Outside the Royal Bank of Canada office tower in Toronto’s Financial District.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Don't like RBC fees? Try a credit union
Re No stone left unturned as RBC hikes fees (April 30): I have an answer for all those people who are feeling ripped off by Royal Bank of Canada fees: credit unions.
Credit unions are owned by their members. They don't charge unnecessary fees and their profits go back to their community instead of rich fat cats.
- Jane McCall, Delta, B.C.
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Something smells fishy – and Russian
Re An untimely death in Mongolia as miner seeks to recoup funds (April 25): Your report on the death of Jim Doak in Mongolia notes a telling fact.
After Mongolia expropriated his Khan Resources uranium project (illegally, as an international arbitration tribunal determined), Mr. Doak began enforcement proceedings to collect his damages. He travelled to Ulan Bator for discussions with the government on paying them. He died in his hotel room immediately after those efforts proved fruitless. But the Mongolian government had already "cashed out" by selling the project to a state-owned Russian company. Mongolia may have no history of eliminating its opponents, but the same can't be said about Vladimir Putin's Russia. Was this a planned scam in which Russia got the mine, Mongolia got paid and Mr. Doak was left to chase his money?
I once made a claim for a client in a bid to recover damages from an investment in a South Asian country. I was invited there for settlement "discussions." My contacts at Foreign Affairs and the Canadian High Commission in that country shared the concern that I could easily be eliminated in an attack blamed on terrorists. I proposed meeting in neutral London – no response.
- Michael Robinson, Toronto
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How to clamp down on executive pay?
Re Time to stand up to executive pay (ROB letters – April 25): It's high time, but how? The total incomes being revealed in the annual reports are obscene. Board members are now being remunerated at a rate totally out of proportion, as well. Worse yet, in order to "align" board members' interests with those of the company, significant amounts of stock options are now added to each board members' accounts annually as a matter of course. Combined with stock options negotiated for the top layer of the company, and additional options awarded and belonging to board members, the "little shareholder" might as well not bother voting.
I'm looking to our securities watchdog and government to find sensible ways to align the interests of the shareholders with what's being doled out to executives and board members.
- Kirsten Connor, Charlottetown
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Montreal puts the 'Hab' in habitat
Re Sports-themed condos score with Canadian fans (April 27): The Montreal real estate project built to woo Canadiens fans is nothing new. After all, this is the city that built "Hab"-itat for Expo 67. Greg Hoggarth, Mississauga
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