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Auditor-General Michael Ferguson blamed three senior public servants for the Phoenix pay system’s ‘incomprehensible failure.’Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com

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It’s bigger than Phoenix

Re Senior Bureaucrats In Charge Of Flawed Phoenix Pay System Weren’t Fired (June 15): As a former federal public servant, I can attest to the pervasive levels of dysfunction within government.

Of course the responsible executives weren’t fired: If there’s one thing the government is good at, it’s creating a consequence-free environment. By the same measure, excellence and efficiency are only appreciated by the tiniest of increments, so true stars also go unrecognized (then leave).

Meantime, executives achieve distinction in part due to the size of their portfolio. Downsizing or cutting is literally a conflict of interest for a senior official’s prospect for advancement, hence calls for efficiency fall on deaf ears.

Phoenix gets the attention for failure, but countless other programs wallow in mediocrity, siphoning off billions for more deserving services we require.

Eric deVos, Canmore, Alta.

Trade on trouble

Interesting that Donald Trump has tweeted that “There is no limit to what NoKo can achieve when it gives up its nuclear weapons and embraces commerce with the world.” I would suggest that Kim Jong-un might look at Mr. Trump’s approach to international trade with Canada and the rest of the world before he makes any commitments!

Michael Vollmer, Burlington, Ont.

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I forget: Why are we in NORAD? Our longtime partner views us as a “security threat” and it and North Korea are fast becoming BFFs. I suspect that Vladimir Putin has other interests than invading Canada (although he might hijack the Alaska Highway for a while, I suppose, if he needed a predominantly overland route to get to a Friendship Rally in the mainland U.S.) I think my taxpayer bucks could be better spent.

Mary Lazier Corbett, Picton, Ont.

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Justin Trudeau should send flowers to Donald Trump and his trade adviser Peter (“there’s a special place in hell” ) Navarro in thanks for their unprecedented injection of Canadian unity. Who else but Mr. Trump and his loquacious toady could summon such robust support for our menaced PM from such unlikely quarters as Stephen Harper, Doug Ford, Jason Kenney and even the National Post?

Terry Downey, Saskatoon

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The way to avoid future G7 debacles is to get rid of the annual ritual altogether. With Brexit looming, and with China and India excluded, can this group truly claim to speak for today’s world economy? Most of the current corps of political leaders lack the stature and respect, at home or abroad, that was accorded to the éminence grise of previous generations who endeavored to navigate us through major world crises.

I say, au revoir G7.

Cherian S. Thachenkary, Atlanta, Ga.

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Former British treasury official Jim O’Neill agrees with President Donald Trump that the current membership of the G7 no longer reflects global political and economic realities (Why The Group Of Seven Is A Zero – June 13). But while the President wants to add Russia to make it the G8, Mr. O’Neill considers the G20 to be the better club for the world’s biggest economies.

Given the current leaders and governments of the United States, Russia, Turkey, the Philippines, Poland, Hungary and Italy, I suggest the formation of a new international body, one that better captures the spirit of the times: the RWP7 (the Right-Wing Populist Seven).

Unfortunately, it might be necessary to replace the “7” with a larger number if present political trends continue.

Peter Seidl, Vancouver

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The American/Soviet nuclear arms race was based on the deterrence of mutually assured destruction. China, the U.K., France, India, Pakistan and Israel have joined the club, each presumably believing that this is the ultimate protection for their nation.

Now we have North Korea and Iran wanting in. Each has good reason to fear for its security. How many nations have nuclear-club members invaded in the past few decades? North Vietnam prevailed and North Korea survives only with support from China.

What North Korea is doing makes perfect sense for its own security. It is not likely to risk annihilation and use nukes to attack the U.S. or the South. But North Korea won’t give up all its nukes.

Who decides who gets to join the club and get the ultimate protection of nuclear deterrence? Are we naive in assuming Canada is safe under the “protection” of our nuclear allies?

Andrew Gamble, Ottawa

Cashing in on Banksy

Re Unauthorized Banksy Show Scrubs Art Of Its Power While Cashing In On Its Fame (Life & Arts, June 14): While it may bother Kate Taylor that the Art of Banksy exhibit is “unauthorized,” her advice that readers try Google instead seems rather cynical. Surely there is some value in friends and strangers alike coming together to experience art? Since we can’t afford to fly around the world and see Banksy originals in situ, my 12-year-old, art-loving daughter and I are looking forward to going to the Toronto exhibit on Father’s Day, and in this case, I’m glad she doesn’t read the reviews.

Josh Cobden, Toronto

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I could not agree more with Kate Taylor’s article. It is a pity that it wasn’t published when Steve Lazarides started selling tickets to this unauthorized, underwhelming show, rather than after it was mostly sold out.

Under Canadian law, living artists are protected from their works being exhibited without their permission. It seems that copyright principles are also being violated in the gift shop.

Anyone who had no idea that this was an unethical (and seemingly successful) attempt by Mr. Lazarides to make money off someone else’s creativity should get their money back. Every ethical art exhibitor and gallery in the city should be advocating for the enforcement of artists’ copyright and exhibition rights which are enshrined in Canadian law.

Sally Plumb, Toronto

A pitch … for 16

Our governments will spend many millions of taxpayers’ dollars so that Canadians in three cities have the opportunity to watch a grand total of 10 first-round games at FIFA’s 2026 World Cup (The World Cup Is Great – If You Aren’t Organizing It, June 14).

The whole situation reminds me of a joyous 2003 documentary, The Other Final. It focused on a game between the two nations then at the bottom of FIFA’s world rankings, Bhutan (No. 202) and Montserrat (No. 203). The Bhutanese, as I recall, had certain philosophical difficulties with training, while the Montserratians had been unable to practise much for some time because the country’s one stadium had been destroyed by a volcanic eruption.

Canada would contribute more to the world of soccer, and probably have a lot more fun, if away from the grasping hands of FIFA we took our cue from this film and spent our money on sponsoring a tournament for the world’s 16 bottom-ranked nations.

Jeremy Wilson, Victoria


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