Canada's Minister of Finance Bill Morneau answers a question in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, July 8, 2020.Patrick Doyle/Reuters
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Re Three Questions And An Answer For Justin Trudeau (July 28): Let’s add one more question to columnist John Ibbitson’s prescient analysis: In the next election, will more Canadians remember the “WE Charity affair,” or the government’s economic initiatives in the wake of the pandemic? I’m quite sure the Prime Minister has already answered that question.
Jack Lipinsky Toronto
Re How WE Got Here: The History Of The Controversy (July 28): Personally, we join the chorus calling on Justin Trudeau, Bill Morneau and perhaps Craig and Marc Kielburger to resign from their positions. Their involvement as a group seems to go well beyond the pale. But over the years, WE Charity has done much good.
We can speak to their operation in Kenya (a project known as Kisaruni), which we have supported for over four years. We do not regret a dime of our fairly substantial contributions, understanding that they supported Kisaruni as we directed.
We are concerned about what happens to Kisaruni and other good projects of WE Charity. Some way or another, the good work of charities (especially in developing countries) should be funded.
Yes, discard the chaff, but keep the good.
Jim and Valerie Milostan Brantford, Ont.
It should be inexcusable for anyone, let alone a finance minister, not to be aware of his expenses or pay for them promptly. It has made it easier, though, for me and my friends to adopt a new term for when someone owes money for a dinner, night out or tickets.
“You’re not going to pull a Morneau, are you?”
Cornelia Unger North Vancouver
Re Ottawa Paid WE $30-million Upfront (July 28): “The details of repayment are presently being worked out with the government,” WE Charity said. What’s to work out? Canadians can easily pay the Canada Revenue Agency via cheque or bank transfer. Surely WE can do the same.
Cynthia Pitura Toronto
Cost of war
Re Postpandemic Austerity Isn’t The Answer (Editorial, July 25): The Globe’s editorial is spot on. But keep in mind that although the generations who fought the First World War, survived the Great Depression and won the Second World War ultimately made the correct choices for Canada, they did not do it without terrible, bitter, life-changing battles at home.
In 1946, nearly every major industry in Hamilton was on strike. I remember visiting my grandparents’ home as a youngster in the 1960s, and being able to still make out the word “scab” painted on the brick walls of people’s homes.
Craig Sims Kingston
WHO vs. man
Re The WHO Plays A Key Role In Canada’s Response To The Pandemic (July 23) and Italian Scientist Helped Spare A Town From The Pandemic (July 25): While contributor Peter Singer, an eminent and distinguished Canadian public-health expert, describes the value of the World Health Organization and its leader, The Globe’s Eric Reguly reports on Andrea Crisanti, a brilliant microbiologist who saved an Italian town from the devastating impact of COVID-19.
Prof. Crisanti thinks that the WHO “needs to be turned upside down.” Based on the track record of the WHO versus Prof. Crisanti in dealing with the pandemic, the score looks like 100-0 for the Italian.
The message: Prof. Crisanti should be the head of the WHO!
Keith Meloff MD, FRCPC; Toronto
Getting going
Re Is It Time For Dr. Bonnie Henry To Get Tough? (July 25): I think Bonnie Henry has done a superb job leading British Columbia‘s response to COVID-19. To answer the question posed by columnist Gary Mason: I say unequivocally yes.
The best analogy is smoking regulations. When it was done in North America, there was a great deal of opposition, but it was the right thing to do. I say that as an ex-smoker. I didn’t like it, but I obeyed the law. We should make wearing masks indoors mandatory.
Dr. Henry should introduce the order in her normal, positive style. Some won’t like it, but these are serious times and we should act.
James Suttie North Vancouver
Overdose relief
Re Two Different Responses To Overdose Crisis (Editorial, July 27): As a pharmacist serving Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside community, I’ve seen first-hand the devastating impact of the opioid crisis and COVID-19 converging. The dire situation in Alberta and B.C. is very real.
The B.C. government has taken many positive steps – safe supply has made a difference and I hope it continues after COVID-19. Yet people are still dying at record rates. We shouldn’t leave any solutions on the table.
One way to save lives that is not often discussed is increasing access to nasal spray naloxone. While the injectable form is widely available in pharmacies, the easy-to-use nasal spray is not funded for the public in British Columbia or Alberta. A BC Centre for Disease Control report acknowledged that the needle remains a barrier, and I see it regularly.
Burnaby just announced a pilot project to make the nasal spray available in libraries and community centres. The B.C. and Alberta governments should fund it for all. Wider access would mean more lives saved.
Craig Plain Pharmacist, Vancouver
Power out
Re Algonquin Receives Big Boost To Five-year Growth Plan (Report on Business, July 28): Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. recently announced “a five-year expansion strategy that called for $9.2-billion in spending on projects that include 10 wind and solar facilities in Quebec, Saskatchewan and eight U.S. states.” It is not surprising to me that the jurisdictions of these substantial investments do not include Ontario, given the track record of the Ford government on renewable energy projects. Far from encouraging these projects, Ontario most often shuts them down.
The result? The people of Ontario watch investment and employment in the fast-growing renewable energy sector go to other jurisdictions, and also lose the opportunity to reduce Ontario’s reliance on greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels.
Jeffrey Levitt Toronto
Knowing the Nose
Re Maple Leafs Legend Eddie Shack Dies Of Throat Cancer At 83 (Sports, July 27): Oh, I remember Eddie Shack. As a skinny bespectacled kid from the Montreal suburbs, the sixties and seventies hockey players I admired were Habs, the likes of Jacques Lemaire, Jean Béliveau, Ken Dryden and Guy Lafleur. But the one I feared was Eddie Shack.
Or at least his name, because “Eddie Shack!” was the grade-school playground shout I heard just before a wannabe tough guy boarded me into a brick wall. Oh, I remember Eddie Shack.
Bruce Townsend Stittsville, Ont.
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