Lecturing China was rich

Re Trudeau gets blunt with China over human rights, Sept. 2 Good for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for building closer economic ties with China. Improving the economy of both Canada and China is the right thing to do.

However our leaders, when travelling abroad on a trade mission, should resist the temptation to stand up on our righteous soap box and lecture the host nation on human rights issues — especially when our own track record is on shaky ground.

We have an unemployment rate higher than China’s; we have a dismal record of solving our First Nations people problems; 1 in 10 Canadians is living in poverty; thousands of Canadians are waiting for affordable housing; and in any given year there are reportedly 200,000 homeless people wandering around our streets looking for a place to sleep. And that’s just to mention a few of our unresolved issues.

This was a trade mission; stick to the business plan. Donald Cangiano, Oakville

It’s ironic that Justin Trudeau is in China admonishing them for lack of freedom of speech when in Canada we have never had less due to the heavy hand of “political correctness.” To speak one’s mind here is to invite being slapped down and branded with one of the many correct “phobic” labels concocted for the purpose of silencing dialogue and dissent.

It’s not “freedom of expression” that should be the watchwords here but “freedom from suppression” by the political and media class “correctors.” Paul Pepperall, Penetanguishene