Letters to the editor, July 22: ‘Perhaps we should be thanking Donald Trump for getting our government to say it will clamp down on the dumping of foreign steel in Canada'

Globe and Mail

5 days ago

Re 'Softwood deal a top priority in trade talks, Carney says' (July 17): I recall statements made in our King's recent speech from the Throne calling for more houses and using more Canadian technology and material. Furthermore, I believe the primary material in most individual homes and multiplexes is lumber and other wood products.
A financier as clever as our Prime Minister should be able to initiate a homebuilding program which vigorously supports the Canadian lumber industry. How about a guaranteed quota with guaranteed prices to keep mills open and employees, both in lumber and construction, working?
Steven Harker Kingston
Re 'Carney cracks down further on cheap steel imports in bid to protect domestic mills' (July 17): Perhaps we should be thanking Donald Trump for getting our government to say it will clamp down on the dumping of foreign steel in Canada. This has been a problem for many years, but it didn't seem to be a concern for prior governments.
And perhaps we should also thank Mr. Trump for forcing our governments to crack down on fentanyl. The opioid scourge has been killing and disabling Canadians for years, but their lives didn't seem to be a concern for prior governments.
If the U.S. President would demand change about our courts granting repeated bail to accused persons who violate the conditions under which they were released, perhaps there would be less violence on our streets. When I read about such travesties, I wonder why our police officers bother to risk their lives to capture the same offenders over and over again, only to see them released.
Ted Crljenica Windsor, Ont.
Re 'Defence spending should be leveraged to boost Canada's R&D' (July 17): Our military equipment is obsolescent, if not obsolete. Canada needs a well-equipped, well-trained military with state-of-the-art equipment.
However, strong spending on research and development, a heathy economy and an excellent national infrastructure are preconditions for national defence. Our weak R&D spending, along with our inability to translate our world-class innovations into new industries, contributes to our declining standard of living.
Economic health is essential to our national security, so devoting 20 per cent of our defence budget to R&D seems reasonable. The exodus of world-class researchers from American universities could, if harnessed, reinvent and create entire industries here.
We can also learn much from other countries such as the United States for best practices: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has created entirely new industries; Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works repeatedly undertook state-of-the-art aerospace projects; Stanford University played a critical role in creating of Silicon Valley.
John Shepherd Richmond, B.C.
Re 'Army removes commanding officer after alleged racist, sexual social-media posts by soldiers' (July 18): Seriously?
The Defence Minister thinks the Cameron Highlanders' alleged posting of racist comments and sexual images is 'unacceptable?' And any member participating 'should expect to face administrative and/or disciplinary consequences?'
Well, that sure sounds serious. I have a better idea: Boot them out, zero tolerance.
Who wants to have people like these, in 'a prestigious reserve unit' playing 'a major role' in Ottawa ceremonial events, representing us anywhere? I sure don't.
Let's get real about these types of incidents.
Erin Scullion Ottawa
Re 'Strength in numbers' (Letters, July 15): A letter-writer asserts that the NDP and Liberals should merge to form a left-leaning bloc to confront the Conservatives in the next election. This would be a bad idea.
Firstly the parties have different backgrounds, with the NDP standing for the working class and the Liberals associated with the mainstream middle class. Their ideologies are separate, and combining the two parties would make for an uneasy alliance in which radicals and moderates both vie for power – rather like the modern Conservative Party.
The merger would also accelerate the slide toward a two-party system, which would only intensify political polarization and make centrist coalitions, such as those in Denmark and Germany, more unlikely.
Let's instead embrace a diversity of parties and adopt a mixed-member proportional system, so we can have a fairer election for once.
Iain McInnes Ottawa
Re 'U.K. plans to lower voting age to 16 in national elections' (July 18): This has encouraged those campaigning to reduce the voting age in Canada to 16.
Before that happens, or at least at the same time, the Youth Criminal Justice Act should lower the maximum age of criminal responsibility to 16.
If they are old enough to vote, they are old enough to face consequences in adult courts.
Andrew Chong Toronto
Re 'Costa Rica is no longer a safe haven for Nicaraguan exiles' (July 18): I was pretty well in agreement with the contributor until the last paragraph about the need for 'regime change' in Nicaragua.
That's language right out of the ill-conceived Bush Doctrine, and we all know what happened in post-2003 Iraq. The last thing the United States should be doing, or the Organization of American States for that matter, is trying to destabilize the illiberal government in Managua.
Besides, the disastrous U.S.-sponsored 'Contra war' of the 1980s, which led to the vicious deaths of thousands of innocent Nicaraguans, is another reminder of why Washington should stay out of the business of trying to topple Central American governments.
Peter McKenna Professor, department of political science, University of Prince Edward Island; Charlottetown
Re 'Giller Prize says it will be forced to cease operations without federal funding' (July 17): The Giller Foundation wasn't forced to eject Scotiabank as its sponsor.
It seems to have caved in response to some 'holier than thou' folks, and now the Canadian taxpayer is asked to pay the bill instead. As much as I love the arts, I would rather that the bank paid.
Leave politics to the politicians.
Cassandra King Stratford, Ont.
Re 'A North Dakota city is being overrun by ground squirrels and officials are not amused' (July 18): Regarding the nefarious squirrels 'overrunning' Minot, N.D., it seems these squirrels are native to the region.
So I suppose they were there for thousands of years until humans came and destroyed their habitat, forcing them to move into town.
Who is overrunning whom, I wonder?
Glenn Parsons Guelph, Ont.
Are ground squirrels tasty?
Michael Arkin Toronto
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