Co-founders Craig (left) and Marc Kielburger introduce Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau as they appear at the WE Day celebrations in Ottawa, Nov. 10, 2015.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
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Where are we at?
Re Error, Not Sin, Trudeau Says: PM’s Grilling Helped Him State His Case On WE (July 31): The Prime Minister and his staff testified. I found the opposition rude. Some things were said, much left unsaid. Now the program is undone. Sadly, scores of students find no incentive (if one calls earning less than minimum wage incentive) nor options to engage in community service over a restricted COVID-19 summer.
Canadians should shake their heads: The WE Charity “scandal” seems like nothing but a byproduct of altruistic haste to deliver a unique relief program in a pandemic time, and this year has presented many such challenges.
We should save judgmental umbrage for the next election. One shudders to think where Canadians would be had the last one gone differently.
Marian Kingsmill Hamilton
Re The Civil Service Must Be Obeyed, But Ethics Laws Are Apparently Optional (Opinion, Aug. 1): Don’t blame the civil service. Although it may have developed the specifics of the Canada Student Services Grant, it does not create a program unless it is asked to do so by government, which has the exclusive duty to vet, debate and approve. The civil service has no authority to request or approve any national program, much less one costing nearly $1-billion.
The fact that government wanted a student program, and that a student program would be a good thing, does not require them to approve it, even if it is the only choice. If it stinks, it stinks, and the government had the choice not to approve.
Bernie Teitelbaum Toronto
Re The Kielburger Brothers’ Empire Struggles To Survive (Aug. 1): What kind of charity enters into a government contract with a shell entity carrying no assets in order to protect itself from liability in executing said contract?
What kind of charity spends massive amounts of money to engage family members of a politician? What kind of charity sends donors on expensed luxury tours?
What kind of charity spends even more money on lawyers and political consultants to discredit and attack critics? What kind of charity stands by while questionable actions are conducted on its behalf?
My answer: a charity that has lost its way, one that needs a thorough scrubbing at its uppermost level.
Alan Shanoff Toronto
While I have no problem with politicians being held accountable for their actions regarding WE Charity, I do want investigators to also give us a full critical accounting of the Kielburger empire.
I have suspicions that they are hiding questionable connections to U.S. Republicans, China and other strange bedfellows. To my mind, that is the trouble with many charitable foundations: Our culture believes charities to be pure alternatives to grubby politicians.
We are naive to think this. Prove me wrong.
Anne Smart Saskatoon
Meanwhile
Re Silenced (July 25) and Auditor-general To Probe Lapse In Pandemic Warning System (July 30): It is welcome news that the Auditor-General will investigate Canada’s lapsed pandemic warning system as part of the Global Public Health Intelligence Network. Although there is much political fodder for opposition parties in going after the Liberal government and the discarded WE Charity contract, it seems to be diverting attention from more important issues.
I have no doubt that the government’s move away from the GPHIN has resulted in more harm to Canadians across the country, to the economy and to delays in effective actions, as well as the loss of vital information to the World Health Organization and its member countries.
Opposition parties should attend to national issues other than the WE affair, although they may not be as productive for embarrassing individuals in the governing party.
Rod MacLeod Toronto
Elsewhere
Re Mandatory Masks Should Be The Default Option For Ontarians and The WHO’s Travel Messaging Doesn’t Fly (July 31): There should also be mandatory COVID-19 swab-testing of all entrants to Canada at all points of entry (land, sea, air). It is now widely known that people can carry COVID-19 without ever exhibiting symptoms. A minimum of temperature-taking and symptom-checking would be futile in stopping the virus.
Our politicians and health experts seem to do us no favours by implementing protocols by half-measures, then making them more stringent as such measures are shown to leave too many gaps in detection. We should stop chasing this train and get ahead of it with more rigorous protocols.
The economy likely won’t recover as long as people are afraid to go out and participate in it. Half-measures prolong the agony. Set the bar high and nail this down now.
Catherine Lowes Toronto
Edmonton and Calgary have recently mandated the wearing of masks in public indoor spaces. This is better late than never.
To those opposed to masks, it should be pointed out that not wearing one during a pandemic feels selfish; the non-wearers are saying that their comfort is more important than their neighbours’ health.
Kenneth Roy Edmonton
At the ballpark
Re For Stadiums, It Is Nearly Game Over (Opinion, July 29): I believe contributor Don Gillmor missed one key point: What fills stadiums? Winning teams.
It wasn’t that long ago that Raptors tickets were both available and affordable. What changed? Winning basketball.
In 2016, the Blue Jays drew more than 3.3 million fans. Why? Winning baseball.
According to Mr. Gillmor, “a new future arrived in the form of Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards.” Last year, the Oriole’s attendance was less than the Blue Jays: about 1.3 million compared with Toronto’s 1.7 million in a smaller capacity stadium.
Here we go again, I can just hear it: We need a new stadium or the Jays are going to leave town! Maybe it is not the stadium. Maybe it is the team. Losing 95 games will do it.
John Johnston Toronto
One major point made by contributor Don Gillmor was the waning interest in baseball and decreasing attendance year after year. I have the magic potion: Play five-inning baseball.
It would transform a drawn-out affair into a more exciting one. Spectators would not have sufficient time to be bored. Players would take more risks. Surely this would result in more home runs or exciting outs.
And for television viewers who love to watch highlights instead of sitting through entire games, five innings would be the perfect length of entertainment.
We should take a cue from cricket’s Indian Premier League.
Ali Mawani Toronto
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