Seller’s remorse

Re: PM eyes killing Saudi LAV deal. John Ivison, Dec. 12 Killing the Saudi LAV deal will hurt thousands of London Ontario workers, a further economic chill after many other plant and store closures in the area. Let’s put the hurt on Saudi workers and investors: Impose an immediate ban on importing, refining or using Saudi blood oil anywhere in Canada. Much better to use ethically produced oil from our own country. We could even cancel the LAV deal as well if we absorb all the laid off workers in a big push to build Energy East. Enough of pointless virtue signalling. It’s time for leadership and action.

Donald B Bell, Kanata, Ont.

Canada might incur penalties exceeding a billion dollars were it to cancel the light-armoured-vehicle contract with Saudi Arabia. Well, what’s a billion dollars anyway?

Kathleen Wynne knows that we can cancel construction of two gas-fired power plants for just over one billion dollars. Stephen Harper knows that we can blow a billion dollars fixing an ill-conceived and poorly executed payroll system.

Justin Trudeau now knows that the government can bail out General Motors Canada to the tune of more than one billion dollars and learn nine years later that GM is folding up its Oshawa operations as soon as it impolitely can. He also knows that we can “lend” Bombardier a billion dollars only to see that company give half of its Challenger jet business to Airbus and lay off 5,600 workers.

Once governments have made a habit of spending a billion in return for little or nothing, then in the minds of politicians, a billion dollars is what one justifiably spends for nothing. So, why not spend another billion dollars in order not to sell some light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia?

Patrick Cowan, Toronto

BILL GRAVELAND / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Cancelling a Canadian LAV (light armoured vehicle) deal with Saudi Arabia would hurt thousands of Canadian workers. Canada should instead ban the use of Saudi oil, Donald B. Bell of Kanata writes.