A Lebanese army soldier sits behind his weapon on the top of an armored personnel carrier at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, on Sept. 23.Bilal Hussein/The Associated Press
And carry a big stick
Re “Go in peace” (Letters, Sept. 20): A letter-writer sleeps peacefully in her bed at night, only because rough men and women stand ready to do violence on her behalf. Her misty-eyed remembrances of Canada as a peacekeeper seems to omit the fact that those peacekeepers stood ready with weapons to enforce that accord.
Canada’s capacity to diplomatically dissuade others from seeking ill ends with force is meagre. There are and will always be belligerent nations, and naïveté here will only embolden them.
War is hell, and thus it is (sadly) incumbent on rule-of-law countries to enforce the peace.
John Owen Calgary
While seeking a diplomatic solution to a conflict is always a good step, we must meet our commitment to provide resources for the defence capability that protects our sovereignty. Not to do so, relying instead on the defence capabilities of our neighbour, the United States, feels demeaning.
Jiti Khanna Vancouver
Party faithful
Re “The Liberals would do better if they replace their dead man walking” (Opinion, Sept. 19): Columnist Lawrence Martin thinks “the people are more angry at Mr. Trudeau than they are at the party itself.” I’m not so sure about that.
I am a lifelong Liberal and a former party candidate under Pierre Trudeau. And while I am angered by Justin Trudeau’s obstinance, I am more angered by the spinelessness of my party’s elected members. They have cowered in the corner, sitting on their hands, instead of speaking up and doing the right thing: insisting that Mr. Trudeau step down.
So I’m forced to watch someone who proudly stood with the protesters on Parliament Hill in 2022 become, in all likelihood, our country’s next prime minister. But because I’ve always been a loyal Liberal, I will, of course, follow my party’s lead.
When the next election comes, I will stay at home and, like all of them, sit on my hands.
Larry Davies Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ont.
Re “Credit where …” (Letters, Sept. 19): “Funny how Justin Trudeau is blamed for high inflation, but not given credit for low inflation.” Funny how he is blamed for high gas prices, but not given credit for the lower gas prices we have now.
However I did stub my toe last week, and I am pretty sure that it was his fault.
Martin Hunt Toronto
Young and old
Re “Economists question Bloc demand to boost seniors benefits, which carries $16-billion cost” (Sept. 23): The Bloc Québécois’s short-sighted demand is not surprising.
Statistics Canada suggests Quebec’s median and average age were both older than at the national level in 2023. Similarly, its share of those 65-plus was higher than the national share. In contrast, the share of those under 18 in Quebec was indistinguishable compared to the whole country.
When Yves-François Blanchet wants to channel $3.5-billion each year to seniors instead of the Canada Child Benefit (potentially $2,000 each, if it went to every Quebec child in 2023), it plays to his base well.
N.K Anton Ottawa
Who’s subsidizing whom?
Re “Taxpayers are overly subsidizing university tuitions” (Report on Business, Sept. 19): Contributor Claude Lavoie seems to miss the point: It is business and industry that are largely subsidized by postsecondary education.
A banker should be trained by a bank, an accountant by a firm of accountants, an engineer by an engineering firm. (I am not sure who should train an economist, but perhaps Mr. Lavoie can figure that one out).
University education should be for people who are interested in the humanities and sciences for their own sake. Whatever career they choose later is beside the point; the hope is they become wiser, better-informed citizens.
Peter Saunders Toronto
“But unlike primary and secondary education, which provide much larger societal benefits, most of the benefits of university education accrue to the students themselves.” Having been a university professor for 46 years, I would consider my life wasted if this were even close to the truth.
One objection to this assertion springs to mind. I dedicated my life and teaching to helping students search for what counts as truth by emphasizing the need for evidence for any claims to it, in any of the sciences, social sciences or the humanities or in the everyday social world in general, and in particular.
One bit of evidence that universities have that goal as one of their reasons for being can be found south of the border in the United States, where polls show, however flawed they might be, that the majority of Trump supporters do not have college degrees, whereas the majority of Harris supporters do. I would argue that that’s good evidence for the immense value of a university education.
Richard Heyman Professor emeritus, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary; Calgary
Healthy ROI
Re “Public system spent at least $1.5-billion on private nurses last year, study finds” (Sept. 23): While Canadians wait in line for health care, nurse-personnel agents are cashing in.
Privatizing public health for profit is a prize for entrepreneurs, but a loss for Canadians who just want care, not a moneymaker for nurse-handlers. All we got from this privatizing “innovation” is higher costs for the same service. A nation duped into hiring nurse-hunters is just redistributing public money into the private sector.
Officials should pull the plug on this wasteful plan. Illness isn’t a business opportunity. If we keep heading down this road, public health care will likely turn into profit for a few, and leave the rest of us sicker.
Equality in health shouldn’t become inequality in wealth.
Tony D’Andrea Toronto
Next time one meets a doctor or nurse, ask them: “Are there administrative burdens that do not contribute to patient care, but occupy lots of your time?” Or: “What proportion of your clinical time is spent doing clinical work?”
The shortage of skilled clinician time is aggravated when mistaken administrative policies annoy clinicians and steal time from patient care.
On second thought, don’t ask doctors or nurses what they think. They might not have time to answer.
David Zitner MD, FCFP (retired); Halifax
Good sport
Re “In sports writing, nothing succeeds like excess” (A Nation’s Paper, Sept. 23): This history essay made me think of writer Roy Blount Jr.’s famous quote: “Sports writing is like country music: It is sometimes very good, and sometimes when it is really bad it is even better.”
Jack Braaksma Kamloops, B.C.
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