Letters to the editor: ‘In Toronto, folks typically really feel {that a} home is a God-given entitlement.’ Reasonably priced housing? Plus different letters to the editor for Feb. 12

Gone so quickly

Re Governments search purchaser as Quebec COVID-19 vaccine producer Medicago set to shut (Feb. 4): In the beginning of the pandemic, the outcry that Canada lacked a home producer of vaccines was palpable, significantly amongst those that keep in mind the demise of Connaught Laboratories.

Three years later, Canada’s solely producer of COVID-19 vaccines is about to shut. Is historical past repeating itself?

Joe Racanelli Toronto

Wait instances

Re “The Liberals beat a hasty, however obligatory, retreat on gun management” (Editorial, Feb. 7): I used to be as soon as a rifle teacher. I nonetheless personal a small arsenal of weapons for which I’m licensed.

However my licence expired in January. I despatched in my renewal paperwork final October. I’ve been advised most lately that my licence will likely be despatched in 4 to 6 weeks. Within the meantime, I can’t use or buy firearms or ammunition.

What’s the purpose of enjoying by the foundations if no one else does? Is it that troublesome to problem a licence to a 66-year-old who has been licensed since Day 1?

The following letter I’ll be writing is to say my household is ravenous as a result of I’m prohibited from searching.

James Peckham Hamilton Township, Ont.

Invite listing

Re “Opioids and the elephant within the room” (Opinion, Feb. 4): As an award-winning creator and physician specializing in dependancy drugs, Vincent Lam has introduced us with essentially the most convincing and complete public-health technique to handle addictions.

Twelve years in the past, I invited Dr. Lam to talk to my public-health workers to enlighten and encourage us. He didn’t disappoint.

Our Prime Minister and premiers are assembly to find out well being care technique and funding. Might I humbly counsel that Dr. Lam be invited to handle our leaders?

The way forward for well being care could depend upon it.

Bob Nosal Hamilton

Pay up

Re “Hovering housing prices are turning cities into citadels for the wealthy” (Editorial, Feb. 8): I recall the late Nineteen Eighties, when Toronto was first christened an “worldwide metropolis.”

The newfound standing was extensively trumpeted. Now, we endlessly complain about unaffordable housing.

Being a world metropolis – like London, New York, Rome, Paris, and so on. – has its perks and pitfalls. Some of the important pitfalls is that housing is extraordinarily costly. All the time has been and certain at all times will likely be.

I haven’t come throughout infinite griping about how folks must be entitled to reasonably priced housing in these cities. But in Toronto, folks typically really feel {that a} home is a God-given entitlement.

If folks need to stay in Toronto, they’ll should pay dearly for it. There’s no instance in public coverage that I do know of that has efficiently diminished housing costs in nice cities to allow a lot bigger affordability.

If folks don’t prefer it, there’s in all probability an reasonably priced indifferent home with yard beckoning in Saskatoon.

Gerald Vincent Toronto

New construct

Re “Except constructing codes catch as much as excessive warmth, Canada’s future summers will likely be even deadlier” and “Competing visions for a redevelopment of Vancouver’s waterfront” (Feb. 4): About 4 years in the past, I used to be offering minor dwelling repairs for seniors in a group help program within the Decrease Mainland. One consumer had me set up two transportable air conditioners in a more moderen high-rise rental that was dangerously overheating.

I can solely shake my head in disbelief upon studying of a world architectural agency proposing yet one more “cluster of glassy towers” in Vancouver. As local weather change brings extra frequent and excessive warmth occasions to British Columbia, our present glassy towers could turn out to be vertical greenhouses.

With extra frequent and intense windstorms, there’ll probably be extra frequent and extended energy outages that lower air con, water provide and elevator providers in affected towers, with doubtlessly lethal penalties.

Extra federal and provincial packages to encourage constructing adaptation and up to date constructing codes could make our communities livable in future climates – if we act rapidly sufficient.

Derek Wilson Member, local weather motion committee, metropolis of Port Moody, B.C.

Within the bag

Re “On provide administration” (Letters, Feb. 3): The availability administration system was designed to guard each agricultural producers and customers.

There’s a three- or four-year lag within the life cycle between when a cow conceives her calf and when it matures to provide milk. This causes a cycle of surplus and absence, leading to a cycle of excessive and low costs for producers and customers. Provide administration offers everybody assured steady costs.

Nevertheless, I discover a flaw within the present system: A producer has a quota per cow which might be traded or offered to different producers. The worth of the quota is included in the price of manufacturing, and has risen to nearly the worth of the cow herself.

This causes a rise in prices transferred to customers. They’ve a proper to query the system.

Ross Gould Agrologist (retired), Calgary

Inventive response

Re “Nationwide Gallery of Canada’s present should go on – minus senior curators (for now)” (Feb. 4): Former Nationwide Gallery of Canada director Sacha Suda was a breath of recent air. One of many many issues she did, along with highlighting Indigenous artwork in new methods, was convey work by proficient and uncared for ladies out of the vaults.

After seeing the sensible exhibition Uninvited at Ontario’s McMichael gallery, which contained the work of many of those ignored ladies, I wrote to Ms. Suda. I steered that its Canadian tour finish on the Nationwide Gallery. She wrote again a beautiful observe agreeing with me.

Later, I used to be overjoyed to be taught that it was to be so. Canada has so lengthy ignored the artwork of proficient ladies, Indigenous, non-Indigenous and European. Exhibiting extra ladies artists would draw new and youthful crowds to galleries and museums.

I hope the Nationwide Gallery will get over its bureaucratic nonsense and will get on with its work. I bemoan the lack of Ms. Suda.

Patty Deline Ottawa

British well being care

Re “My nightmare journey to the emergency room confirmed me that British well being care is in a shambles” (Opinion, Jan. 28): Your contributor’s account of our accident-and-emergency division at Charing Cross Hospital shouldn’t be one which we acknowledge.

We don’t disagree that the Nationwide Well being Service is presently below big stress and that is affecting sufferers, particularly when it comes to ready instances and total expertise. However we discover the article incorrectly describes our A&E as an unsafe division.

All sufferers are assessed as quickly as they arrive at A&E and prioritized in accordance with medical want. Care particulars are recorded in real-time in our digital affected person document system. Within the month in query, 57 per cent of sufferers had been handled and discharged or admitted inside 4 hours of arrival. 4 per cent of individuals waited greater than 12 hours to be both discharged or admitted, with most of those waits being for inpatient beds after evaluation and preliminary remedy by an A&E physician.

It could be extraordinarily uncommon for even one affected person to be mendacity on the ground wherever in A&E. Within the state of affairs {that a} affected person ready in a public space suffers cardiac arrest, the emergency-department staff and members of the crash staff would attend and, in keeping with the core medical ideas of fundamental life help, would begin any obligatory resuscitation instantly earlier than transferring them to a personal space to offer ongoing care.

We’re actually sorry that your contributor had a poor expertise in one in every of our hospitals, and we’re following as much as make clear what occurred and perceive what we may do higher.

Ali Sanders MBChB; medical director, emergency drugs, Imperial School Healthcare NHS Belief; London

I see you

Re “Canadian Olympic Committee follows IOC lead on Russia, Belarus in 2024 Olympics” (Sports activities, Feb. 3): With its typical progressive ingenuity, the Worldwide Olympic Committee purports to cover Russian presence on the Olympics by permitting the staff to take part below the guise of “neutrals.”

Why not additionally present them with opera masks and periwigs? Forsooth, nobody shall know who they’re.

Joel Might Mississauga

Stay higher

Re “Properly lived” (Letters, Feb. 6): Whereas nobody would deny Winston Churchill’s exceptional life, was it a results of his consuming, smoking and total horrible bodily situation?

By this logic, my partner – a triathlete yoga teacher who exercised repeatedly, ate properly, didn’t abuse alcohol and by no means smoked – should have succumbed to lung most cancers at an early age due to her life-style. Had she embraced Churchill’s life-style, would she have had an extended and extra exceptional life?

Such a mentality – the denial of the adversarial results of unhealthy life-style selections – appears to perpetuate the issues all of us bear as a society.

David Hughes Glass MD (retired); Saugeen Shores, Ont.

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