Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem holds a press conference in Ottawa on Oct. 23.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Going down
Re “Business Brief: What a relief” (Business Brief, Oct. 25) I believe we all owe Tiff Macklem and his team at the Bank of Canada a resounding congratulations for beating back inflation so quickly and so cleverly.
Timothy Bond Toronto
Home and away
Re “Trudeau cries wolf on foreign interference” (Editorial, Oct. 24): It ought not to take a rocket scientist to understand why Canadian officials would be sent to give an interview to the Washington Post and be authorized to provide “sensitive information.”
There have been reports of Indian officials visiting Washington. I assume they are offering the same line, as we see publicly, that there is no truth to the accusations made against India. While, I assume, U.S. officials have been briefed by their Canadian counterparts, we have every interest in making sure the broader U.S. community is aware of the reality.
India punches well above our weight internationally, so U.S. support will be essential to any resolution of the issues raised by this case.
W.P.D. Elcock Ottawa
Re “Ottawa offered India options to address allegations of violent activities in Canada before expelling its diplomats” (Oct. 25): Before questioning India’s relationship with Canada, the question should be reversed: Is Canada the friend India thought it was?
Canada has admitted fugitives from the Indian justice system, who wish to break up India by establishing a Khalistan in Punjab. Are these friendly acts?
Jiti Khanna Vancouver
An additional option: If India has good grounds for believing any of these 13 Canadians are violent extremists, apply to extradite them.
Bob Seiler Pickering, Ont.
They believe
Re “Why has the Cult of Donald Trump proven to be so durable?” (Oct. 21): What I see, and fear, are the apparently rational Donald Trump supporters who have come to the view that nihilism is their best hope to address a political system they have lost faith in. The destruction of the temple, in this view, is uniquely suited to a madman.
Mr. Trump declared he would never accept a loss prior to the 2016 U.S. election. Yet he was allowed to contest the presidency despite disavowing the very mechanism used to determine it.
This is perverse and paradoxical. It is also the Achilles’ heel of U.S. democracy, which Mr. Trump has identified and relentlessly exploited.
Fascism looms. His supporters agree, for various reasons. Dismissing them as a cult is akin to blithely whistling past the graveyard.
Remember, half of the United States shares Mr. Trump’s views. Why?
It is the question which I hope Americans are asking themselves.
Ron Beram Gabriola, B.C.
Come together
Re “Jasper’s rebuild has become a political football, but the town’s leadership wants no part of it” (Oct. 24): I am old enough to remember when, in times of trauma and catastrophe, governments of all stripes worked together to come to terms with the aftermaths. In recent months, as diverse political entities as the city of Toronto and the governments of Ontario and Canada have reached agreements which benefit all Toronto residents.
I’m saddened and dismayed that the United Conservative Party government appears to be playing petty partisan politics with the tragedy of the Jasper fire, which has affected not only town residents but all Canadians in its impact on one of our best-known national parks.
Jasper, and all Canadians, deserve better.
John Thorpe Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ont.
Competitive nature
Re “Buckle up for an activist Competition Bureau” (Editorial, Oct. 23): Cheering for recent changes to the Competition Act, based on the Competition Bureau’s action against Cineplex for “drip pricing” seems misguided. In reality, consumer protection law already allowed the bureau to look into such conduct.
Furthermore, the bureau should not attempt to “follow the leader” by copying U.S. regulators’ targeting of companies in pursuit of headlines. Businesses should be under the competition microscope based on whether they harm consumers, not because of their weight in the S&P 500.
Instead, we hope to see the bureau continue to think for itself and prioritize fighting hurdles to competition, such as its investigation of property controls that may block new entry in local grocery markets. Cutting food costs might not grab the same kind of headlines as crusading against large companies, but it would be a real help to Canadian households.
Tim Sargent Director of domestic policy, Macdonald-Laurier Institute; Ottawa
Go big
Re “29 Canadians have TFSAs worth $5-million or more. Don’t feel bad if yours is not in this league” (Newsletter, Oct. 22): The TFSA Trouncers series highlights people who have made spectacular returns in their Tax-Free Savings Accounts. In total, there are 352 accounts with $1-million in value or more.
There are more than 17.7 million TFSAs in Canada, so one in over 50,000 has achieved the seven-digit milestone. These sorts of returns can only be achieved with a highly concentrated portfolio of speculative investments. In many instances, this investment approach would result in significant losses.
Perhaps a TFSA destroyers series?
Jim Houston Toronto
Tipping point
Re “Inflation is improving, but pervasive tipping makes Canadians feel otherwise” (Report on Business, Oct. 24): “Then you have establishments gouging people with this sense of entitlement over tips,” said a real estate agent. This coming from someone in an industry that, in the main, refuses to adjust commission rates to something more reasonable, resulting in exorbitant fees from skyrocketing home prices.
I guess entitlement is only in the eye of the beholder.
Paul McCarthy West Lincoln, Ont.
I was encouraged to know that I am not the only one who feels gouged by excessive tipping.
I had no problem paying 15 per cent on top of a $60 bill for good service. Now, however, I am paying 18 to 20 per cent on a $100 bill. Tips inherently provide inflation protection for workers, so why does the percentage go up?
I understand that COVID-19 changed things, but it should be time to adjust to the new post-COVID reality where our dollars simply don’t go as far. My family has gone from eating out twice a week to twice a month. The hospitality industry may have to re-evaluate this new tipping paradigm before it needs fewer servers and everybody loses.
All this home cooking is good for me, but my wife prepares meals like the Swedish Chef and I’m always on cleanup duty. So let’s fix this, people!
Dave Strachan Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ont.
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