Alternatives dwindling in province

Re Austerity measures not helping Ontarians, March 18 The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the cutback push begun by former premier Dalton McGuinty will contribute to a slowdown in economic growth. Translation: high unemployment. A day later, we learned about the new transit plan being pursued by the Toronto Region Board of Trade, which would take $2 billion annually from the pockets of Ontarians.

This is on top of the hundreds of millions in penalties we will have to fork out for cancelled power plants, the $1 billion lost to the eHealth and ORNGE scandals, and the sky-high cost of electricity due to subsidies for wind power. The future for Ontarians for years to come seems bleak indeed. It will get worse if our credit rating is downgraded given its debt. Let’s hope the damage will not be as severe as in European countries.

Darmo Sugeng, Mississauga Why label the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives “leftleaning,” as you did in this article, when you rarely apply the term “right-leaning” to, say, the Fraser Institute?

Brian Young, Toronto

Re Cyprus rejects EU bailout bid, March 20 Upon hearing the news that the EU and IMF have sanctioned the seizure of Cypriot bank deposits as a condition of releasing bailout funds, most Canadians will not even blink, as the island is a world a way. Aside from selectively pick-pocketing affluent Russian nationals and institutions, which surely will not be without consequence, these measures set a dangerous precedent for the global banking system. There will be a net negative effect, as the geopolitical collateral damage from a Cypriot banking collapse will far outweigh any positive benefits.

Alex Duhaney, Ottawa