Canada Revenue Agency national headquarters in Ottawa, on April 19.BLAIR GABLE/Reuters
What’s the story?
Re “Rights activists question safety of testifying at foreign interference inquiry” (Dec. 7): I am dumbfounded.
The Conservative Party has been denied standing for the first part of the inquiry while, bizarrely, groups such as the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the Russian Canadian Democratic Alliance and the Centre for Free Expression have been granted such standing.
I find this absurd. It appears that the fix is in. I have no doubt the conclusion of the inquiry will be along the lines of “everyone was at fault, therefore, no one was at fault.”
I can only hope that this inquiry does not cost taxpayers too much.
John Reilly Victoria
Re “China and Russia are chief culprits in election disinformation increase, report says” (Dec. 7): What would be more informative and newsworthy is a deep dive into what the government is doing about China and Russia’s interference.
My fear is that government talks a good story, but does little to actually stop interference.
David Bell Toronto
Try this
Re “Ottawa to argue for immunity from lawsuits over unconstitutional legislation at Supreme Court” (Dec. 7): Why does Ottawa feel the need for immunity when it already has protections?
Section 33 of the Charter, better known as the notwithstanding clause, has been used repeatedly by provincial governments to protect themselves when passing unconstitutional laws. The federal government can do the same.
Section 33 effectively renders our constitutional protections null and void.
Steve Soloman Toronto
Caller on the line
Re “Auditor-General to review CRA call centres as complaints on the rise despite more funding” (Dec. 5): Based on the stressful experience my husband and I have had with the Canada Revenue Agency this year, I would say that the problems likely originate with the agency itself, not with staff who act as its interface with frustrated taxpayers. We found them to be unfailingly patient, polite and pleasant, and the fact that they occasionally gave us conflicting information may well reflect the information they are provided by the agency.
Despite being law-abiding and reasonably well-educated citizens, we could make little sense of information provided in the CRA’s My Account system (from which I was inexplicably locked out until rescued by an agent in a painstaking, hours-long session). I believe the CRA is basically benevolent, but many of its communications are baffling. We relied on its agents to try to make sense of them.
Elizabeth Lominska Johnson Penticton, B.C.
By the numbers
Re “Canadian students’ math scores continue steep slide, raising concerns about how subject is taught” (Dec. 5): So much handwringing regarding the Programme for International Student Assessment.
Keep in mind the same declines experienced in Canada were almost universally experienced. Among the 81 countries who took part in PISA 2022, Canada ranked sixth in reading, ninth in math and seventh in science.
Within Canada, the top-performing provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec) happen to be our most populous, where economies of scale, specialized programs and technological infrastructure likely play a factor.
Drilling further, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nova Scotia scored similarly in reading, math and science. These provinces have some form of standardized testing with the exception of Saskatchewan, suggesting more investments in bettering learning conditions and alleviating socioeconomic disparities, rather than more testing, are what’s needed if we truly care about educational attainment for all.
Marc Spooner Regina
News you can use
Re “With Google’s agreement to pay off the Canadian media, the shakedown in C-18 is made explicit” (Dec. 6): Columnist Andrew Coyne seems to conflate the market with civil society. How else can I explain his comparison of Google and the news media with Toyota and General Motors?
As if the news media’s sole justification for existence is to generate profit by selling advertising? Yes, that is the business model, and now it’s broken.
So that’s it? The market has spoken, blessed be the name of the market?
If the solution is “finding and keeping willing, paying readers,” well, that just isn’t working, is it? If free-market capitalism is allowed to destroy civil society, capitalism would go down with it.
Andrew Leith Macrae Toronto
The crux of the problem: Too few people are willing to pay for news.
The myth is that access to Facebook and Google is free. The cost is privacy and independence, as personal information is harvested and algorithms determine what people read.
A real fear is that the future is no news. Newspapers are dying in Canada and the United States. The absence of local journalists results in local news being replaced by chain-wide columns, often with a consistent political message.
No one who views news as objective accounts of events could describe Fox as distributing news.
David Steele Regina
Don’t have a cow
Re “The start of a climate success story” (Editorial, Dec. 7): Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada tells us that a single lactating cow produces the same negative greenhouse gas effect as a mid-size car driving 20,000 kilometres.
I await the dire government announcements regarding the sunsetting industry that dairy (and poultry) farming has become in Canada, and the imminent programs available to predominantly Ontario and Quebec farmers to help them transition to the green economy.
Since we know that significant and viable opportunities exist in renewable alternatives to dairy milk, butter, eggs and cheese, the sooner we end supports for this industry and make polluters pay for this dirty endeavour, the sooner all Canadians can prosper from the riches that will surely follow this transition.
Dave McClurg Calgary
Eat well
Re “Eight easy ways to swap out meat with plant-based food” (Dec. 4): I gradually stopped eating meat over the years, for health reasons initially, then for reasons of compassion and evidence of animal farming being bad for the planet.
Thank you for enlightening folks on the benefits of plant-based foods for health.
Lawrence Pinsky Montreal
Golden age
Re “George Cohon, founder of McDonald’s Canada, has died” (Report on Business, Nov. 27): I was struck by the depth of George Cohon’s altruism and concern for sick children and their families. Perhaps he felt compelled to do so, having serendipitously come into such a fortuitous and prosperous business position.
It is the epitome of the practice of “paying it forward,” a great lesson for us all. Be grateful. Be kind. Be generous. Give back. And strive to help those less fortunate than ourselves.
Dave Hurley Belleville, Ont.
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