Lest we forget gas-price gouging
On my way to the cemetery Sunday, I drove by several gasoline stations. The night before the price of gas was $1.20 per litre; this morning it was $1.25. I looked at the poppies on the passenger seat I was taking to the cemetery, thought of the 5-cent overnight increase that coincided with this day, and felt disgusted. To all those insensitive and egotistical CEOs, to those uncaring members of same corporate boards and to those self-serving shareholders of the petroleum conglomerates: may you all choke on the profits you made Sunday. These profits were made on the backs of all those whose lifeless bodies washed ashore on foreign beaches, were
U.S., Canada: Vive la différence
Re Social conseravatives can’t turn clock
back, Nov. 10 Chantal Hébert hit the nail on the head in this column. Canadians have a much different relationship to their government than do Americans. We accept that government has a meaningful role to play in our daily lives;we only disagree on how intrusive that role should be. Americans by and large prefer less government in their every day lives, especially when it comes to social programs. Witness the fact that we see our medicare as a defining natiional characteristic of Canada; Americans would have none of a government-funded national medicare program for everyone from cradle to grave as we do. Jason Kenney will never be prime minister until he moderates his view on the role of government to be more in line with mainstream Canadian thinking. We have flirted with, but in the end always rejected, extreme right-wing approaches to governing. The U.S. Tea Party would never find a home here and thank goodness for that. If the Conservative Party truly wants to replace the Liberals as the natural governing party of Canada, it needs to return to the party it was in the days of Joe Clark, Robert Stanfield and even Brian Mulroney — fiscally conservative but socially progressive, to some degree at least. John Bruce, Niagara Falls
Our energy policy: supply U.S.
Re Canadian oil should first be shipped
east, Nov. 7 I share Thomas Mulcair’s view that Canada should have policies that protect its own energy security needs. Too bad that NAFTA — the ageold elephant in the room — forbids it. As much as our politicians want to pretend that free trade is irrelevant, it remains to this day a pressing policy problem. Canada exports more than half its oil to the U.S. while importing oil from abroad to meet the needs of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. This is foolish. NAFTA’s Chapter 6 locks in existing levels of Canadian oil supply to the U.S., subject to very narrow exceptions. Government policy that would redirect any of the U.S. supply to eastern Canada is prohibited. Canada already has a national energy policy. It is to ensure that America’s needs are met regardless of the cost to Canada. Paul Bigioni, Pickering buried in mud-filled trenches or never found, or are now only small white crosses in fields throughout the world and who are, sadly for many of us, only a distant memory. Those lives were readily sacrificed to protect all that is right, just and decent in societies everywhere. Little did the fallen know that their lives also disappeared from the arms of their loved ones to protect the freedom of corporations to exploit and gouge, and provide governments with the licence to oppress their citizenry. Regrettably we also live in a global society where substance has given way to fluff, where values are determined by the size of bank accounts
New $20 bill a dog’s breakfast
Re A bill you can boil, Editorial Nov. 9 Our new $20 bill is a pitifully pathetic design. Perhaps the mint has contracted out to the designers of Canadian Tire money? Overall it looks like the sort of “phony dollars” one encounters in junk mail from low-end big-box furniture retailers. As a lover of beautiful typefaces, I’m insulted by the wretched distortion of the (tooexpanded) sans serif for the word “Canada.” The three lower case A’s are so poorly done they could be O’s. This bill is a real dog’s breakfast of discordant elements. Oh how I wish they’d consulted a design professional. Keith Branscombe, Toronto How about putting a local on our money? A “true” Canadian and an “original” Canadian? This Canadian could be our head of state or a provincial lieutenant governor. It could also be a First Nations person. In time, our first Canadians might begin to feel pride and that this is “their” country again, not a foreign colony. Dennis Regan, Uxbridge
No to shopping on Victoria Day
Re Door opens to Victoria Day shopping,
Nov. 9 What nonsense. Extra hours do not contribute to additional sales and profits. There may be a slight increase in sales initially but it would be temporary at best. And most retailers will simply spread their payroll dollars over more hours, resulting in less customer service. The retailer will gain nothing in the long run and the customer will experience less service — it’s a loselose situation. As for the retailer who wants to enjoy the same benefits as those in “tourist areas” — relocate. Let’s get our priorities straight and leave our statutory holidays alone. Spend some time with the family, improve our quality of life. Donald Cangiano, Oakville and where hope continues to fall to the ground along with our tears. This current world state, however, is just fine with the power elite.
There are now, and there have always been, viable options for people to exercise. Unfortunately we live in a global society that fears fear itself, where complacency is the order of the day and where we can’t wait to rush home and lock the door behind us at night.
The bells toll, but there is no one left to bravely confront the cold wall that is corporate and political. The French may have been on to something more than 200 years ago.
Lest we forget. Vincent Colucci, Aurora
Heed Dutch approach to casinos
Re Casino backers playing with a stacked
deck, Nov. 7 When we last visited Amsterdam, we dropped into a local casino. The building was not prominent, nor did lights and billboards ostentatiously advertise its presence. Most surprising was the security desk at which each visitor had to sign in in order to obtain permission to enter.
If you are on welfare, or on a list of problem gamblers, you cannot enter. Period. A responsible attitude. Obviously gambling is not a big deal there — it is legal but not glamorous. Marion Bartlett, Brampton
Marijuana policy going to pot
Re Growing pot in Canada meets tougher
penalty, Nov. 8 It’s sad to see Canada going in reverse on marijuana decriminalization. The U.S. looked to the evenhanded approach Canadians were employing and now they’ll be the recipients of a tax revenue that never existed before.
To that end, maybe it’s time we flood our court system with sixplant criminals, pack the jails with potheads. We can dress them in pink and use them for our new oil farm chain gangs, like in Arizona. Richard Kadziewicz, Scarborough
Whither Toronto’s city planners?
Re Building a healthy city, Editorial Nov. 10 If I learned anything from my urban planning studies it was that a blend of residential, retail and employment (light manufacturing, office, etc.) was the formula for an ideal urban neighbourhood.
It was presented that residents should be able to live, shop and work within close proximity and to utilize public transit and thereby not contribute to traffic congestion by having to commute long distances by car. Did Toronto city planners not learn the same thing?
Closing the Christie plant and rezoning the land from industrial to residential means 550 people will now have to commute out of the neighbourhood for jobs. Bob Hunter, Cobourg