‘Get real. It is time to cut the new government some slack.' Letters to the editor for May 26

Globe and Mail

26-05-2025

Re 'MPs revive bid scrapping requirement to swear oath of loyalty to the King' (May 23): I would be curious to know if this is something that the majority of constituents are asking for or if it is some personal grievance that individual MPs may have.
I think Canada needs to take a page from the Queen – we are either in or we are out.
We can't be calling on the U.K. and the monarchy when we feel threatened and when it's convenient.
If you want to be a part of a constitutional monarchy and the country developed by this system, you accept it, both the good and the bad.
E. L. McDonald London, Ont.
So this is what it has come down to – MPs from a separatist party stirring up their petty mischief to scrap the requirement to swear oath of loyalty to the King and thus, no longer acknowledge or respect the history and heritage of the monarch, who represents the Crown under which they serve.
A monarch that peacefully and orderly enabled the leadership from their dominion to form a country in 1867 that is now the envy of the world; and a monarch who Canadian men and women have served in peacetime, and sacrificed their lives for during times of war.
When one swears allegiance to the Crown, it is to the monarch and the people of Canada – it is not to either one or the other.
Leo Deveau Summerside, PEI
Re 'High expectations are an albatross for Carney. His Throne Speech must lower them' (Opinion, May 22): Whatever we may expect, we will compare Mark Carney to our alternatives and his competition.
All he really needs to do is be more ingratiating than Pierre Poilievre, more fiscally astute than Justin Trudeau and more rational than Danielle Smith – and hew to a higher standard of ethics than Donald Trump.
None of these is particularly difficult. His political future is evidently assured.
Perhaps, therefore, Mr. Carney will find he has the bandwidth available to solve real problems for Canada and Canadians, politics be damned.
P. Diane Bond Kelowna, B.C.
Re 'Carney cabinet ministers get the same mandate letter listing 'priorities' '(May 22): The mandate letter from the Prime Minister to his ministers heralds significant 'new approaches to governing.'
Instead of autocratically imposed 'to do' lists, Mark Carney sets out broad, visionary policies and asks his ministers to 'identify how specifically you can contribute to these missions.'
Decades ago, businesses began to limit the use of authoritative, management imposed policies, in favour of empowering employees to suggest ways to improve their corporation, resulting in their receiving the power and facilities needed to succeed.
With this approach now available to ministers, rather than firm dictates from above, they can engage the public service to help them develop feasible deliverables.
While it remains to be seen if this new empowerment of lower levels will be successful, it is good news for Canadians.
Jon Baird Uxbridge, Ont.
It is now six weeks since a new Liberal government was elected.
The government is under new leadership and is figuring out the implementation of major initiatives, many led by newly elected MPs in cabinet.
It is also actively dealing with a volatile force from the U.S. that will have profound and, at this point, unpredictable consequences for our economy.
And here we are, trashing the government for producing a budget in the fall rather than 'within 90 days.'
Get real. It is time to cut the new government some slack.
Dan Lang Toronto
Re: 'Canada should firmly reject Trump's ludicrous Golden Dome plan' (Opinion, May 23): Lloyd Axworthy is exactly right. But more needs to be said.
I can only think of two reasons why the Canadian government would even consider Donald Trump's ridiculous and dangerous plan.
First, by seeming to play along, it would soften the blow when we reject purchasing more F-35 jets.
Second, it's such a stupid plan that it will never be built, so we need not worry about making a significant investment.
The trouble with doing politics like this is that it undermines the Canadian public's current view that the U.S. is, at best, unreliable and, at worst, our enemy.
If we are too clever by half, it will weaken the necessary public resolve when painful decisions must be made to disentangle us from the U.S.
James Robert Brown London, Ont.
Re 'Space Shield' (Letters, May 23): The Canada-U.S. relationship is more than Donald Trump, both temporally and across the political spectrum.
This project will far outlive Mr. Trump as U.S. President. Also, we bore witness to the five U.S. senators who recently visited Canada, and the various resolutions introduced in the U.S. Senate recognizing this relationship.
If Canada is to benefit from U.S. defence initiatives, then Canada has to pay to be in the game.
Canada successfully negotiated being part of the U.S. space program and the Canadarm is seen as a great success.
It can do the same for this so-called Golden Dome.
Even if the Golden Dome is never put into effect, the knowledge gained from the effort will be worth it.
Michael Di Paolo Toronto
Re 'Though he failed to win the ultimate prize, Shanahan exits having restored self-respect to the Maple Leafs' (Sports, May 23): What did Brendan Shanahan do for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
He hired a general manager with whom he strengthened our goaltending, our defence, and our third and fourth lines.
He hired a head coach with whom the strengthened team finished first in the Atlantic Division this year.
In other words, he fulfilled his responsibility to put the pieces in place for success, and those pieces delivered in the regular season.
Those pieces failed to advance against the reigning Stanley Cup champions. How is this Shanahan's fault?
This isn't about the need to change an unsuccessful system. It might be more about Keith Pelley's desire to be more hands on.
Tom Hill Richmond Hill, Ont.
Re 'At Cannes, the global film industry contends with its very own impossible mission' (Arts, May 22): I've been around long enough to remember Jay Scott and Liam Lacey reporting on the Cannes film festival for decades.
Then The Globe stopped sending a film critic. Not so great.
So imagine my delight when seeing Barry Hertz filing his excellent dispatches from the French Riviera.
Times have been tough for newspapers, but I appreciate the investment in sending Mr. Hertz to la Croisette.
J. D. M. Stewart Toronto