Public Forum Roundup

Over the years, I have been a regular writer of letters to newspapers. My first one, I believe, was when I was about 13, and for the next 50 years or so I had a consistent output. That output has waned in recent years, probably because I no longer have the fire in the belly I had in my younger days, as well as the fact that this blog allows me to exercise my writing muscles on a regular basis.

I still, however, read letters to the editor on a regular basis, and with great interest, sometimes reproducing them here. Many are succinct gems that I hope get people thinking. Today i shall reproduce three of them. The first one especially resonates with me. Although we give happily to a number of charitable causes annually, I have never, to my knowledge, given a penny to hospital fund-raising efforts. The letter encapsulates my reasoning:

Ontario hospitals should not be begging for donations

On Dec 28, there was full page ad in the Star, placed by Lakeridge Health Foundation, soliciting donations towards the purchase of five life-saving devices: Automated External Defibrillators (AED). I pay taxes. Those should be sufficient to equip a hospital in Ontario. That is the bargain between me and the government; tax me and take care of the health and education and general well-being of the citizens of Ontario. If the taxes don’t cover the costs, raise the taxes.

Needed hospital equipment purchases should not require the hospital to put a tin cup on the sidewalk begging for donations.  Perhaps Premier Doug Ford could redirect the $200 vote-buying bribe cheques he has promised us and spend the $3 billion-plus on AEDs. They apparently cost $3,200 each. He could buy a million of them. They could be in every hospital ward, every bus, every subway car, every long-term-care facility, every beer and wine selling grocery store.  Even at the Ontario Place spa, maybe.

Graeme Elliott, Toronto

The ironic tone in the following, dealing with the travails of our current prime minister, especially appealed to me:

Trudeau’s chosen female ministers have failed him

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must be so disappointed. In 2015, he made international headlines by naming a cabinet that was 50 per cent women. Sadly, every single one turned out to be a dud. After what I can only imagine were heartfelt efforts to position one of them as his successor, they all failed to demonstrate the necessary intelligence, character, and gravitas for the job: Jody Wilson-Raybould, a crown prosecutor who held leadership positions in both Kwak’wala and Canadian governments. Not a team player. Joyce Murray, who made a fortune planting trees. Can’t think outside the box. And Chrystia Freeland, who found common ground with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and defended Liberal trade policies from a Trump attack in 2017, couldn’t see the upside in a few trifling Christmas gifts for all Canadians. The woman simply does not understand politics. Sad. Facing a second Donald Trump presidency, Trudeau and his small circle of like-minded advisers stand alone, grimly shouldering the weight of Canada’s future. On behalf of all Canadian women, I want to apologize for leaving this lonely burden to them.

Catherine Murton Stoehr, North Bay

Finally, a letter about Kevin O'leary, the toad who leaves warts on all he touches:

Kevin O’Leary represents his own interests, not Canada’s

Kevin O’Leary posted on X that he is willing to go to Mar-a-Lago to negotiate on Canada’s behalf to unify Canada and the U.S. O’Leary’s right to negotiate on our behalf exists only in his ego. He is no elected official. In fact, he recently became a citizen of the United Arab Emirates. Not only is there no income tax in the UAE, but there is also no need to file any report on your income. Pack your ego away Mr. O’Leary. You don’t represent anyone’s interest but your own. Remember, we are the true north strong and free.

Bruce Kerr, Toronto

Not a bad cross section of Canadian opinion, eh?

We Are All Complicit

There are still many who both turn a blind eye to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and justify israel's atrocities as mere self-defence. If you believe that fiction, all I can say is your critical-thinking skills are grossly deficient. 

But even if we are rightfully appalled by those atrocities, most of us, in our own ways, are complicit in them. We do not openly protest the carnage; we do not write letters decrying it; we continue to elect people who will only worsen the genocide; we do not demand that Canada stop being an echo chamber for American Middle East policies that only enable and embolden the destruction of countless lives.

The following is very, very difficult to watch. If you choose to view it and are subsequently still staunch advocates of Israel's actions, I don't know what to say to you.

Today is the start of a new year. I wish it were a new start for humanity as well, but I suspect that is not in the cards.