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Out of country and out of excuses

It appears Rod Phillips left for St. Barts around the Dec. 13. Premier Doug Ford claims he was unaware his minister was gone. In the midst of the worst health and economic crisis of this century, are we expected to believe our premier and his finance minister had no calls? No Zoom conferences? No discussions or contact for three weeks? Mr. Phillips is not alone in his dereliction of duty and public trust.

Jim Young, Burlington

A letter to ex-minister Phillips

Dear Mr. Phillips: I hope you had a lovely vacation in St. Barts. While you were off basking in the Caribbean, most people chose to follow the rules. We stayed home, we missed seeing our family and friends over Christmas ... we did what we were supposed to do. We are bombarded on a daily basis with the mantras of “wear a mask,” “social distance” and “stay home.” What part of this didn’t you understand?

You have disrespected everyone who has followed the guidelines set out by government. You have slapped us in the face with your selfish and irresponsible behaviour.

Dorothy Tomlinson, Fonthill

A letter to Premier Ford

I learned the news of our finance minister having a fabulous vacation on the luxurious island of St. Barts in the month of December during a global pandemic.

The double standard raises its ugly head once again. I consider the minister’s action to be morally reprehensible. I fail to understand that no one in cabinet knew of his whereabouts especially with all the issues surrounding the pandemic. There are small businesses being decimated by government’s overreach, as well as physical and mental health, relationships and education.

We have been ordered to avoid non-essential travel by all levels of government and yet we have a minister who chooses to defy it. The minister’s apology is insufficient as he knew the rules and chose to ignore them.

Joanne Venzon, Hamilton

Phillips thought he was above the rules

I read with disgust the news that our finance minister decided to go ahead with his Christmas vacation despite the ban on unnecessary travel.

I received a call one week before Christmas from my daughter in Kingston to break the news that she and her husband decided not to make the trip to Hamilton to celebrate with us. They felt strongly they should respect the recommendation from public health and the premier to stay home. We supported their decision as we too felt it was our duty to do so. All the same, our hearts were broken.

What I would like to know is what made Mr. Phillips think he was not bound by the same rules as the rest of us? We could see a lockdown coming. Why didn’t he? Patricia Mahoney, Ancaster

Rod Phillips next job?

I am delighted former finance minister Rod Phillips went to St. Barts on vacation. If he thought no one would notice and he could keep it secret, he has demonstrated that he is far too stupid to be finance minister. Maybe he should try for a job as dogcatcher, if he thinks he can pass the interview.

Edward A. Collis, Burlington

A sorry lot in government

So a minister sneaks out of a locked-down province, leaving a fireside Christmas greeting to be played. When caught lying to his constituents, he sends his mea culpa saying mistakes were made, but a mistake doesn’t require subterfuge and misleading video, does it? No, it’s just another rich kid telling his subordinates to do what your told or we’ll fine you or close your restaurant, but I’ll just come back from my vacation and stay home for two weeks! What a sorry lot we have at all levels of government.

Rob Montgomery, Hannon

Dr. Kelton is too modest

Re: The man who straddled two eras (Dec. 26)

In his great tribute to Sen. David Braley, Dr. John Kelton accurately summed up Hamilton’s philanthropic force of nature in the sentence: “Everything he touched he wanted to make better.”

I got to know the power of these words when I served at city hall. Mr. Braley was a businessperson to be sure, and he was proud of it, but he was also a citizen who gave back to the community in which he succeeded. And the city will be forever grateful.

It was also kind of Dr. Kelton to acknowledge some of us who occupied the office of mayor and were able to see first-hand the largesse David Braley bestowed on many Hamilton institutions. But in giving due credit, Dr. Kelton was too modest to mention another giant whose work helped the senator channel his munificence: Dr. Kelton himself.

Without his support, guidance and vision, Hamilton Public Health and McMaster Family Medicine at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre might never have happened. Thank you, too, John Kelton.

Larry Di Ianni, Hamilton

Braley will always be missed

People will likely never know all that David Braley did for this city. I think he would be OK with that.

Our first senator from Hamilton in generations. Chair of HECFI in the 1980s. Recipient of the Order of Canada. Commissioner and saviour of the CFL. Protector and promoter of the Royal Botanical Gardens Rock Garden. Owner of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Creator of hundreds of jobs, successful companies, and investments of great generosity for our schools and hospitals. And so much more.

His passing was much too quiet for a man who did so much. At the heart of it, he loved Hamilton. He used his considerable talent, energy, wealth, network and skills to make it better. Thank you David. You will be missed. David Estok, Burlington