Canadian soldiers wait to meet Canada's Minister of Defence in Adazi, Latvia, on Feb. 3, 2022.GINTS IVUSKANS/Getty Images
Pray on it
Re “Odesa cathedral repairs bring hope as Ukrainians enter third year of Russia’s war on their culture” (Feb. 21): Although I am no longer a church attendee, I can appreciate the peace and freedom that Odesa’s Transfiguration Cathedral represents.
Our government is in a quandary (as are other countries) as to the level of support for Ukraine. I don’t see how we can be happy or peaceful while knowing of the suffering being perpetuated.
I can breathe for Alexey Navalny. It’s not enough. I am against war. I can be angry with someone, but I can’t kill.
Do Russians who support Vladimir Putin really know what’s going on? We have as much access to news as possible. We are limited only by the questions we ask and the answers we, and our government, give.
Now would be the time to enter our own cathedrals and pray for answers. My cathedral is my garden. Where is it for others?
Where would someone go if they were in Odesa?
Kathleen Moore Toronto
Points taken
Re “Hard choices lie ahead as Canada prepares to meet NATO defence target” (Feb. 22): A 5-per-cent GST brings in about $35-billion per year. Raising it to 7 per cent would fund $14-billion of the $20-billion required to reach NATO’s defence spending target of 2 per cent of GDP.
Did anyone really notice when the GST first dropped to 5 per cent from 7 per cent? Tax credits for lower income groups can help offset the pain.
David Ross Edmonton
Poland has a GDP roughly one-third of Canada’s, with roughly equal population. Canada has virtually zero chance of being invaded while historically, sadly, Poland has often been invaded.
NATO provides an assurance of protection through collective membership. Not unlike any insurance scheme, perhaps there should be a premium based on each country’s risk profile. If Canada’s premium was set at 1 per cent and Poland at 3 per cent, Canada would still be contributing the same in absolute dollars.
In fairness, countries such as Poland and Lithuania are already spending more than the 2-per-cent minimum on defence, in recognition of the greater risks they incur.
John Seigner Calgary
Further reading
Re “Details withheld on fired scientists to save health agency embarrassment, MPs say” (Feb. 22): Anyone interested in the background of the fired scientists Xiangguo Qiu and Keding Cheng ought to read the great 2021 book by investigative journalist Elaine Dewar.
In On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years, she dedicates an entire chapter to them. Forewarning: It’s a horror story.
Ward Jones Richmond Hill, Ont.
Liberal leanings
Re “Name to it” (Letters, Feb. 20): “In 2017 and 2018, the largest number of judges were appointed.”
A cynic might ask: Has it now become so difficult to find qualified applicants who support the present Liberal Party’s cause?
Ben Rathbone Kamloops, B.C.
Chief concerns
Re “To avoid ArriveCan-style fiascos, the Canadian government should create a COO position” (Feb. 22): So the solution to the problem is to add yet another layer of bureaucratic oversight? Just what, I wonder, are the responsibilities of current senior associate deputy ministers if not to monitor public service outcomes?
It may be that the British Cabinet Office has not one but two chief operating officers providing oversight of public service efficiency and government operations. But it seems both COOs were caught unawares of the Horizon scandal in the British Post Office currently rocking British government (“How the nightmarish British Post Office scandal exposed a crisis in the rule of law” – Opinion, Jan. 20).
It may be wise to consider what value a coterie of COOs would bring to the bureaucracy before embarking on yet another step toward the perfection of Canada’s public service.
Brian Caines Ottawa
The idea of a chief operating officer at the top of the bureaucracy and within every department is an excellent idea.
I think it should be augmented with a deputy prime minister of “getting things done,” empowered to ensure that ministers are effective and accountable. Perhaps every cabinet minister should have a parliamentary secretary with a similar role.
Efficiencies can only come when politicians and bureaucrats are paddling in the same direction.
John Harris Toronto
The need to have better supervision of the public service should not require a new title and position.
Historically, the leadership of the public service has fallen to the clerk of the Privy Council. The problem is that the clerk’s authority has been consistently undermined by the Prime Minister’s Office under both Liberal and Conservative governments.
Until that ceases, no new job description would fix the problem.
Doug Owram Kelowna, B.C.
Get lucky
Re “Rich and successful? It’s likely you’re just lucky” (Report on Business, Feb. 21): Sixty-five per cent of income variance not attributable to knowledge, skills and experience seemed high, until I reflected on my work life.
Factors not seen as luck but extraneous to performance – appearance, background, confidence, likeability – were key, sometimes unpredictably. In a steel mill office, co-workers surprised by the termination of an agreeable new hire acknowledged that our tough ex-Navy manager often asked, “Why is he always smiling?”
Philosopher Michael Sandel warns that even if meritocracy were a fair playing field, our conflating income with societal (or even economic) value has dangerous implications. Our absolute belief in merit generates “hubris for winners” and “humiliation and resentment among the losers,” becoming a source of populist resentment of elites.
What happened to the brief pandemic appreciation for the contributions of low-paid “essential” workers in grocery, health care, delivery? Can we encourage and reward achievement without viewing non-achievement as a moral or characterological failing?
Chester Fedoruk Toronto
Near the end of high school, I was riding a bus across St. John’s when an older boy sat next to me. He struck up a conversation, asking about my plans when school finished and telling me he was a student at our local university.
Neither my school nor my parents had offered me much future guidance, but I had good grades and was ambitious. When I mentioned that I loved the outdoors, the boy said I should look into the university’s forestry program.
I subsequently enrolled, resulting in two degrees and followed by a successful career in government and the private sector. And it all started after a chance encounter with a stranger on a bus.
Les Dominy Renfrew, Ont.
Contributor Mark R. Rank takes a well-supported and insightful position to dispute the actuality of our meritocracy.
Still, one can’t help but wonder if Mr. Rank appreciates how lucky he is to have had it published.
Peter Stewart Ottawa
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