Oilfield pumpjacks produce crude on wells in the Duvernay oil formation north of Red Deer, Alta. on Aug.14, 2019.Larry MacDougal/The Canadian Press
By-election postmortem
Re “Liberals lose Montreal riding to Bloc, NDP holds on to Winnipeg stronghold” (Sept. 17): I doubt if replacing Justin Trudeau would have any positive effect on the electoral fortunes of the Liberal Party, even after the loss in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun.
In the first place, as many have observed, there is no one in the wings with the necessary electability qualities; the party would be saddled with the baggage from Mr. Trudeau’s leadership anyway. Nor would chances be better if he remains.
When the Prime Minister is promoting a new initiative, putting words in our mouths, he grandly proclaims that it’s what Canadians want, or expect. In reality, I see that it’s what he is determined to impose. This is all in aid of doing something for the middle class, as he so often repeats.
Current polls show the policies have been largely rejected by the fed-up middle class and Canadians generally. He doesn’t get it.
Robert Cowling Montreal
Re “Poilievre challenges NDP, Bloc to vote down government, but Liberals expect co-operation as House resumes” (Sept. 16): By all means let’s give Pierre Poilievre the snap election he so dearly wants.
Not that he’s earned it by saying anything substantive or with his use of inflammatory rhetoric, dubious right-wing theories and a willingness to use the notwithstanding clause, but rather because the crushing defeat of the Liberal Party in such an event would finally and more quickly rid them of a leader unable to read the writing on the wall.
Edward Carson Toronto
Price to pay
Re “What’s the plan, man?” (Letters, Sept. 17): A letter-writer laments the NDP and Conservatives as opportunists for wanting to eliminate consumer carbon pricing, then asks The Globe to enlighten people on how it works.
I will explain: We pay for carbon pricing. We get the equivalent rebate. No change in behaviour.
What a great policy.
Jason New Foothills County, Alta.
Re “The politics of pragmatism is causing progressive politicians to ditch their climate policies” (Sept. 16): I too hope that our leaders come up with pragmatic energy and climate policies. Public support is key and poll numbers show that taxing Canadians at the pump, despite the rebate, is not the winner it was once hoped to be.
The long-run goal of emissions reductions would be best assured by fostering clean energy. Wind, solar and other sources of renewable energy are becoming more appealing than fossil fuels, economically and ecologically.
Replacing carbon pricing with tangible support for renewable energy and storage solutions would be a winning policy. And to pay for it? Pragmatism suggests casting an eye on the subsidies currently provided to our fossil-fuel industry.
Rick Carpenter Ottawa
Animal farm
Re “Donald Trump’s claim of immigrants eating pets was deeply racist. But that wasn’t the only offence” (Sept. 16): Contributor Jessica Scott-Reid illustrates the link between racism and speciesism, a belief that humans are superior to all other animals on Earth.
The devaluing of species other than ourselves, as well as elevating certain species above others, allows us to justify extraordinary cruelty: cruelty toward other races and cruelty toward other species. “Othering” is an effective, yet dangerous, power-seeking strategy.
In the words of historian Yuval Noah Harari: “Modern animal farming is … one of the worst crimes in history.” Yet most of us think nothing of it.
Mary Burge Toronto
Now playing
Re ”TIFF to screen controversial documentary Russians at War after halting shows amid protest” (Sept. 17) and “Russians at War is an exceptional documentary and needs to be seen” (Sept. 14): In history, multiple regimes have been brought down by disgruntled soldiers. Russian history in particular is replete with cases where failed foreign interventions (in 1905, 1917 and 1991) have sparked revolutions at home.
As someone who hopes for regime change in Russia, I resent those who have waged a campaign of harassment against filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova on the grounds that her film “humanizes” Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
Understanding the realities – and disillusionment – of said soldiers should be considered key to grasping one of the factors that may ultimately end both Vladimir Putin’s presidency and his unjust war.
Chris Scott Peterborough, Ont.
The trailer for Russians at War, which will likely be seen far more often than the film itself, is clearly propaganda to me, in that it echoes Vladimir Putin’s false historical narrative without correction, when a Russian soldier says, “Russia and Ukraine have always been inseparable.” This claim is used by Mr. Putin to justify his invasion.
Professor Timothy Snyder’s online Yale University course “The Making of Modern Ukraine” and its associated readings show that Ukraine is “an early example of European state formation and an early example of anti-colonial rebellion.” What I took from the course is that Ukrainians and Russians always have been distinct from each other. No propaganda, disguised under the pretext of “war is hell,” can alter that distinction.
The very power of propaganda is utilized when a key message is neatly hidden, yet still distributed to its full intended audience.
Jeff Talbot Centre Wellington, Ont.
Filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova defends working for Russia Today by saying, “Russia is the world’s biggest country and RT is Russia’s biggest broadcaster. If you can make the stories that you’re not ashamed of, then you go for it.”
Then we read that the U.S. State Department has imposed new sanctions on RT for collaborating with the Russian military, raising funds to arm Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine and functioning as “a key part of Russia’s war machine and its efforts to undermine its democratic adversaries.”
Possibly a few reasons not to “go for it.”
Anthony Cantor Toronto
I am beginning to wonder what country I am living in.
My grandparents were all immigrants to Canada, fleeing three different countries where poverty, oppression and downright hostility among citizens were the order of the day. My parents were born here, grateful to be here and proud to be Canadian. They left old hostilities behind.
We, their children, knew Canada as a peacekeeping nation seeking to end war among hostile nations. Unfortunately, conflicts abroad are now playing out here among fellow Canadians, and even among our politicians.
We should get back to a Canadian identity that means something. We should follow international law and respond accordingly. Above all, regardless of the conflict, we should remember that Canada is the place where many of us sought safety and freedom from the divisive conflicts now playing out on our streets and, apparently, at our film festivals.
C. E. Miall Toronto
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