Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 22.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Table of discontents
Re “Cabinet ministers voice faith in Trudeau before MPs set to deliver arguments for his resignation” (Oct. 23): A confident political leader, or a leader in any field, would encourage lively discussions and enjoy debates among co-workers to allow for various ideas and personalities to emerge. This is not the feeling that emanates from Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, where suitable successors seem lacking.
This strategy does not serve well in a democracy. It increases the chances of diminishing votes, because of an appearance of a limited future for the party. The best-before date becomes more visible.
The days of a Liberal Party where numerous strong and capable voices flourished feels gone. With few potential replacements, the current leader’s position seems almost guaranteed, with no guarantees on election day.
Bill Bousada Carleton Place, Ont.
The Montreal by-election in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun was widely viewed on Parliament Hill as a referendum on the Prime Minister’s leadership, after the loss of the Liberals’ Toronto-St. Paul’s stronghold in June. The Liberals lost.
Cabinet ministers should not equivocate when these key electorates have clearly made their choice in by-elections. Respect democracy by providing strong election alternatives for Canadians.
Robert Marcucci Toronto
In discussing efforts to oust Justin Trudeau, there is one mechanism for expressing discontent and hastening change that has not received adequate attention: violating party discipline.
If Liberal MPs are questioning their party’s future under their leader, they have only to refuse to adhere to party discipline and vote with their conscience or constituency in mind. The carrot-and-stick of party discipline should mean little under the leadership of a Prime Minister who is a lightning rod for discontent, and whose survival may be measured in months.
To vote against the will of such an unpopular party leader is precisely the kind of courage that might save the odd Liberal MP’s electoral skin, and build a credible basis for eventual revival. If the guy wants to be a party of one, let him have what he wants and make all votes de facto free votes.
Charles Humphrey Halifax
Again?
Re “Auditor-General launches audit of main ArriveCan contractor GCStrategies” (Oct. 23): So now we have another audit related to ArriveCan, “adding to the more than a dozen investigations and reviews that have been launched with a connection to the app.”
Not only is it unbelievable that our government cannot get a simple piece of software built efficiently and economically, but apparently it is also unable to effectively implement a postmortem.
Craig Paterson Victoria
Roster decisions
Re “Ontario should stop penalizing family doctors when their patients visit walk-in clinics” (Oct. 23): While the issue of penalizing family health groups that operate under a capitation (rostering) model when patients use outside services is contentious and should be reviewed, a group should also be committing to a variety of medical services in order to utilize this type of payment model.
This should include walk-in availability for a specific number of days each week and a total number of available hours. This suggests that there shouldn’t be a need to seek medical services outside a group setting, unless in the case of an emergency requiring a hospital visit, if the group is fulfilling its obligations.
I believe the majority of patients, even those actually aware that they are rostered, don’t know what rostering means, and aren’t aware of the financial implications if they utilize medical services outside their group. There is a sizable communication gap and it’s not a straightforward issue.
Frank Malone Aurora, Ont.
Electric avenue
Re “The free-market economics powering renewable energy” (Editorial, Oct. 17): The economics of renewables are unquestionable, but what is equally appealing is their modularity and democratization characteristics.
Our electricity systems were built on the assumption that ratepayers (and taxpayers) will finance massive generation facilities and transmission or distribution lines to supply consumers. Most renewable energy options come with “Lego-like” modularity, enabling them to be imbedded in consumers’ facilities. This provides energy resiliency in a world facing ever weirder weather.
This modularity offers the added benefit of allowing for widespread ownership of the energy transition. For example, a locally owned wind turbine serving the distribution grid looks and feels a lot different than a huge field of wind turbines feeding a transmission grid owned by foreign investors.
Renewables can best reach full potential if electricity planning and procurement places full value on resiliency, local ownership and proven modularity. The alternative would be much more expensive and much less resilient.
Dick Bakker Director, Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative
Support our troops
Re “This retired Master Corporal kicked down doors as a member of the military’s elite forces. Now Veterans Affairs is shutting him out” (Oct. 17): Shane Nedohin’s story is way too common. Breachers are literally at the hard end, knocking down doors with no clue what’s on the other side.
The constant stress, lack of sleep, watching friends get injured or killed, seeing things no one should ever see. It is most often not a question of whether a person breaks, but when. Just because an injury isn’t physical, doesn’t mean that a veteran suffers less.
War is not like a Hollywood movie. The closest we can get to understanding what soldiers experience in combat is through books: No More Heroes by Richard Gabriel, Acts of War by Richard Holmes, On Killing by Dave Grossman, War by Gwynne Dyer. These books provide vivid descriptions of combat and how veterans struggle for the rest of their lives after combat tours.
Our veterans deserve our support and respect for risking their lives for our country.
John Shepherd Richmond, B.C.
Must-see TV
Re “Emmy-winning comedy writer Allan Blye had an early role alongside Fred Rogers” (Obituary, Oct. 19): CBC veteran Knowlton Nash tells an amusing story about Allan Blye in his 1996 book Cue The Elephant! Backstage Tales at the CBC.
Mr. Blye is singing on Cross-Canada Hit Parade. This was during the earliest days of television, when performances were broadcast live (no prerecorded or taped shows back then). An astute cameraman is preparing a wide shot when he takes matters into his own hands to save viewers at home from a potentially embarrassing moment (this was the 1950s, after all).
The cameraman crawls over to Mr. Blye and reaches up to the singer’s crotch: As Mr. Blye remembers it, “I had forgotten to do up my zipper and my fly was gaping open. I felt the guy’s hands on my zipper, and I was trying to be cool, as I was singing, No Other Love Have I.”
Now that’s entertainment.
Anthony Pepper Toronto
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