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The Saddledome arena, built for the Calgary Flames and the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, won't be seeing any Olympic action in 2026.TODD KOROL

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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Calgary’s big decision

Re Calgary Sends A Message To The IOC (editorial, Nov. 15): It seems Calgary medaled in common sense.

Padraig Nelson, Vancouver

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Thank you for your clear, frank editorial about why being host to the Olympic Games is such an unattractive proposition. Many of us are disillusioned about this sporting event because there has been so much doping. I wrote to the mayor of Calgary and my MP saying that I do not want my tax dollars to support the Games.

Barbara Clarke, St. John’s

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Despite what Cathal Kelly suggests, the Olympic bandwagon isn’t empty (The Olympic Bandwagon Is Running On Empty – Nov. 15). At least one seat is occupied – by me! Clearly, I am in the 44-per-cent minority who backed bringing the 2026 Games here, so I am sorely disappointed Calgary said no. I was 12 in 1988 and the Games are where I fell in love with curling (a demonstration sport then) and with the city which has since become my home.

In the 1980s, we lived in Regina and I still remember the excitement when dad announced we were all going to the Games (he’d been in Montreal in 1976), and that we would have to do some serious saving and give up our usual vacation trip to do it. He and mom made it happen and it was one of the best experiences of my life.

How many Canadians will miss out on seeing an Olympic event now in their own country? Falling in love with a sport they will pursue for a lifetime? What a boost this could have given Calgary.

Roseanna Anderson, Calgary

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The reason that I, and and many other Calgarians, voted “no” to an Olympic bid is because it is time that we stood up to the arrogant, corrupt behemoth that is the International Olympic Committee, and the related international sports organizations.

Hope Smith, Calgary

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I’m a dad to three kids. The third child is way cheaper than the first. Coats, skates, bikes etc. all get to be reused for a second and third child, making the cost of parenting much cheaper overall.

The IOC needs to rethink the Olympics in relation to the huge costs in hosting a single Games by allowing winning cities to host the Games multiple times. Bringing to life the second and third Summer or Winter Olympic Games in the same city would greatly reduce the costs to its citizens. It would also help avoid the underutilized or abandoned assets we have seen after past Games (Sochi and Rio).

If Calgary were given the opportunity to host the Games multiple times over a 12- or 16-year period, I believe the plebiscite would have resulted in an overwhelming “yes.” The Olympics are expensive. Give host countries and cities a chance to recoup a larger portion of these costs.

Marshall McAlister, Edmonton

Praying Mantis syndrome?

Re Human-Rights Groups Should Attend Trial Of Suspects In Khashoggi Killing, Turkey Says (Nov. 15): Tough job being an alleged assassin for MBS. Carrying out the plans meticulously – including cleaning up – and then having your boss disavow any knowledge of your actions (orders) – proving his own innocence by having you legally decapitated?

Praying Mantis syndrome – eaten by the one you’ve performed for?

Mark Christian Burgess, Cobourg, Ont.

Brexit, Ireland’s sway

Re May’s Cabinet Backs Brexit Deal As Opposition Builds (Nov. 15): A suggestion for Britain: Repair the damage done in 1921, help reunite Ireland, then vote again and perhaps save the United Kingdom from making another mistake by leaving the European Union.

Leo J. Broos, Oakville, Ont.

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The Good Friday Agreement “ended decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles”? Sectarian violence in Ireland is measured in centuries, not decades, reaching back to 1170 when the Norman-English invaded Ireland.

Highlights of Irish resistance to English invasions include the Desmond Rebellion of 1569, the Nine Years War in 1594, O’Doherty’s Rebellion in 1608, the resistance to Cromwell’s infamous onslaught in 1649 – an assault so violent that the Irish still speak of it today – William of Orange’s usurpation of the English crown in 1689 and the Irish resistance to that, the rebellion of the United Irishmen in 1803, the Fenian Rising of 1867 – a fight that carried over into Canada just before Confederation – the revered Easter Rising in 1916, the Irish War of Independence in 1919- 1921, and Border Campaigns led by factions of the IRA beginning in the mid-1950s, and the period known as the Troubles (1968-1998).

We must understand this ceaseless Irish rebellion of more than 800 years against English invasion and occupation if we are to appreciate why the Irish people are still resisting English interference in their country and in their affairs.

John D. O’Leary, Toronto

Prince Charles at 70

Long live the Queen – but when she dies, Canadians should adopt our own head of state. Our country is 151 years old, with its own history and traditions; we have no need of an overseas monarch to be the symbol of our constitutional continuity. A Canadian choice is all the more appropriate, given the dubious quality of the heir apparent, who marked his 70th birthday on Wednesday.

Charles’s statecraft is known to be dodgy at best, and he is far from a moral exemplar. When the Queen dies, let Canadians choose their own constitutional leader.

David Beattie, Chelsea, Que.

Gun equivalency

Re Targeting Guns (Nov. 14): A letter writer draws a false parallel between murder by gun and murder by car or van. A car and a van have a primary purpose, which is transport. A gun has a primary purpose, which is to kill or maim.

I see no reason for anyone to have a handgun or any of the automatic guns. The only purpose of those weapons is to kill people. A hunting rifle is another matter, and those should be licensed and registered.

Jennie Ucar, Toronto

Goop fan? Not so much …

Re In Goop We Trust (Pursuits, Nov. 10): Are you kidding? The fact it’s Gwyneth Paltrow’s brand name notwithstanding, the word “Goop” brings to mind the well-known Gelett Burgess poem. Didn’t your mothers quote it to you during dinner?

The Goops they lick their fingers,

And the Goops they lick their knives;

They spill their broth on the tablecloth –

Oh, they lead disgusting lives!

The Goops they talk while eating,

And loud and fast they chew;

And that is why I’m glad that I

Am not a Goop – are you?

Barb Heidenreich, Bailieboro, Ont.

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