Letters: O Canada, the truth hurts sometimes

Readers weigh in on various concerns and controversies but also express hope that our nation will endure

Columnist tells it like it is Re: FIRST READING: Canada intervenes (again) to stop housing prices going down — Tristin Hopper, June 23; and FIRST READING: Official Vancouver World Cup guide includes tips on how to do illicit drugs — Tristin Hopper, June 26 Many thanks to Tristan Hopper and the National Post for delineating how absurd Canada has become. The National Post is exemplary in pointing out exactly what Canada is achieving with Mark Carney at the helm (and the sinking feeling so many citizens are experiencing in the process).

Case in point, the prime minister really understands housing — he is going to make a decision about the dump at 24 Sussex Drive and also bail out the B.C. condo market. What can’t this man do? The PM’s abandoned official mansion deserves to be preserved as an example (warning) of what government bureaucracy can achieve.

Canadians, and the world, should flock to this attraction to learn this lesson. It is unfortunate that another prime example (the historic Daly Building at the intersection of Sussex Drive and Rideau Street in Ottawa) met an untimely end a number of years ago after similar prolonged dithering about its fate. I’d like to suggest that rather than submit 24 Sussex to ridiculously expensive retrofitting, we use it for a reality show competition on the CBC to boost our national broadcaster’s sagging ratings.

We don’t need world-class architects to figure this out — Canada has more than enough do-it-yourself designers and handymen to do the job. Tristin Hopper also informed us about how Vancouver’s official FIFA guide contained tips instructing visitors how to do illicit drugs. (B.C’.s normalization of drug culture is another outstanding example of Canadian stupidity.)

Bring people from around the world to watch soccer, and provide a real lesson for them about how we have dealt with the drug scourge. B.C. is right up there with that other West Coast high-achiever, California, when it comes to creepy, dangerous streets. The truth hurts, but we owe a big thank you to Tristin Hopper for pointing these facts out!

Barbara Okun, Scarborough, Ont. Canadians confident our nation will endure Read the above headline again, and notice what it hides: three in four Canadians are confident the country will still be standing half a century from now. That is the story.

Framing a vote of confidence as a crisis of doubt says more about the appetite for declinist headlines than about the national mood. Consider the timeframe. Fifty years is not a forecast; it is a guess.

In 1976, no one foresaw the Canada of today. Admitting we cannot see clearly to 2076 is not despair — it is honesty. Treating ordinary humility about the distant future as a verdict on the country is a sleight of hand.

Countries do not endure because their citizens are free of doubt. They endure because, doubts and all, people keep choosing them. Canadians plainly still are.

James Doyle, Golden, B.C. ‘I’d rather sell my house and be alive’ When it comes to health care, “equal access” means very little to an individual struggling to access care in Canada. Inability to get into a family clinic, walk-in clinics that book up within minutes of the phone line opening each day, tests and treatments that require months or years of waiting — if my health was on the line and I could pay cash to get care, I’d do it.

It is unsurprising to me that Canadians are moving to the U.S. for better access to health care. I’d rather lose my house and be alive, than die knowing everyone around me had equally poor access to care. Scott Newson, Nanaimo B.C.

I got a laugh out of the headline on Colin Craig’s op-ed (Carney deserves health-care kudos). Essentially, the op-ed argued that Prime Minister Mark Carney should be lauded for doing nothing — not interfering in Alberta’s health-care reforms. Premier Danielle Smith is doing all of the lifting but the PM is applauded for sitting on his hands and not using the Canada Health Act to bludgeon the province into submission to continue rationing health care for Albertans.

Well, let’s all celebrate and put another feather in his cap, shall we? This is just another item to cite for the separatists in this country. It’s not enough that the provinces have go to Ottawa on hands and knees for permission to actually try to fix things for their citizens.

Now, they need to praise Ottawa, too. Tim Harkema, Calgary Liberals aided by political amnesia The political amnesia of voters helps explain why support for the federal Liberals seems stamped on many Canadians’ birth certificates.

The Conservatives have not figured this out and until they do, cannot defeat it. Mark Carney enthusiasts may grumble at paying a few extra bucks for groceries, or joke that the loonie and their vacation destination are both going south. But all is conveniently forgotten to ensure Liberal victory.

The headline to Carson Jerema’s column nails it: “Mark Carney is our Forever PM.” Forever is a long time but it’s an enviable combo federal Liberals enjoy: runaway support for the party, and a current leader whose coolness is seen as efficiency. But the secret sauce?

What I call Carney’s “vintage” or “retro” appeal to voters of a certain age. He reminds them of the mid-century Canadian politician their parents liked and trusted. No flash, a man in a good suit.

Dependable, safe. Like the former Canada Savings Bond. But as they do in other influential spheres, the post-war generation will have a starring role, this time ensuring Carney or his successor stays at the helm.

The cause célèbre this time? Retirement. It’s well underway for boomers, many of whom haven’t saved enough or worry they haven’t.

Meanwhile inflation, like a termite, eats away at everyone’s retirement income, regardless of political affiliation. Ultimately, this demographic will look to one party for help. And their best chance to get it will be the Liberals staying in power.

Dorothy Lipovenko, Westmount, Que. ‘Not noticing’ poor excuse for antisemitic message Re: Counterpoint: The Muslim Association of Canada’s recent conference was about faith and community — Sharaf Sharafeldin, June 30; and Youth at Toronto Muslim convention express desire for ‘Jew free’ community — Terry Newman, May 28 I read Sharaf Sharafeldin’s rebuttal of Terry Newman’s column about the Muslim Association of Canada’s (MAC) convention in May with much interest and a healthy dose of skepticism. Among some of the more controversial elements to come out of the event was a youth session, where participants were invited to create a word cloud describing the community they wanted to build in Canada.

The term “Jew free” appeared and was not addressed by the session facilitator. Mr. Sharafeldin attributed this to the facilitator not noticing. During my tenure both as national manager of the Newspaper in Education program, as a teacher-educator, and even into retirement, I have led quite literally hundreds of workshops across Canada and beyond.

I can say categorically that a workshop leader does not have the luxury of “not noticing” what goes on in the room, especially in a situation such as this where you have set up an activity calling for audience participation. The leader has an obligation to process with the group what it has created. I would suggest that this facilitator did not have the necessary skills to lead a workshop.

E. Joan O’Callaghan, Toronto Stop high-speed Alto train in its tracks The expression “the train has left the station” simply means “an opportunity has already passed and cannot be undone.” Canadian taxpayers should speak as one and tell our Liberal government that the federal Alto train “should not leave the station.” Speaking as one taxpayer, I do not want one red cent of my taxes going to build a high-speed rail system that is estimated to cost as much as $90 billion.

There is little doubt the final cost will be much higher. Sir John A. Macdonald built a railway that united Canada. Mark Carney wants to build a railway that will almost assuredly be a white elephant.

Not only will it never pay for itself, but speaking as an individual who grew up on a farm, I worry about eliminating the livelihoods of those who are unfortunate enough to have farms that lie in the train’s path. Shaving one hour and 53 minutes off a present-day Via commute from Toronto to Montreal is not worth the gargantuan cost of the project. The money could be better spent on the myriad of issues facing Canadians, such as a health-care system that is facing an aging population tsunami, homelessness and overwhelmed food banks.

On a final note, the Alto executives who received close to $2.8 million in bonuses — even though no track has yet been laid — should be forced to pass those funds on to charity. I thought only CBC executives were this entitled. Bob Erwin, Ottawa ‘My MP is “too busy” to meet with me’ I recently received in the mail an expensive pamphlet featuring my member of Parliament surrounded by children and other crowds of people.

Alas, I live alone. I am a senior. No photo-ops here.

I have tried many times without success to arrange a short meeting with my MP. The answer I have been given is that she is busy ... very busy and too busy to accommodate me. Now the government is on “summer break” until Sept. 20.

I have not asked for a specific date for a meeting. It seems unreasonable that my MP cannot find a slot within the next 10 weeks to meet with a constituent. I was not too busy to leave the comfort of my home and take myself to the ballot box and cast my vote in the past election.

When the next election is called I will look for a candidate who will make the time for a short discussion with a constituent. Nora Kaufman, Toronto National Post and Financial Post welcome letters to the editor (250 words or fewer). Please include your name, address and daytime phone number.

Email letters@nationalpost.com. Letters may be edited for length or clarity.