Letters to the editor, April 28: ‘If fairness had been the objective, the budget would instead have limited the exemption of capital gains on principal residences’

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In principle

Re “Tax capital gains like other income, yes – but tax all kinds of income less” (April 26): If fairness had been the objective, the budget would instead have limited the exemption of capital gains on principal residences.

This not only drives up housing prices, but primarily benefits wealthy, older Canadians with expensive homes, to the detriment of other taxpayers, including the young. Reducing the exemption would likely generate more revenue than the general rate change, and would promote business investment by levelling the playing field.

All of which has been the subject of numerous articles, of which the government must be well aware.

Jan Holland Champlain, Ont.

Aftermath

Re “OPP to review Toronto police conduct after judge’s concerns over Umar Zameer trial” (April 23): John Tory, KC, blames the judicial system for not being transparent by failing to provide its rationale for excusing Umar Zameer from prison while awaiting trial.

I am certain that had the judge made plain her reasoning for releasing the accused on bail, Mr. Tory would have been the first to complain of her trying to influence the outcome of a first-degree murder trial before it even began.

Brian Caines Ottawa

I am heartened to see that the conduct of the police officers who testified against Umar Zameer will be investigated. But what about the Crown attorneys who elected to take this case to trial?

When I was a law student, prosecutorial discretion was one of the first things we learned about in our criminal law class. I saw that there was never a case for murder against Mr. Zameer, let alone first-degree murder.

Had the victim not been a police officer, I believe those charges would likely not have been laid and certainly not pursued through to trial. Why did the Crown persist? Was there explicit or implicit pressure? If so, from whom?

The public deserves an answer, and so does Mr. Zameer and his family.

Valerie Edwards Toronto

Cause, effect

Re “Ontario pays $320K in legal fight over its cancellation of basic income program” (April 22): In 2017, Ontario established the position of chief scientist to guide implementation of evidence-based decision-making in its operations, and chose for it the highly respected Molly Schoichet. Desired outcomes were optimizing performance, improving accountability, systematic restructuring and efficient delivery of services.

In 2019, Doug Ford fired her and abolished the office. Since then, he has killed the guaranteed income pilot project; rescinded a scheduled $1 rise in minimum wage; limited nurses’ pay raises to 1 per cent; cancelled the cap-and-trade agreement; weakened the environmental commissioner’s office; messed with the Greenbelt; kneecapped the province’s internationally admired conservation authorities; kept the results of a study on regional government reform secret; meddled with judicial appointments; botched buck-a-beer.

And Dr. Schoichet? A year after Mr. Ford fired her, she was awarded the Herzberg Gold Medal, Canada’s most prestigious prize in science and engineering.

Greg Michalenko Waterloo, Ont.

Upstream battle

Re “Where do you plant a tree with a 1,000-year lifespan?” (Opinion, April 20): One person can make a difference.

Almost 40 years ago, Stephen Herder, publisher of the Evening Telegram in St. John’s, pulled on his chest-high waders and started cleaning up Rennie’s River behind his home. Single-handedly hauling out tires and all matter of horrendous materials, he became known as “the old man in the river.”

Mr. Herder also editorialized, badgered, fundraised and pleaded with governments of all levels to pay attention to the waste and garbage ruining many rivers, not to mention the Atlantic Ocean.

Rennie’s River had historically been home to brown trout and other species that had previously lived in the bubbling cascade. Sewage treatment plants were eventually installed and the oldest city in North America cleaned up its act.

Now the trout have returned, as have fishers wetting a line before and after work, downstream from the Stephen Herder Bridge.

Jim Herder Aurora, Ont.

Face to face

Re “Hollywood must face up to the way it uses disfigurements like mine as a metaphor for fear” (Opinion, April 13): Thank you to contributor David Roche for his intensely personal article.

It is not just Hollywood that needs to stop stereotyping people with disfigurement as villains. Society at large also discriminates against people judged to be flawed. No less than traditional equity-seeking groups, people with disfigurements face barriers to participating in education, employment and other aspects of society, yet they lack a supportive community to advocate on their behalf.

Perhaps it is time for schools, governments and businesses to expand their diversity and inclusion policies to include everyone who faces prejudice arbitrarily.

Penny Becklumb Ottawa

Showtime

Re “American dystopia Civil War continues box-office campaign at number one” (April 22): “But it was a painfully slow weekend in theatres – the kind sure to add to concern over what’s thus far been a down year for Hollywood at the box office.”

Could it be that the reason people don’t go to movies as often as before COVID-19 is because cinemas do not advertise?

I subscribe to two newspapers, and it is a very rare occasion when I see such an ad within their pages.

Julianna Drexler Toronto

Say what?

Re “Capital quandary” (Letters, April 19): A letter-writer bemoans the fact that more and more of his students are saying the American “zee” instead of the Canadian “zed.”

The problem could be the names of consumer products such as “La-Zed-Boy” recliners, or that long-running rock band “ZedZed Top.”

John Marshall Toronto

Until recently, the definite article “the” was always pronounced “thuh” in front of a consonant, and “thee” in front of a vowel. But now it seems that the pronunciation of the American South has crept into Canadian speech, leading to such expressions as “thuh” ocean and “thuh” universe.

This abomination has even permeated television news. It’s not “thee” end of the world, but it negatively influences the cadence of good English.

Bob Baird Markham, Ont.

The man

Re “Taylor Swift’s new album The Tortured Poets Department is fine, and that’s not great” (April 20): “Swift does not write many classics. To be the millennial Bruce Springsteen some have suggested she is, Swift needs to produce touchstone music.”

To which Taylor Swift would say, in the chorus of a song that millions of women and girls have sung at the top of their lungs in sisterhood at her concerts: “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can / wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man / And I’m so sick of them coming at me again / Cuz if I was a man / then I’d be the man.”

Caroline Mandell Toronto

Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com