Letters to the editor: ‘I am a responsible drinker (I think) and I can wait a year so we can save that money.’ $225-million to cancel Ontario’s Beer Store contract, plus other letters to the editor for June 2

Neutral party

Re “It’s a strange time to be a Speaker of a legislature – especially in Saskatchewan” (May 28): Wouldn’t it be better if the Speaker was a non-elected official – say, a judge or a civil servant – whose sole duty is to arbitrate the increasingly fractious legislature, with no partisan baggage to get in the way?

Otherwise, it’s a bit like asking a hockey player to referee a game in which their own team is competing, and expecting them to do it impartially.

Luke Mastin Toronto

Stay

Re “The latest unintended consequence of Liberal immigration policy” (Report on Business, May 28): I urge the government to adopt a new program for the recognition of undocumented migrants as significant contributors to Canada, our community and economy. Give them an opportunity to apply for permanent residency.

Many thousands of “hidden” Canadian residents have been living and working in our communities for many years, contributing greatly to the well-being of citizens and the economy. They have proven their commitment to Canada, and should have earned by now a commitment by Canada to give them security of residency.

I believe this is the right action, at the right time, for Canada’s future prosperity.

Carol Vignale Delta, B.C.

Cost of it

Re “Bare trusts and the UHT: How tax rules meant for crooks and global elites ensnared thousands of Canadians” (Report on Business, May 25): The bare trust exercise was indeed a major boondoggle that “cost millions of dollars and countless hours of work for taxpayers, accountants and the government itself.” My accountant estimated that the extra work she performed on this item on my return cost me about $400.

Let’s demand compensation from the Canada Revenue Agency as a deduction in the next tax return.

Patrick Duffy North Vancouver

School of thought

Re “Facing pro-Palestinian protests, universities must realize they are businesses – and act like it” (Report on Business, May 25): The role of business is profit. The role of the university is the production and transmission of knowledge, regardless of profit or loss. This is the meaning of academic freedom.

Attempts by businesses, donor, politicians or journalists to subvert the academic mission of the university should be resisted at all costs.

Donald Wasylenki Professor emeritus, University of Toronto

Universities are communities where imagination, intellectual curiosity, passion for research and learning and fostering of critical thinking and debate inspire students to act as engaged citizens working for change.

Much has been debated about the corporatization of the university. But it is difficult for me to “credit” how a model of profit and loss should define the complex nature of institutions which have the potential to make the world a better place, in ways that extend far beyond notions of the production of goods and services.

Lisa Vargo Saskatoon

Other vices

Re “High time” (Letters, May 23) Concerned about the lack of information or signage about potential risks of cannabis use in retail outlets, a letter-writer cites a survey that found “about 15 per cent of cannabis store clients remember seeing any warning.”

Presumably, the other 85 per cent of “clients” have never purchased any product, or they likely would remember a large and conspicuous cannabis health warning on the package. Either that, or they’ve succumbed to the message that reads: “THC can cause anxiety and impair memory and concentration.”

Visit a liquor store. There, one will find a product that existing evidence proves is far more toxic and dangerous than cannabis, with nary a warning of its harms in store, on products or on television, radio and print advertisements that shill it.

Brooks Rapley Toronto

Abstain

Re “Ontario blowing $225-million to cancel its Beer Store contract is a scandal, not something to celebrate” (May 28): As a forensic toxicologist who worked for more than 29 years at the main forensic laboratory in Toronto on the Breathalyzer program, I am shocked by Doug Ford’s announcement to increase the number of stores selling booze by 8,500.

Beer is the No. 1 alcoholic beverage used by drunk drivers. His move would single-handedly overturn all the years of progress in this area, and make roads less safe for Ontarians.

James Wigmore Toronto

We lost our only son Raymond to a drunk driver in 1982. We and our daughters lost our son and brother then. We are now in our early 90s and have never fully recovered.

The culprit spent about six months in prison and we have, like many other families, spent the rest of our lives mourning his loss. None of us has ever quite got over his absence.

During this time, little has changed. Thousands of others have had to go through sadness. Culprits get, after short sentences, freedom. There was not even remorse in our time by the culprit.

Now it is soon to be even more of a temptation and easier to drink and drive.

Doug Ford will never get our votes.

Peter McConnell Oakville, Ont.

Doug Ford wants to break a contract early and pay $225-million to brewery owners outside Canada, just to rush beer into more locations. We can wait.

Also, did the Premier not get the message that alcohol has been declared a health hazard? I am a responsible drinker (I think) and I can wait a year so we can save that money.

Spend it on setting up recycling depots and pay those businesses instead.

Betty Walton Toronto

A neglected consequence of this boondoggle is its impact on ready access to good food for the most vulnerable.

In the competition for limited shelf space, cans of beer are likely to win out over cans of beans, corn or Chef Boyardee. Cheese, cold cuts and bacon are likely to be displaced by wine coolers.

For the elderly and isolated, who often depend on corner stores to meet daily food needs (or fill in gaps when they run short), accessibility is as important as affordability. This misguided move would leave them even more at risk as they scramble daily to feed themselves.

Yet another example of the Ford government putting profit above good public policy.

Robert Fox Ottawa

By the numbers

Re “Buying groceries at Shoppers Drug Mart? You’ll pay a buck more for those chickpeas” (Report on Business, May 27): And before leaving the store, check that sale prices were applied to relevant items.

Don’t expect an apology for any errors discovered.

Judith Emslie Toronto

Meet the letter-writers

Throughout the late spring and summer, The Globe will feature personal insights and missives from some of our most frequent contributors every Sunday in Letters to the Editor. Survey responses were collected as a part of the research behind A Nation’s Paper: The Globe and Mail in the Life of Canada, a collection of history essays from Globe writers past and present, coming this fall from Signal/McClelland & Stewart.

(The following responses were received by The Globe after a call for submissions in May, 2023.)

I have written histories of every Canadian province, of federalism and of settler relations with First Nations, and published dozens of articles.

I have also been writing letters to newspapers, magazines, journalists, academics and others since the 1950s. Dozens have gone to The Globe.

I reread drafts many times before submitting. Writing letters requires passion, so it is often wise to water down a first draft.

In 1961, my political science professor said that in a democracy, the people get what they deserve, so they should take an active role in politics and in solving problems. If they do not get involved, they have no right to complain.

Letters to the Editor are an excellent way of doing that, as are letters to politicians.

Ed Whitcomb Ottawa

What motivates me to write has always been the issue at hand, not so much getting published.

I’m wary of letters where there’s reference to credentials or age as an apparent appeal to authority, or generally any whiff of that urge to “get published,” if it appears to outweigh genuine concern about an issue. In that regard, the 150-word limit is most of the time a good thing.

That sometimes privileges pithy aphorisms over reasoned analysis, although The Globe may legitimately choose to reward cleverness and quotability. Occasionally my letters have been published but edited in a manner which seems to distort the message I wanted to express. But so be it – Globe choice.

The purpose of a free press, including Letters to the Editor, is at rock bottom journalism’s vital support and defence of democracy itself. I appreciate The Globe’s immense contributions to these traditions in Canada.

Ellen Anderson Summerside, PEI

My name is Thomas Dickey, but I sign my letters T.M. Dickey in honour of my father, a small-town newspaper reporter who signed his weekly column with his initials M.E.D.

I think the letters section is an essential part of any newspaper. That would have motivated the writing of my first letter. Now I write them because I’m an old fart with too much time on his hands.

Because letters in The Globe can often be heavy, I usually try to lighten my letters with some humour. (I’ve noticed they often end up at the end of the section, like the “kicker” to a newscast.)

T.M. Dickey 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