Re “Call and response” (Letters, Aug. 6): A former Canadian ambassador, a signatory of a letter to the Prime Minister on Palestinian statehood, is disappointed that Mark Carney asks for several commitments from the Palestinian Authority. I find myself wondering why this disappointment?
Do critics believe in elections? In Palestine, they have not been held since 2006. Hamas has controlled Gaza without elections since its takeover in 2007.
Still, recent elections in many countries show that with the global economic gloom and fiscal challenges faced by citizens everywhere, right-wing populism has prevailed and polarization has intensified. Fortunately, Canada and Australia did not throw out incumbent parties.
I am happy we have a Prime Minister with a moral compass and good track record in economic and human understanding.
Margaret van Dijk Toronto
Re “As a Jewish Canadian, I want my community to speak out about the horrors in Gaza” (Aug. 5): This says what many Canadian Jews are thinking and feeling.
We should decry the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank. In doing so, I believe we are defending the principles upon which Israel was founded, as laid out in its Declaration of Independence.
The current Israeli government is thwarting the wishes of a large majority of Israelis by continuing this devastating war in Gaza. Yes, there are Canadian Zionist organizations who align with Israel, but vigorously oppose its government’s policies.
Beyond the moral conflict with the Jewish values I was raised with, I do not believe what is occurring in Gaza will erase the horror of Oct. 7. Nor will making Israel a pariah among nations increase its security.
Many Jews do not acknowledge that Israel’s current actions may actually be harmful to the state of Israel. A powerful incentive is required to end the enmity on both sides.
I am a Jew not a Christian, but Proverbs 25:21 come to mind. “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”
Re “Trump’s tariffs are making money. That may make them hard to quit” (Report on Business, Aug. 4): Indeed, at least so long as their President is able to mislead his partisans into believing it is exporters to the United States who pay, and not U.S. consumers who are providing the new source of revenue.
Free trade, by the same token, may well be a victim of normalization. Isolationism has appeal across U.S. party lines. The U.S. voter may well ask why they should care what happens to Canada; bringing manufacturing home is what appeals.
Just as tariffs may become an acceptable source of revenue, so isolationism may replace free trade as the populist international dogma, consequences be damned.
John Edmond Ottawa
Re “Infrastructure bank CEO defends $1-billion loan to BC Ferries for Chinese boats” (Aug. 2): Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland’s “disappointment with this procurement” of Chinese-built ships for BC Ferries seems to contradict Canadian trade policy with China.
Eight years ago, as minister of foreign affairs, she declared that “Canada will continue to work with China to deepen and broaden our relationship. As part of these efforts, a constructive engagement on sensitive issues, such as human rights, will – and must – be at the forefront of our discussions.” This pivot reminds me of McCarthy-era Sinophobia.
BC Ferries’ choice to source ships from China is a business decision that respects foreign policy. It was predicated by Canadian shipyards electing not to bid.
British Columbia sorely needs new ferries, as residents of Vancouver Island can testify. Canadian industry cannot provide them in a timely manner, hence the search for a supplier abroad.
Re “How Norway cracked the electric-vehicle code” (Aug. 1): Should Canada copy Norway to encourage electric vehicle adoption? The thing is, I see it mostly did.
The Trudeau government raised gas prices with carbon pricing, making it more economical to drive an EV, especially after considering the climate rebate that most taxpayers received. Ontario also lets EVs use high-occupancy vehicle lanes, while the federal government and some provinces provide EV rebates.
All governments could do more to develop charging networks and mandate the right to charge EVs in apartment buildings.
Many lament the drop in EV sales this year, but no one seems to link that to the end of federal rebates and cheaper gas. Canadian governments should recharge their efforts and keep doing what Norway is doing.
Jason Scott Ottawa
Re “The Hockey Canada sexual-assault trial is over, but conversations about the sport’s culture continue” (July 31): It should be no mystery or surprise that removing young boys from their families, and throwing them into a semitoxic cauldron of intense competition and societal adulation, might produce untoward outcomes. But it’s not only a hockey or sports failing; it’s also a societal failing.
In following this issue, I have tangentially learned that even the average teenager – and the average adult – can benefit from consent education and other focused discussions on how to be a good human in society. On the radio recently, I heard a specialist in consent education remark that the comment commonly received from students is, “Why weren’t we taught about this before?”
Why not consent education as a good and worthy cause for the National Hockey League to get behind, to benefit not only its own image and that of Canada’s national sport, but all of professional sports and general society? One can only wonder.
Tony Sachs Montreal
Re “Put to the test” (Letters, Aug. 6): “In recent memory, 80 got students a monetary award from the Ontario government.”
In 1979, I needed an 80 to get into the University of Waterloo as a co-op student, meaning that I could work to pay tuition because my family could not afford it. Despite my high school being in a small town, three of us made the grade. It was our route to becoming professional accountants.
I got that $100 Ontario Scholar award. I also got $500 from the local volunteer firefighters in my village. And the government loaned me some money. But in the end, the 80 got me there.
Maybe grants and scholarships should be directed to those who get 50, but have so much potential.
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