Letters: More doctors likely to flee under CAQ plan

Montreal Gazette

09-05-2025

Re: ' Doctors face a whole new game of hardball ' (Allison Hanes, May 9)
Beneath the verbal window dressing, Quebec's latest health legislation does not seem like a plan to extend primary care to every Quebecer — it looks like a plan to ration medical care, given that doctors are a scarce resource in Quebec.
If this plan becomes law, I expect doctors will become even scarcer.
Elaine Bander, Montreal
Airport expansion is a good thing
There has been much anguish about the expansion of Trudeau airport and the loss of such buildings as the Manoir Kanisha pet boarding centre.
Pet facilities and other buildings can be relocated, but an airport may be expanded only onto contiguous property that fits within the efficient layout of runways and support facilities — it cannot be piecemeal across the city.
In the mid-1800s, Emperor Napoleon III created Paris's magnificent boulevards by demolishing narrow streets and buildings that had grown randomly over centuries, to the anguish of many Parisians.
Would anyone now say Paris should revert to its earlier form? The charm, the heart of the city, rests upon these great boulevards.
In the 21st century, a city without a modern, well-designed airport will slowly suffocate.
Montreal must expand its airport; otherwise, it risks becoming a quaint backwater.
David Grogan, Old Montreal
A celebration, not a protest
As organizers of the annual Israel Day Celebration, we would like to thank The Gazette for its interest and coverage of our event. However, we are very disappointed that you gave the presence and message of the few protesters who showed up at our event so much weight.
To begin with, you classified these people as 'counter-protesters' when they were actually the protesters. In order to have a counter protest there has to be a protest to counter. Our event is not a protest — it is a celebration, no different than Canada Day, the Fourth of July or Cinqo de Mayo.
We were having a party (for which we had all the required permits) and they were across the street protesting, chanting and defaming the thousands of people celebrating.
While your reporters took pains to quote their chants, sadly we saw few citations from the thousands who gathered to celebrate.
We should also note this celebration took place on May Day, when major cities around the world contend with general anarchy, physical destruction and violent clashes between police and a hodgepodge of activists that leave a wake of damage and expense to local businesses and governments.
On the other hand, we celebrated on a weekday, with joy and revelry, left our spaces in better shape than they were when we arrived, and left a trail of nothing but smiles and warm greetings.
Michael Druckman, co-chair of the Israel Day Celebration, Montreal
Time to revisit transfer payments?
If Bloc Québécois Leader Yves François Blanchet believes he is in an 'artificial country,' maybe Alberta should send 'artificial transfer payments.'
Anthony Edwin Sura, Calgary
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