Indian Arm and Belcarra are seen from a helicopter in Burnaby, B.C., on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and premiers Rachel Notley of Alberta and John Horgan of British Columbia are meeting Sunday, April 15, to discuss ways to end the impasse over the Trans Mountain pipeline extension.JONATHAN HAYWARD
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Resolving an impasse
Re PM Calls Summit On Trans Mountain Impasse (April 13): The Prime Minister owns the burden of responsibility for the simmering economic and political crisis that we find ourselves in. Justin Trudeau has enabled the uncompromising, ideological activists driving the opposition to the pipeline expansion. Social licence for the environmental purists begins and ends with “Leave it in the ground.” That is the case now, and that has always been the case.
“Thank you … for your activism, keep up the activism” the Prime Minister said to protesters who interrupted him last summer in Vancouver. What a glowing blessing and empowerment to be bestowed by the Prime Minister. Are we to be surprised that protesters are now lining up to reap the rewards of martyrdom by flaunting the law in Burnaby?
Are we to be surprised that the mayor of Burnaby and the Premier of B.C. are undertaking political guerrilla warfare to obstruct this legally approved, commercial project? Are we to be surprised that the Leader of the Green Party, a member of the Parliament of Canada, displays contempt for the law by being arrested and charged with violating a court-ordered injunction?
Do we feel that the Prime Minister’s words – “This Pipeline will be built” – lack meaningful personal conviction and sincerity?
“Keep up your activism” indeed.
Ken Young, Foothills, Alta.
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Wouldn’t the Prime Minister’s best plan be an address to the nation? In this, he could outline the many things that make our country great. And how we as a country as a whole are greater than the sum of individual parts. And that being Canadian is an honour.
He needs to make the case for how important the Kinder Morgan pipeline is to Alberta, but also how important it is to the fabric of our nation.
He needs to tell Canadians that the ultimate group that makes decisions for our country is not outside interests or groups of protesters, but our federally elected representatives. This is their sacred responsibility to the public.
And in the end, he needs to acknowledge that there are many Canadians who do not want a new pipeline but many more who do. That is the reality.
The public needs clarity, not back room discussions or deals.
Colin Lockhart, Florenceville Bristol, N.B.
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Re This Is No Way To Save Trans Mountain (editorial, April 12): This may be no way to stop Trans Mountain either, but let’s be clear, first of all, about the way in which The Globe and Mail is attempting to influence its readers. Phrases like “smug indifference” are inflammatory and should be above the standard of editorial writing in a national newspaper.
And let’s try to be clear about why there is opposition to the pipeline on the part of many British Columbians: It’s not about the pipeline. It’s about the resulting increased tanker traffic and the danger it poses to our coastal waters. It’s about the lack of trust in big business and the laws that protect big business. Something has gone wrong, and The Globe and Mail may not be in the right about who is in the wrong.
Donna Richardson, Victoria
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Re If Ottawa Rams Through Trans Mountain, It Could Set Up An Oka-Like Crisis (April 12): I find it illuminating that the supporters of the pipeline extension speak in terms of nation building, jobs, and economic growth, while the opponents (more properly, some of the opponents) threaten anarchy.
Hamilton McDonald, West Vancouver
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Reading all of the reporting and letters on this issue, I am moved to ask when ownership of the western coast of Canada was transferred to the province of British Columbia. To my knowledge, it is not the B.C. coast, but the coast off B.C.
Otherwise, why is the federal government absorbing the cost and responsibility for the Coast Guard, ports and harbours and other related infrastructure?
Ken Duff, Vankleek Hill, Ont.
Accountability
Re Sending The Right Message (editorial, April 13): You claim that the sentencing of David Livingston, former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty’s chief of staff, sends a strong message of accountability. Some accountability: In the same editorial, you note that Mr. McGuinty has disappeared from public life.
The real message is that underlings pay the price. Remember the G20.
David Chalmers, Toronto
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Former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty’s chief of staff, David Livingston, is sentenced to four months in jail and a year’s probation for destroying records linked to the billion-dollar cancellation of two gas-plant projects.
According to the judge, Mr. Livingston “abused his position of power to promote the interests of the governing party at the expense of the democratic process. His conduct was an affront to and an attack upon democratic institutions and values.”
It appears that the proverbial piano player is facing jail time. Well, what about the people who made the decision to cancel these gas-plant projects in the first place? What does it say about their “interests” and “values”?
Vic Bornell, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
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They fail spectacularly
Re Wanted: Fewer Crashes (April 11): A letter writer recommends installing more roundabouts to make our roads safer. Roundabouts work great, as long as traffic flow isn’t too heavy and traffic is relatively balanced on all routes. When the traffic gets too heavy in all directions, or when one route is much busier than another, roundabouts don’t just fail. They fail spectacularly.
I used to live in the U.K. I’d be trying to get back on the Bristol Road in Longbridge, stuck at the roundabout for 10 minutes waiting for a gap in traffic. When I would finally manage to squeeze in, some yobbo would doubtless accelerate so he could slam on his brakes and honk at me for daring to get in his way. In Derby, I was stuck in a 20-minute tailback on a Sunday simply because the roundabout couldn’t handle the traffic. I suppose roundabouts are safer if none of the cars are actually moving.
There is no such thing as a road-safety panacea. The Brits have added traffic lights to roundabouts or pulled them out altogether in hundreds of locations. The only way to reduce accidents on our roads is to reduce the number of cars using them. And you do that by building more, faster, and better-connected transit.
Jason Shron, Thornhill, Ont.
Canada’s beating heart
Re Sweater Solidarity (April 13): Canada’s collective heart and soul have seldom been on display as in the coast-to-coast response to the recent tragedy in Humboldt. The only similar instance that I can recall came in the wake of Terry Fox’s cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research.
Yes, this country has a big heart, though sometimes we require a disaster to find it.
Geoff Smith, Kingston