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
...............................................................................................................................
The Canadian wall
Re Loonie Hits A New 14-Month Low After Oil Selloff (May 5): President Donald Trump wants a wall built to keep Mexicans out of the United States. He doesn't need a wall to keep Canadians out. Canada's government is doing the job for him.
Our Canadian dollarette is in 73-cent territory and falling, so as things stand, the majority of Canadians cannot afford to take that very short step across the border.
Shame on the dolts in Ottawa who have kept our economy tied to the petrodollar.
Jack Lowther, Victoria
...................................
Battle vs. war
Christy Clark's threat to ban the movement of thermal coal through Vancouver may be enough to swing the election her way, but it's remarkably cynical and short-sighted (Clark Defends Stand In Lumber Dispute – May 5).
The Canadian Dairy Commission chose to retaliate against ultrafiltered milk from the United States, and now the whole supply management system is under threat. As one of your columnists pointed out, this was a fight they were unwise to pick.
Similarly, Ms. Clark, assuming she wins, may live to regret the day when she chose to go toe-to-toe with the behemoth to our south, thereby putting any hope of a reasonable compromise on softwood lumber beyond reach.
James A. Duthie, Nanaimo, B.C.
...................................
Kangaroo court
Re Is The Senate Finally Accountable? (editorial, May 4): The Ethics Officer recently ruled on Senator Don Meredith's actions, and a committee of senators has recommended that Mr. Meredith should be expelled from the Senate. Your editorial argues that senators voting on the penalty Mr. Meredith should face is "a reasonable solution."
However, politicians are in a blatant conflict of interest when judging another politician, especially concerning the penalty for violating a code that also applies to them. Their bias problem is compounded by the fact that there is no specific penalty for Mr. Meredith's actions set out in the Senate's code of ethics or in any law.
And what if only a very slim majority of senators vote in favour of expelling him?
In every way, the Senate voting on Senator Meredith's penalty is essentially a kangaroo court.
A much more reasonable solution, one that respects the rules of natural justice and the rule of law, would be for the Senate to add a sliding scale of penalties for violations of its code (to supplement the provisions set out in the Constitution), and to empower the Ethics Officer to impose the penalty for any violation.
Duff Conacher, co-founder, Democracy Watch
...................................
You rock, Minister
I was thrilled to read your editorial, A Clear Path To Ending Abuses (May 5). Howard Saper's Independent Review of Ontario Corrections (IROC) is an honest, encompassing look at the conditions and services in Ontario's correctional facilities; his recommendations are just what the province needs.
Correctional health care is a public-health concern. Offenders are not incarcerated forever; they return to their communities and it's better for everyone that they return there healthier.
I applaud Marie-France Lalonde, the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, for her commitment to these recommendations and her ministry's approach, which entails transforming health-care services in correctional facilities, including exploring options to shift oversight and the provision of health-care services to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
My thanks to Ms. Lalonde and The Globe and Mail for such great work. You rock!
Rosemary Galbraith, member, Ontario Correctional Nurses' Interest Group; Milton, Ont.
...................................
I am Edie Lewis
At age 68.5, I have lost my desire or ability to be subtle. Letter writer Beverlee McIntosh (Lenses On Aging, May 5) is correct when she says your "bias about what an 'aging population' looks like is on display" in the photo you chose to publish to illustrate census data (In 'Historic Moment' For Canada, Seniors Now Outnumber Children, May 4).
You are welcome to take my photo in my hot-pink tank suit doing daily laps at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Complex, my home away from home – if you can catch me.
If you give me advance warning, I will wear one of my bikinis (orange, pink or aqua). To those who still stereotype seniors, I am Edie Lewis.
Edie Lewis, Brantford, Ont.
...................................
The Caisse responds
Re Private-sector role in Canada Infrastructure Bank raises conflict issues (May 5):
In questioning whether private-sector advisers might have a conflict of interest in the creation of Canada's new infrastructure bank, The Globe and Mail has an obligation to report all the facts and avoid leaving suggestions that are both incorrect and unjustified.
To be absolutely clear there is not now and has never been any connection between the Caisse's REM transit project and the creation of the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
The project that eventually became the REM was first unveiled in January of 2015, a full 10 months before the new federal government was elected. Consequently, the REM's financing was not, and could not have been, predicated on the existence of the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
In fact, our schedule calls for construction on the REM to begin this fall whereas Parliament has yet to approve the bank's creation.
It is true that the CEO of the Caisse is a member of the federal government's 14-person Advisory Council on Economic Growth that proposed the development of a national infrastructure strategy that included a Canada Infrastructure Bank. The recommendation was one of a number presented in two detailed reports that focused on topics as broad as trade, immigration, skills, innovation, venture capital and more.
Decisions with respect to the Infrastructure Bank's specific mandate, operations, leadership and governance all rest solely with the federal government.
Hopefully, the promised economic and public benefits of a Canada Infrastructure Bank will come to pass. The concept is innovative and exciting.
To assert, however, that the process of its creation bears some connection to the Caisse's REM project is both unfair and at obvious odds with the facts.
Ani Castonguay, Senior Vice-President, Public Affairs, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
...................................
The instigator rule
We have seen another hockey player go down with a concussion and it happens to be the best player in the National Hockey League, Sidney Crosby. Don Cherry said it best: Ever since the NHL brought in the instigator rule, it's been open season on the stars.
I know there are many who don't like fighting in the NHL, and to some extent, neither do I. When Guy LaFleur and Wayne Gretzky played, there were those who looked after them: No one dared to take a shot at either player. I also understand that we don't need goons playing in the league, but in the past players who filled the role could also score – John Ferguson, Bob Probert, Tie Domi to name a few. In today's game, it looks like the star players have a target on their backs: If you can take one of their star players out, you have a chance to win.
The NHL has to look at trying to protect the star players in the league. I enjoy watching Connor McDavid, Carey Price and all the other young talent coming up, not seeing them being targets and possibly injured.
Gregory Boudreau, Halifax
...................................
Auction theatre
In light of the ongoing bumping issues that have created negative PR for several airlines, I propose a seat-auction solution (Family Says They Were Booted From Delta Flight, Threatened With Jail – online, May 4).
Let's say everyone is seated on a plane and suddenly there is a need to bump (remove), say three people from the flight. A bumping seat-auction is then started.
An announcement is made to passengers that the airline is accepting bids from travellers to give up their seats.
First passenger says, "I want $5,000 to give up my seat."
Another passenger counters, "I'll take $3,500." Etc. Etc.
In the end, the seats may go for, say, $400 or $600, or $1,000, whatever the lowest price is that someone will accept to get off the plane. No reward points, no discounts, just cash. That way, everybody's happy and the airline can later determine whether or not overbooking is worthwhile.
Passengers would enjoy the activity, money – and entertainment value.
Harvey Borsuk, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que.