Readers discuss the special rapporteur’s report on foreign interference, bail reform, 'shrinkflation' and more
‘Trudeau government should be ashamed’
Re: David Johnston escapes inquiry into his own China dealings — Terry Glavin, May 24; and David Johnston takes the blame for Trudeau’s assault on democracy — Rex Murphy, May 25
In his column, Terry Glavin highlighted the special rapporteur’s decision not to allow the public to view classified information and intelligence. David Johnston was right to resist.
In the Second World War, several thousand people in several nations promised not to disclose the highly secret “Ultra” category of intelligence, the intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted communications at Bletchley Park. One woman almost rejected anesthetic during an operation because she was afraid she might talk freely. It was only by such security that the secret was withheld from the Germans, who would surely have closed that gap in their security had it been known.
The Trudeau government should be ashamed that it could not find a way to reveal the Chinese attacks without exposing its sources of information. In the interim, many Canadians of Chinese descent have been obliged to resist threats from Beijing without moral support from Ottawa and the rest of us.
Charles Hooker, East Garafraxa, Ont.
Political interference by foreign governments is impossible to control unless it breaches Canadian law, in which case it becomes a criminal matter. The question is whether Canadian laws are too weak to protect the integrity of our election process. The opportunity to hold a public inquiry into the China interference allegations would help us determine the potential need and scope of new laws to protect Canadians from any foreign entity trying to manipulate the outcome of our democratic elections.
More importantly (without compromising sources) it would take information hidden in the ivory tower of Canada’s spy agency and give Canadians a better understanding to make informed decisions about their political choices.
John McNicol, West Vancouver
Rex Murphy’s analysis of the David Johnston report is filled with the facts that sadly reflect just how far down real democracy in Canada has descended.
Many Canadians likely knew the selection of David Johnston as “special rapporteur” was going to lead to a no-inquiry situation, and indeed it came true. A totally useless exercise, for all the reasons Murphy listed.
His very poignant “What the hell is going on in this country” should ring many bells for Canadians; we should be seriously concerned as to where we
are headed.
Gary Clement’s cartoon took Murphy’s comment to a level of humour, but sadly we cannot be laughing. This country, which is being run by a “buffoon” and his cohorts, is in big trouble.
Douglas MacLean, Canmore, Alta.
Leadership manifests when one makes a personal sacrifice for the betterment of many. Often, this sacrifice is recognized and the proponent gets leadership kudos. Jagmeet Singh has the opportunity to set a better course for our government by killing the pact with the Liberals. History will ignore him as the person who had the power but did not use it, or lionize him as the person who had the power, and notwithstanding the personal sacrifice, did use it. By doing nothing, Singh’s political calculus is looking a lot like political arithmetic.
John P.A. Budreski, Whistler, B.C.
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Letters: Another good man lost to Justin Trudeau's 'vision'
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Letters: Banish the 'three C's' from universities
The prime minister’s extremities
Re: Left-wing caricatures of Poilievre have failed to convince Canadians — Sabrina Maddeaux, May 19
It is interesting that in the poll cited by Sabrina Maddeaux, 53 per cent of respondents rated Pierre Poilievre as “too extreme” compared with 39 per cent who thought the same of Justin Trudeau.
Trudeau is extreme in his world view of one united world with probably one government. He is extreme in his ruining of our oil and gas industries. He is extreme in his admiration of Chinese dictatorship. He is extreme in his control of his cabinet. He is extreme in his lack of financial restraint, bloating our civil service and overspending on give-aways. Lastly, his handling of the truckers’ protest was extreme.
No former prime minister has been anywhere near as extreme as Trudeau.
Jonathan Usher, North York, Ont.
What about the victims of crime?
Re: What Pierre Poilievre gets wrong in the culture war over bail — Terry Newman, May 25
In her thoughtful analysis of bail, early parole and rehabilitation in the Canadian criminal justice system, Newman glaringly gives little or no consideration to the safety and well-being of victims of crime at the hands of these repeat offenders, which should be the primary goal of incarceration, rehabilitation being secondary. On this culture war issue, she appears to be on the wrong side, the side disfavoured by crime victims and the majority of society.
Jack Shore, Toronto
Fighting the scourge of ‘shrinkflation’
Re: Shrinkflation is getting worse in Canada — and it could mean paying more taxes — Laura Brehaut, May 23
I doubt even the most savvy consumers are fully versed in the minutiae of rules regarding food taxation. (The CRA webpage on basic groceries alone has 168 subsections). Why not have a legal requirement that there be clear labelling regarding whether an item is taxed or not?
It would help empower shoppers, and might even discourage some degree of that insidious pervasive “shrinkflation.”
Deborah Kestenbaum, Toronto
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