum on a failed economic regime that has been unable and unwilling to provide for all its citizens as opposed to the very few. Voting to remain in the EU was seen as a tacit approval of the institutional status quo. This was captured perfectly by one voter who said: 'If you've got money, you vote in. If you haven't got money, you vote out' " (We Kicked Around The Working Class. With Brexit, They're Finally Kicking Back – Report on Business, June 29).
Well, Brexit certainly has people talking and offering opinions. In same issue of The Globe, there is article on the North American leaders' meeting in Ottawa: Summit Will Highlight The Virtues Of Free Trade, Trudeau Says.
Highlighting virtues – that's the easy part.
Vic Bornell, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
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The European Common Market and global trading have been wonderful generators of wealth but that wealth has not been shared. In fact, it's the reverse. Public services are underfunded or cancelled, the middle class has shrunk dramatically and the new wealth has concentrated in a tiny percentage at the top.
British Prime Minister David Cameron and the Remain crowd seem incapable of grasping a very simple point: There are consequences to 30 years of increasing disparity. Donald Trump is a consequence, so is Bernie Sanders and so are Brexit walls against immigrants.
When you have less, sharing becomes harder.
Clive Doucet, Ottawa
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Brexit 'hysteria'
I was amused by Cambridge letter writer Yi Zhu's calling your editorial on Brexit "hysterical," and then making rhetorical statements straight out of the playbook of Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K.'s Independence Party (A Chosen Destiny – letters, June 28; Bloody Old England – editorial, June 25).
It seems to indicate little know-ledge of what the EU is: The Treaty of Rome (the EU's founding document) aspires to fostering an "ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe." In February, British Prime Minister David Cameron won an opt-out for the U.K. from "ever-closer union."
The EU cannot be compared to NAFTA. Those Leave supporters who wanted out of the EU because of xenophobia appear ignorant of the union their country chose to join in 1973.
Masud Sheikh, Oakville, Ont.
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I couldn't agree more with letter-writer Yi Zhu. The hysteria in The Globe about Brexit is ludicrous and somewhat hypocritical.
In Canada, nationalism is not a dirty word; we have been chastised in the past for not celebrating our "Canadianess."
If Canadians were exposed to the same changes that the Brits have been, we would be upset as well and likely vote to exit.
Bev Sitter, Calgary
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Just say no
Re Why Nike's New Tennis Dress Is Causing A Flap At Wimbledon (online, June 28): Nike doesn't expect male tennis players to dress in Speedos but expects female players to wear an infantilizing babydoll dress that looks like it was designed by Vladimir Nabokov.
While the (I suspect clearly non-tennis playing) bright light who designed that ridiculous dress should be fired, it would also send an important signal to our daughters if, instead of meekly wearing the lingerie-disguised-as-tennis-gear, those professional female athletes stood up for themselves and refused to wear it.
Julie Maciura, Toronto
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Numbed to terror
Re Dozens Killed In Suicide Attack At Istanbul Airport (June 29): What happened at Ataturk airport is referred to in this article and in media coverage generally as the latest "in a string of terrorist attacks" in Turkey.
Internationally, it appears to be viewed as nothing more than our daily dose of terror.
Having travelled from Istanbul a few days ago, and having spent countless hours in that busy and stuffy airport, for me there is something inherently wrong with this portrayal and its air of "normalcy."
Yes, there have been multiple attacks, but people Turks have not grown accustomed to terror.
There was nothing "dangerous" about that city. We have become desensitized to carnage like this, if not emotionally, politically. We must continue to ask: What can we as an international community do for Istanbul, other than "pray" for it?
Joudy Sarraj, Berlin
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Defensible, in fact
Re John Tory Gets Lost On The Subway (editorial, June 29): A few years ago, when the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting was held in Chicago, I attended a research presentation about how development of transportation infrastructure led urban development. Importantly, the research dealt with the causal effect: Installing transportation lines spurs development of the area.
Seen in this light, Toronto Mayor John Tory's subway plan – a proposed one-stop, $3.2-billion extension – is visionary rather than "indefensible." From an equity standpoint, building a subway in an already developed area would promote inequality by giving more to areas that appear to be well-served already.
Toronto will undoubtedly grow around any subway extension. It remains to be seen whether or not the resulting growth in the proposed location would produce a positive return on our $3.2-billion investment, but I suspect that, over the long term, it would.
Geoffrey Milos, Toronto
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Let's hope so, eh
The Parliamentary Budget Officer's report "concludes that federal finances are sustainable and the federal debt is on track to be eliminated entirely in 50 years" (Budget Czar Says Provincial Finances Are Not Sustainable – June 29).
Just think: Fifty years on it will be the year 2066 – Princess Charlotte will be 51, Prince George (whether or not "of Canada" is another discussion ) will be 53, the Maple Leafs will still not have won the Cup, and if still above ground, our current Prime Minister will be 95, while any surviving boomers will be centenarians.
Oh, and the year 2066 will also see the 1,000th anniversary of Hastings. But will we really have the will to eliminate that debt, avoid nuclear war, the worst effects of climate change, another population explosion, or such "unk-unks" as being whacked by a honkin' great asteroid ?
Let's hope so, eh.
Richard Seymour, Brechin, Ont.