PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: THE GLOBE AND MAIL. SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES
On down
Re “With human rights chief debacle, the Liberals continue their string of blunders” (Aug. 14): Columnist John Ibbitson quite legitimately blames the Trudeau government for the recent blunder concerning the appointment to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
However, I doubt the senior bureaucrats responsible for the vetting, as well as those in charge of creating the ArriveCan app or Phoenix pay system, would have performed any better under a Conservative government.
I believe successive governments have allowed a culture totally lacking in accountability to flourish within the civil service. This, I suspect, to the dismay of many hard-working rank-and-file members.
John Rankin Burlington, Ont.
Nightmare scenario
Re “The Canadian dream is on life support” (Opinion, Aug. 10): “The compact included the payment of higher taxes, and in exchange, the existence of world-class social institutions delivering for ordinary people.”
The first part of this compact was repudiated by baby boomers in provincial and federal elections during the decades following their rise to maturity, from 1980 to 2000. Unfortunately for Canada, it seems too many people fell for the line that they don’t need to pay higher taxes, because everyone can be a winner and buy world-class social services in the market.
The market, however, is only interested in providing services to those who can pay. If governments won’t tax us enough to pay market rate for everyone, the market won’t provide it.
I see our rapidly eroding social services as a direct result of voting for “axe the tax” politicians.
Alan Ball New Westminster, B.C.
Aren’t provincial governments responsible for housing in Canada? Wasn’t it Ontario and British Columbia that admitted too many international students?
If I am to believe that the Canadian dream is on life support, at least blame the right culprits for much of the problems.
Mary Burge Toronto
Enough. Hold the panic. Canada is not halfway in quicksand, as far as I can see, from sea to sea.
We are still a nation predominantly of “peace, order and good government,” a global standard. But yes, we have different levels of challenges and we always will.
Let’s address them with possible solutions in a tempered manner, with no voices driving us apart. An alarmist diagnosis can promote unease, disharmony, self-perpetuation and a lack of collective will to work together to do even better.
Peter Murchison Toronto
Closer read
Re “Loblaw’s health care empire is growing. But can it earn the trust of Canadian patients?” (Report on Business, Aug. 10): I recently switched from Shoppers Drug Mart to an independent drugstore after the retirement of the pharmacist-owner, who had been there since long before Loblaw purchased the company.
Since the new pharmacist-owner took over, I found serious errors in the instructions for my prescriptions three times. Luckily, I have enough medical knowledge that I recognized the issues.
Before Shoppers expands, I think they should get their basic business in order: helping clients, not potentially killing them.
Marcia Zalev Toronto
Social good
Re “To fix social media, force the platforms to open themselves up to each other” (Opinion, Aug. 10): Because of the effect of instant personal broadcasting, the use of thought, contemplation and reflection have mostly gone out the window. Instead, emotionally based, impulsive and simplistic explanations for situations have replaced them and are contagious, spreading to others who find them appealing and gratifying.
The poorly thought-out theories, such as quickly formed hostilities about political stands and involving many biases, then become popular. They then find their way to the voting booth, or at least to poll data, resulting in the emotionally based divisiveness we have seen in Canada, the United States and other countries.
This is not wisdom nor is it rational. It is time to vastly improve social media so it becomes constructive.
Bruce Hutchison, Retired clinical psychologist Ottawa
I do not see how open platforms would curb the unlimited use of algorithms that enable the evils to continually grow. I can live well without Netflix and retailers telling me what they think I will like.
While I am no real fan of more government, its role looks to be an inevitable part of the remedy.
Ronald Birken Toronto
Mood killer
Re “Better sex through scheduling, and other fixes for stressed-out people who want more heat in the sheets” (Aug. 10): It is aptly pointed out that “fixing the burnout has to come first,” and women are exhausted because they “tend to juggle more daily demands.”
Women need help – with domestic drudgery, parenting and everything else that is part of modern-day family life. While I cannot speak about women’s work in LGBTQ+ relationships, women in heterosexual relationships are often tired because their male partners are still lagging in doing their fair share of work in the family unit, whether that’s parenting, elder care or domestic tasks.
Unless societal changes are made, no app or pill can alleviate “flame out.”
Jude Gaal Windsor, Ont.
New era
Re “In Canada’s rise to riches, Globe business journalists have spent 180 years following the money” (Aug. 13): I remember the moment in 1962, though not the day, when I witnessed my boss go into a rage, and there was nothing any of us could do about it.
John Meyer was the Montreal Gazette’s finance editor and renowned columnist in what at the time was still considered the centre of finance in Canada. That morning, he was advised that the next day an advertisement was to appear in his pages announcing the launch of The Globe and Mail’s Report On Business section.
John flew out of the office and, though he had a bum leg, charged to the executive offices to protest the demand he run the ad. He returned dismayed.
The ad would run, and John forecast the future impact of the ROB on his pages. He saw that the shift of financial power to Toronto from Montreal had already started, and it discouraged him.
John Dawe Toronto
When I was 10 years old, in 1963, I delivered The Globe and Mail door to door. My route consisted of five city blocks, 32 customers. My standard line, when canvassing for new customers: “It is a businessman’s newspaper.”
Nice to see that Report on Business is still a major part of The Globe.
Randy Reiss Sarnia, Ont.
Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com