June 1: ‘If there was an election today, who would win? That is the question that should be asked.’ Readers debate the Liberal response to COVID-19, plus other letters to the editor

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Election call

Re Who Needs Parliament? Not Trudeau, It Seems (Opinion, May 30): It depends on how unnerved one is by the activities of the Liberals.

Are they acting in the best interest of the country? Is there precedent to how they are acting? When time and timing is of the essence, there isn’t always time for the exact purview of Parliament. This was seen many times during the Second World War and other calamities. Action is what we expect of a competent government.

If there was an election today, who would win? That is the question that should be asked. Are Canadians satisfied with the Liberal approach?

Bruce Craig Hamilton

China and Meng

Re Together, The Meng Trial And The Pandemic Offer Canada A Golden Opportunity (May 29): Who has been made safe by “U.S.-led unipolarity, and the resulting Western alliance?” Western interventions led to death and destruction in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen, creating millions of refugees. Unilateral sanctions against Iran and Venezuela failed to bring regime change. Top officials and executives risk arrest from U.S. sanctions around the world.

I believe what unipolarity did was create “enemies,” forcing countries to turn to Russia and China. Instead of ramping up the blame game, Canada could recognize the new multipolar world. China has its own history and culture. There’s room in the world for different perspectives. Easing tensions rather than creating more is worth a try.

Millie Morton Kingston

Re We Must Reset Our Relationship With Beijing (May 29): We export $24.4-billion to China and import more than $46-billion in Chinese goods. Where is the support of our friends and neighbours regarding reduced sales to China because of that country’s actions? They are silent.

Dale Horwitz Toronto

Re The Meng Case Is A Symptom, Not The Cause (Editorial, May 28): Quite apart from the difficult circumstances of Meng Wanzhou’s case, one issue not mentioned is how very, very slowly the wheels of justice are turning.

She has been under house arrest for 18 months and the actual extradition trial has not even begun. No one, famous or humble, should have their life put on hold, in confinement, for years while awaiting a judgment of the court. The sheer length of her detention should humiliate all parties involved and must surely exacerbate international tensions.

Couldn’t the government and courts have sped up the process in this delicate situation? Perhaps the Meng case is a symptom of how poorly resourced our court system is.

Joell Ann Vanderwagen Oshawa

Time to lead?

Re The Wet’suwet’en Deal Could Be A Recipe For Disaster (May 27): I believe hereditary chiefs are not absolute monarchs and exist only through tradition and the tacit support of Indigenous people. They also elect representatives and may ultimately prefer their choices to their traditions.

We don’t have to go back far in history to understand how hereditary leaders have fallen, as in the cases of Charles I in Britain or Louis XVI in France. In addition, we know how democratic systems can suffer hereditary leaders to preserve tradition, as in the cases of Britain and other Commonwealth countries. One day, such countries will likely grow up and excise tradition in favour of purer democracy.

I have every confidence our Indigenous family here will do the same and reduce hereditary chiefs to mere symbolic importance. I also believe the governments of our country will not parlay with a few well born over the importance of pipelines, but will only make agreements with the people.

Sean Michael Kennedy Oakville, Ont.

I believe this is a long-overdue recognition of a nation-to-nation relationship, recognition Canada needs more than the Wet’suwet’en. Hopefully it will become precedent-setting. Far from being a disaster, I find this brings the rule of law into Canada’s relations with Indigenous nations by respecting the existence of a people, its government and its laws.

Surely these are essential steps without which there can be no reconciliation. Although not a risk-free relationship – what worthwhile one is? – we should view it with favour, but not expect Canada’s imposed band governments to feel the same way.

Colin Gillespie Author, Portrait of a People: A Study in Survival; Winnipeg

Regional reach

Re Officials Push For Region-specific Plans For Reopening (May 28): Crisis brings things into focus. The realization that reopening the Ontario economy amid COVID-19 should take a regional approach acknowledges that health threats (and opportunities) manifest as regional health determinants.

Policy leaders and organizations that put people first often put regional thinking first. And not just for a few services. It would be welcomed to see health services in Ontario – from public health, primary care, advanced care to long-term care – integrated and managed regionally, as already happens in some provinces.

I believe this approach is in the best interest of people and also leads to improved access. This has been referred to as a therapeutic region: an administrative landscape that, in its own structure, can help health and healing.

Jim Harrold PhD, health geographer; Flesherton, Ont.

Ebb and flow

Re Toronto The … (Letters, May 28): On closer inspection, an Ontario letter writer residing outside Toronto, irritated by Mayor John Tory’s appeal for billions in aid, would soon realize that tax dollars flowing from the city to his municipality and others – through education and land-transfer taxes alone – are substantial. Why shouldn’t some of those dollars be returned under current conditions?

John Burrows Toronto

Not forgotten

Re May 28, 1975 (Moment in Time): My husband and I were both on staff at Brampton Centennial Secondary School on May 28, 1975. Unlike today, there was no protocol in place for such an emergency as a school shooting.

About 25 years later, my husband was approached in the school hallway by a middle-aged man who recognized him. He was one of the wounded victims of the shooting. He said his life had been marked by panic attacks, insomnia and failures in relationships and jobs. But he had finally found a therapist who identified his PTSD from that day.

He said one of the triggers of his panic attacks had been driving past the school. As he got stronger, his therapist encouraged him to return to the school, and to the hallway, where everything occurred. My husband had a long talk with him and wished him well in recovery.

I’m certain this man’s situation was not unique and, sadly, the tragedy of a school shooting does not end with the event itself. I really hope he has been able to find peace in life.

Wendy Kerr Hadley Port Credit, Ont.

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