Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast in Ottawa on May 7.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Poll position
Re “Pierre Poilievre takes real ideas about the drug crisis and wraps them in nonsense” (July 30): In defining the Harper government’s communication strategy, former Conservative adviser Tom Flanagan said: “It doesn’t have to be true; it just has to be plausible.”
Pierre Poilievre’s political strategy seems to dispense with the plausible part.
Doug Paul Toronto
Re “Case made” (Letters, July 30): I believe it’s now too late for Justin Trudeau to resign, as a letter-writer suggests, without doing even more harm to the Liberal Party than he has already done.
I say that because Liberal defeat now feels “baked in,” regardless of who is the leader. If Mr. Trudeau resigned now, he would only tarnish the reputation of a new leader by having them carry the burden of likely defeat.
It would be better for the party, and perhaps his own legacy as well, if he continues on as Liberal Leader, nobly going down with the ship, losing his riding, graciously accepting defeat, then letting a new leader rebuild the party with a clean slate.
George Parker Cobourg, Ont.
Not so fast
Re “Are we supposed to just sit and wait for Canada’s inevitable constitutional crisis?” (Opinion, July 27): Columnist Andrew Coyne asks whether governments are obligated to behave, or can they rewrite rules whenever they please? I would ask the same of our charter-endowed juristocracy.
How long should we obey judges who impose their beliefs on us and seem to show disdain for Parliament and democracy by arrogating decisions we are perfectly able to make for ourselves?
David Allen London, Ont.
I suggest that the notwithstanding clause is not a pre-emptive means of Charter-proofing a statute, legislature or government.
Were this so, any government could simply have a stamp made up to emboss all its laws with a standard clause invocation. The Charter would have disappeared long ago, as if a snake swallowing its own tail.
Rather, it was intended to apply only after final judicial consideration of any impugned legislation. It would be reasonable to enact a law that the use of this power must only be applied after a Charter remedy is granted and upheld by the Supreme Court.
This would go a great distance to cramming the genie back in his bottle, notwithstanding the ruminations of Pierre Poilievre and various premiers of late.
Ron Beram Gabriola, B.C.
For so many reasons, the government cannot “cause Parliament to pass a law immediately, binding itself against any use of the notwithstanding clause.”
First, Parliament cannot legally bind itself to do or not do in the future anything that’s within its constitutional powers to do today. Any such law has long been held to be, well, unlawful.
Second, the power to invoke the notwithstanding clause is given by the Constitution Act. It is as binding and sacrosanct as any other part of our Constitution, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Columnist Andrew Coyne calls our attention to a political problem, which in a representative democratic system should have a democratic response: If Canadians don’t want the Conservatives to use the notwithstanding clause, don’t vote for them.
John Pepper Kingston
Power down
Re “Point Lepreau station is among North America’s worst-performing nuclear power plants. Can NB Power turn it around?” (Report on Business, July 29): Back in 2002, the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board ruled that refurbishing the Point Lepreau reactor was not in the public interest. The provincial government approved it anyway, thus wasting hundreds of millions of dollars.
On top of that waste and debt for New Brunswick residents, Point Lepreau is now part of an experimental so-called small modular reactor that has received millions of dollars in government subsidies. Who manages to get such clout and lobbying power? In 2011, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.’s reactor business was sold to the corporation formerly known as SNC-Lavalin, now AtkinsRéalis.
The extent of the nuclear lobby’s political power may have something to do with that historically corrupt corporation and its deeply rooted tentacles in the status-quo parties.
Elizabeth May OC; MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands; Leader, Green Party of Canada; Sidney, B.C.
Speak to management
Re “Fireproof plans” (Letters, July 30): A couple of retired foresters minimize the influence of climate change on the wildfire that devastated Jasper, Alta., putting all the blame on forest management practices.
I confess to watching a lot of bike racing. What I have observed over the years, from these mostly European events, is how much intact forest there is in such a densely populated continent.
When I have travelled in Europe, I sometimes see neatly stacked piles of logs beside what appears to my eye as virgin forest. Never have I seen much evidence of clear-cutting either from bike racing aerial views, or from my own hilltop observations.
In Canada I often see vast swathes of clear-cut, with nothing left behind but ugly masses of tree stumps and branches too small to harvest. I’m not sure about trusting Canadian professional foresters to manage our forests.
Ed Janicki Victoria
But not if
Re “Ontario should be thanking Ford for pivoting away from electric vehicles” (Report on Business, July 27): Gus Carlson’s column, unfortunately, reflects the beliefs of many people.
Keeping SUV and truck prices low is the top priority. Polls show the majority of us think “something” should be done about climate change, but not, God forbid, if it costs us anything.
The inconvenient truth is that focusing on prices and economic interests is how we got into the current climate mess. I think it reflects an attitude that “future generations have done nothing for me, so why should I care?”
Ken Lancaster Guelph/Eramosa, Ont.
Best friend
Re “My dog has brought me closer to my neighbours” (First Person, July 23): My late dog also allowed me to become known in the community.
His friendly nature meant he introduced himself to children and adults alike; sometimes, he would get a cookie as a reward. Even in his old age, he attracted attention.
I saw him as a companion. I was not his “owner.” Even now, years since his passing, people have stopped me, recognizing me from walking with him or even wondering what had happened to him.
This essay illustrates how much dogs and other animals enrich our lives.
Robert MacDonald Calgary
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