Alberta Premier Jason Kenney promises a 'summer of repeal.'Chris Young/The Canadian Press
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All that is good
None of us, even the ones born with a silver spoon in their mouth, ever truly or fully escape life’s vicissitudes. Consider the overwhelming number of harrowing “lives lived” stories about individuals or communities plagued by one horrific experience or circumstance after another. How anyone simply survives these life-altering experiences amounts to a small miracle.
Then there are the stories of individuals whom one expects will be crushed by an unending series of tragic and brutal events, yet end up succeeding and thriving. Usually supported through small acts of kindness and encouragement along the way, they somehow learn to excel. These triumphs of willpower represent all that is good about humanity. This is the story of Dawn Johnson (From The Streets To The Halls Of Justice: Former Foster Child, Teen Mom Overcomes Adversity To Graduate In Law, May 22).
Per ardua ad astra.
Steve Sanderson, Quispamsis, N.B.
Whoa. It was an election
Re Kenney Vows A ‘Summer Of Repeal’ As UCP Targets Notley’s Legacy (May 21): Since when did elections become revolutions in this country? While not exactly a reign of terror or even a crusade to “lock ’em up,” Jason Kenney’s declared “summer of repeal” will savage the legacy of Rachel Notley and the defeated New Democratic Party. Elections have consequences – but not to the extent that the legislation of an outgoing government should be euphorically cast aside like the dictates of a hostile occupying regime.
Farley Helfant, Toronto
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As our new Premier prepares for the “summer of repeal,” Mother Nature has already ignited the summer of fires in our province (‘I Just Grabbed What I Could Bring’: Residents Flee As Wildfire Rages In Northern Alberta, May 22). Before eliminating Alberta’s climate strategy, I urge Jason Kenney to ensure it will be replaced. Time is not on our side. We owe it to our children, who will continue to be disproportionately impacted by our mistakes.
Orlagh O’Kelly, Edmonton
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It isn’t often you see someone almost literally throwing oil on the flames, but that is what Alberta’s new Premier is doing. A decade ago, Alberta’s own Sustainable Resource Development Department acknowledged that Alberta would be warmer and drier as a result of climate change. This increases the risk of forest fires, as well as their intensity and the length of the fire season. So what does Jason Kenney do? Increase oil and gas extraction, abolish the carbon tax and cut support for solar energy. If Albertans don’t like seeing their communities burned to the ground, maybe they should elect a government that will make things better, not worse.
Trevor Hancock, Victoria
Housing-price decline
Re The Housing Bubble Is Deflating (editorial, May 22): Falling house prices are good news indeed for the residents of Vancouver who have watched this real estate fiasco unfold over the past few years. Now that home prices are finally falling, can we expect our annual city tax bill to fall by a corresponding percentage? These bills were increased annually beyond reason by the previous gang who were turfed last year from Vancouver’s City Hall.
John Stevenson, Vancouver
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Gary Mason’s column on deflating Vancouver’s housing bubble makes me – a former Doug Ford voter – seriously contemplate switching to the NDP next time (Why I Welcome Vancouver’s Housing Crash, May 22). After all, as Mr. Mason puts it, the NDP provincial government in B.C. is “doing an admirable job of starting to clean up this mess” which federal, provincial and municipal politicians failed to tackle for years. Yet Ontario’s “reformist” P.C. government remains virtually silent on the even bigger, arguably even more scandalous housing market in Toronto.
If the NDP succeeds in Vancouver and nothing happens here, the Ford government deserves to become a one-term blip.
Peter Bartha, Aurora, Ont.
Rethinking energy
Re Canada’s Energy Policy Demands a Rethink (May 20): There’s a new form of climate denial in town. It involves stating that one “accepts the science of climate change,” while ignoring the implications of the science.
There is only one way to square the circle between, on one hand, science-based demands for immediate and deep carbon-emission reductions, and, on the other, expanded domestic fossil-fuel emissions: It is to argue that other countries – not ours – should bear the brunt of the responsibility for emission cuts (despite the fact Canadians are among the world’s highest per-capita emitters).
Mac Van Wielingen lauds Canada for showing global leadership, despite its small size, in responding to the key global threat of the 20th century. Why have us excuse ourselves from similar global leadership in addressing the 21st century’s preeminent threat?
Michael Polanyi, Toronto
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Mac Van Wielingen is that rarest of things: He is both a climate and energy realist. He gives me hope we might yet make it past this polarized impasse on pipelines and embrace “ a future for our oil-and-gas sector that is both moral and smart.” It is not moral to rely on Saudi oil in Eastern Canada, and it is not smart to fill Saudi wallets while leaving Albertans, our fellow Canadians, unemployed.
Emily Saunders, Montreal
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Canada is a high-cost supplier in an era of oversupply, cheap oil prices, and an accelerating shift to renewable energy. It’s very hard to see how doubling down on oil, gas and pipelines is a winning bet for the long term.
John McLeod, Toronto
Iran, history
Re Trump, Iran Trade Twitter Warnings After Rocket Falls Near U.S. Embassy In Iraq (May 22): The Greek king Croesus asked the Delphic Oracle: What will happen if I attack the Persian Empire (current Iran)? The Oracle replied: A great empire will be destroyed.
The Oracle was of course correct – and the Greek Empire was destroyed. Maybe Donald Trump should read a little history.
Alex Doulis, Toronto
War brides
Re War Bride Ready To Bloom At Queen’s Garden Party (May 20): I hope Dorothy Marshall meets the Queen. My English mother was a war bride, arriving with the earlier wave of women between 1942 and 1944, aboard the SS Île de France. One week she was in the thick of things in London, air raids and all – and the next, dodging German U-boats along the way, she had arrived safely in Halifax at Pier 21.
She didn’t see her husband (my Canadian father) again until 1945. I have a picture of her taken shortly after arriving in Canada.
For a rare treat, she was taken to visit Niagara Falls, a memorable experience.
Natasha van Bentum, Victoria