LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Create panel to look at province’s future
Re: Fair Deal Panel Wave Really Amounts to a Distraction, Opinion, June 23
I read with interest Rob Breakenridge’s column. I think that the recommendations of the panel, if implemented, will only be expensive and divisive with no practical result. Referenda on highly technical and misrepresented matters like equalization will lead to a waste of resources and potentially unintended consequences.
We’ve seen a great deal of aggression, anger and anxiety from our leaders, which reflects the difficult times we are in. I think we must now put our minds to more positive purposes.
We’ve had a panel on the economy. I’m suggesting government establish a non-partisan, transparent and representative group to look at the society we want for Alberta’s future. It would explore matters related to social services, health, wellness, education, racism, policing and Indigenous participation. It would provide a vision and a roadmap for Alberta’s future that could unite us and strengthen us for the struggles ahead.
John Mcwilliams, Calgary
Addressing the costs of COVID-19
I am deeply concerned about our collective financial future given the cost of the COVID-19 response. I would like the government to consider allowing a limited-time opportunity for Canadians to collapse their RRSPS, thereby paying tax currently instead of being taxed annually over future decades.
Canadians hold an estimated $1 trillion in RRSPS. If we assume a 25 per cent tax rate (to match the rate that currently applies when a Canadian becomes a non-resident), an uptake of 80 per cent could generate $200 billion of tax. An added bonus would be the economic stimulus provided by having $600 billion of tax paid money in the hands of Canadians years earlier than anticipated.
What a golden opportunity to help pay for the mounting public cost of COVID-19. Much better than passing the problem along to our children and grandchildren.
John Keating, Calgary
Long-term care restrictions cruel
Re: “We have failed elderly when they most need help,” Opinion, June 24
Thank you Catherine Ford for addressing a problem that no one seems to want to talk about — the devastation caused by not being able to hug and hold our loved ones in long-term care.
My husband of almost 50 years has dementia and was in the hospital for three months and is now in longterm care. I finally got to see him, through a window, after not seeing him for 10 weeks.
He does not understand what is happening in the world and certainly does not understand why I cannot come in. It is cruel. I feel he will die of a broken heart before I get to hug him. It breaks my heart.
There has to be a solution. I know many feel that we should take our chances and be allowed into facilities. Set aside a room for us to meet and disinfect it after we leave or whatever. We just need that contact; it is so important for the well-being of all of us.
Dianne Elson, Calgary
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