One reader says 'the Conservative election loss seems to have had less to do with' the leadership of Andrew Scheer, seen here on Nov. 29, 2019, 'than has been suggested.'Dave Chidley/The Canadian Press
Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com
Make believe
Re Minister Under Fire For Quoting Site That Denies Human Role In Climate Change (Nov. 28): Ontario’s Energy Minister Greg Rickford says “I believe in climate change." Climate change shouldn’t be something to believe, like the existence of fairies. Climate change is real. It is facts and data and proven science. Mr. Rickford’s beliefs will not change that reality.
Christy DeMont Toronto
Outfoxed
Re Scheer Calls Leadership Challenges ‘Unfortunate’ (Nov. 29): Was it deliberate that Kory Teneycke and friends, in forming the new opposition group Conservative Victory, chose the title of a book by none other than U.S. conservative commentator Sean Hannity?
The Conservative election loss seems to have had less to do with Andrew Scheer’s leadership than has been suggested. For a lot of us, the last thing Canada needed was a Conservative victory, because it held the possibility of a rollback of abortion and LGBTQ rights, among other right-leaning ideas.
So maybe the name was a deliberate choice.
Kathleen Viner Toronto
Fight for their rights
Re B.C.'s Grand Experiment In Native Rights (Editorial, Nov. 25): What might give some politicians solace, and give some Indigenous peoples concern, is Article 46 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. This article makes clear that all of the rights asserted in UNDRIP may not impair in any way the “territorial integrity” of sovereign states.
Could it be that John Horgan sees a benefit in UNDRIP for negotiating the many B.C. land claims?
Graham Brown Waterloo, Ont.
As a settler committed to reconciliation, I was deeply troubled to read The Globe editorial encouraging further delays in federal implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
I believe history and current experience make it clear that the current constitutional provisions for Indigenous rights are not able to address their real and pressing needs. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls – both Indigenous-led processes – recommended Ottawa implement UNDRIP in law. To ignore them would make our solemn apologies seem hollow.
I look forward to thoughtful and urgent parliamentary debate on the implementation of UNDRIP.
Mike Hogeterp Ottawa
Ukraine under siege
Re In Impeachment Hearings, Ukraine Emerged As A State Worth Supporting (Nov. 28): Ukraine has a long history of being thrown under the bus.
In the 1930s, both Britain and the United States wanted the Soviet Union as a potential ally against Hitler, so they ignored the famine Stalin had inflicted on Ukraine. Nearly four million people died of starvation. As Anne Applebaum explains in her book, Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine, countries that knew about the famine were afraid their relations with the USSR would suffer if they made it public.
Donald Trump and the Republicans are not the first to mischaracterize Ukraine out of self-interest.
Natalie Hryciuk Surrey, B.C.
Private vs. public, Part 1
Re Paying For Faster Access To Health Care Won’t Fix Wait Times, Lawyer Argues (Nov. 27): Canada needs to get more money out of the electorate’s pocket and into the health-care system. But politicians are unlikely to get elected by promising tax increases. So the challenge is how to do it without compromising the quality of universal health care. I find the system generally excellent, but the delays in access to primary care, specialists and surgeries are increasingly unacceptable.
Perhaps ways could be found to ensure private care is able to enhance the public system. Could physicians who wish to practise privately be granted permission to do so, but for only a portion of the time they are required to devote to the public system? Could private surgeons be required to rent operating rooms and staff on evenings and weekends? Could specialists be required to rent clinic space during off hours?
Perhaps there is a win-win possibility that should be explored. Soon, our aging population is likely going to cost Canadians a lot more than we currently spend. Many baby boomers can afford and might wish to pay for private health care.
J. R. M. Smith MD, Winnipeg
Re Private Health Care Is On Trial. It Needs To Win (Nov. 22): Columnist Gary Mason believes that increasing private health care will give people more options for accessing care. He points out that a great deal of health care in Canada is already private, such as coverage of prescription medication. But Canada’s patchwork of private drug coverage is leaving millions of people without access to the medications they need. Why would we want to expand on this broken system?
A finding for private health care in the B.C. court case would end public health care as we know it. It would increase health-care options only for the wealthy and the healthy, and allow private medical clinics and doctors to profit. Rather than allowing those with more money to jump the queue, we should be ensuring that care is delivered to those who need it, when they need it.
There has been evidence at this trial that demonstrates we can reduce wait times in the public system without turning to the private sector. That is the outcome we should be hoping for in this case.
Melanie Benard National director of policy and advocacy, Canadian Health Coalition; Ottawa
Phoning in
Re How To Lower Canada’s Phone Bill (Editorial, Nov. 28): Significant changes are already occurring in the wireless industry. The cost of wireless data has been declining for years, and today unlimited-data plans are available across the country starting from $50 to $75 a month.
Policy proposals that favour companies looking to be “virtual” providers, mobile virtual network operators or MVNOs, who do not invest in wireless infrastructure, have been repeatedly rejected by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Why? The CRTC found that MVNOs will not have a material impact on prices, but will discourage investment in expanding and upgrading wireless networks.
The Competition Bureau similarly opposes a broad-based MVNO policy, concluding that “the risks associated with such a policy are too high for it to be warranted.” It further recommended the CRTC maintain its facilities focus as, “all else equal, facilities-based competition is the most sustainable and effective form of competition.”
Robert Ghiz President and chief executive officer, Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association; Ottawa
I’m visiting Australia and got a local SIM card for my phone when I got here. For 35 days of service, including unlimited national text and voice, unlimited voice to Canada and 45 gigabytes of data, it cost me just 40 Australian dollars – about $36.
Marc Grushcow Toronto
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