Readers discuss the military's recruitment woes, the housing and auto theft crises, university finances and more
Re: Turns out, open hostility to white men isn’t great for military recruitment — Jamie Sarkonak, Feb. 10
There are moments, which are unfortunately becoming more frequent, when you shake your head and think that Canada has gone mad.
Few things in today’s world are more noble than taking on the risk of military service to protect one’s fellow citizens. How is it that some of us have taken this fact so much for granted as to lob veiled insults at those who have taken on this task, telling our soldiers that they are “too white” and somehow racist?
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Isn’t it bad enough that Canada’s soldiers are asked to serve with substandard equipment? Now we have to put them in harm’s way by setting criterion that sees to it that the soldier fighting next to them is there due to identity politics as opposed their ability to defend themselves and the others around them.
I am the proud parent of a son who has chosen to serve. I am also fortunate that he is not serving in the Canadian military but instead for that of another NATO country. Serving in today’s Canadian military includes unnecessary risks imposed by those who, in my opinion, seek to destroy a once proud institution. Shame on them.
Glen Leis, Aurora, Ont.
Re: Cutting university budgets is always messy and political — William Watson, Feb. 6
What wonderful insights into university finances William Watson has provided.
Trimming budgets is not only awkward and miserable, it is very costly. That cost, however, was incurred by the people who failed to exercise budgetary restraint in the first place.
We should refrain from castigating those who are correcting past errors. Financing the educations of wealthy Canadians on the backs of poor foreign students by effectively selling them Canadian work visas is abjectly immoral, so one has to hope that the politicians and university administrators who committed this sin will suffer mightily as things are made right. Fat hope, right?
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Patrick Cowan, Toronto
Re: Danielle Smith, the Galileo of our time — Jamie Sarkonak, Feb. 6
As a long-time high school track coach I am simply appalled that males who transition to females should be allowed to compete in female competition. Lia Thomas, the U.S. swimmer, provides us with a perfect example of the unfair advantage that trans athletes have when competing as females.
Sport already faces an uphill battle to stay ahead of the cheats who unfairly game the system. I call on all female athletes to refuse to compete in competitions that involve trans athletes. The purity of competition must be protected and must be paramount in sport.
Bob Erwin, Ottawa
Re: ‘A catchy slogan won’t stop auto theft’: Trudeau takes a jab at Poilievre — Feb. 8
Justin Trudeau is mad as hell, and he’s not going to take it anymore. After being pummelled in the polls for months now, the prime minister is going on the offensive.
On Thursday, the Liberals held a national auto-theft summit in an attempt to rein in another crisis that has evolved under their governance. The prime minister lashed out at Pierre Poilievre, claiming that “A catchy slogan won’t stop auto theft,” while announcing his government would consider stiffer sentences for car thieves.
This is the common sense “catchy slogan” that the Conservative leader had committed to, just days earlier.
Apparently, it’s finally catching on.
Al Willey, Edmonton
Re: Don’t trust politicians — Liberal, NDP or Tory — to fix housing — Kelly McParland, Feb. 6
My daughter works for a real estate developer in Vaughan, Ont. Her company works on fairly large residential developments and part of her job is to address the concerns of government regulators. Last week she was proud to tell me that she had gotten through 75 of the 150 “conditions” the bureaucrats had imposed on a development.
The housing shortage can never be fixed by government because government is standing in the way of progress. It’s really very simple: Regulators and bureaucrats are hired to regulate. The more regulation they can come up with the more secure their employment is. No matter how much money Premier Doug Ford promises to municipalities to speed up the building of new housing, the fact of the matter is that this does not address the root of the problem — the love of regulation.
The solution to the housing crisis is many faceted but it should start by lowering the conditions and regulatory burden. Next we have to stem the tide of immigration for a while. Then interest rates must come down. Finally, developers should be granted huge incentives to build affordable housing. If the federal government can grant more than $13 billion to build battery plants we don’t need, surely we can use a much smaller amount to incentivize builders to assuage the housing crisis.
Brian Forrest, Toronto
Re: Biden pressed to start another ‘stupid’ war — Kelly McParland, Feb. 1
“Might means right” implies that those with power can do what they want because they can’t be stopped. There are many countries with enough power to impose their will, so it would be instructive to imagine a world without American military power keeping the peace.
Iran might have led Syria and Lebanon in an invasion of Israel; overwhelmed Israel might launch nuclear attacks on Tehran, Damascus and Beirut.
Russia might have succeeded in its conquest of Ukraine by now, entered neighbouring Moldova while threatening to invade Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Europe might be facing a continent-wide war.
China might have invaded Taiwan and began to aggressively enforce its claim over the South China Sea, putting it into conflict with numerous countries, none of whom could resist China militarily.
Deterrence is the first value of military power.
Gary Krieger, North York, Ont.
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