‘Hypocrisy’
Dear Editor:
The price of gasoline jumped 14 cents overnight on April 18.
Where is the outrage from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over that increase? Where are his calls to “spike” that “hike”? He whines and complains about the carbon tax, but never mentions the rebate, which covers the cost of the tax to most people in Ontario.
But when the oil and gas companies raise the price, by the almost equivalent amount of the carbon tax, he is silent.
I guess it is okay for them to add to inflation. His hypocrisy knows no limits.
My three word slogan to voters: Beware of Pierre.
Gord Cumming,
Georgetown
‘Simple solution’
Dear Editor:
An open letter to Perth-Wellington MP John Nater.
On the news, it looks like dentists may not be on board with the federal government’s dental plan for seniors.
Probably because they are worried about an untested system or possibly not getting paid in a timely manner.
I applied and was accepted. If dentists are not on board, an easy solution, just like every other insurance claim, is to open a portal with the federal government advocate SunLife so claims can be submitted for reimbursement of the dental cost.
The SunLife plan says you must use a dentist that’s on board – nonsense, file a claim with SunLife, program done, just get the dentist to sign-off the work with the card ID so claim can be made.
Doesn’t anyone think things through and anticipate issues? I can only shake my head. I’m 76 years old and see this simple solution that solves all the problems.
Rory Goodden,
Clifford
‘Mom-and-pop’ market
Dear Editor:
RE: Guelph/Eramosa council renews farmers market agreement, April 11.
In response to this article, I’d like to clarify a few points. I live in Mapleton, but I’ve been a vendor at the Rockwood Farmers Market for the last three years because it’s such a vibrant community that it’s worth driving an hour to be part of it.
I learned from the article that there’s a paid municipal employee on site for the market in case something comes up. I have never seen one, so either nothing has come up over the last three years, or this employee has been busy testing the water at the splash pad (or other routine jobs that would have been done anyway).
In contrast, the Mapleton Farmers Market is run by municipal employees on municipal property, and as it’s considered a service to the community, we don’t have to pay rent to set up our tents in an otherwise empty parking lot.
Guelph/Eramosa councillor Bruce Dickieson said he’s in support of farmers markets, but he thinks it’s unfair to the local Sobeys affiliate to subsidize the market with lower rent. He offered a glib, “And I don’t mean the farmers, I mean whoever’s organizing it.”
I’m one of the three farmers who are on the six-member steering committee to organize the market. We are the market. I don’t think he understands what a farmers market is, despite having the words “farmers” and “market” right there in the name.
With inflation, high interest rates and the housing crisis pushing the cost of living out of control and causing rampant food insecurity, many people are struggling just to get by.
I find it incredible that councillor Dickieson would prioritize a chain grocery store over small, independent mom-and-pop businesses. Money spent at small businesses stays in the community as a reinvestment into our community, whereas Sobeys just finished another record quarter of profits for their shareholders.
Thank you to the dedicated customers who keep coming back week after week, and thank you for supporting farmers and small, local businesses.
Erik Begg,
Lebanon
Canada not that bad?
Dear Editor:
Re: Tipping point, editor’s note (April 18).
Ron Moore thinks Canadian governments need to do more to reduce carbon emissions because we are the fifth highest per capita emitters in the world – higher than even China. Could that perhaps have something to do with the fact that Canada is the second-largest and second-coldest country on Earth with a relatively small population?
Environmental consultants Sustainable Consulting, using 2017 data, determined that when measured by emissions per square kilometre, Canada was 129th out of 184 countries, with lower emissions per square kilometre than any of the world’s top 10 emitters, except for Brazil.
The Trudeau government’s carbon tax, which also increases the price of almost everything, including basic necessities like food and housing. And the government’s 100-plus programs, on which it is spending over $200 billion taxpayers’ money to address climate change, are making almost everyone poorer, and for what?
Even if Canada, with its 1.5% of global emissions, were to meet its emissions reduction targets, while two of the world’s largest emitters (China and India) keep increasing theirs in order to produce and sell the products we buy from them, will that have any effect on the weather in Canada or anywhere else?
I also found the editor’s note that Climate the Movie “repeats many debunked and misleading climate change denial claims” to be inappropriate. The movie features a number of prestigious names in science, including a 2022 Nobel Prize winner for physics. There are plenty of respected (until they deviate from the official narrative) scientists who don’t buy into the myth that we are or will soon be experiencing unprecedented catastrophic global warming caused by CO2, requiring drastic measures.
Unfortunately, because of cancel culture, their voices are seldom heard.
Henry Brunsveld,
Puslinch
*Editor’s note: The editor stands by the aforementioned note.
‘Ignoring energy facts’
Dear Editor:
RE: Tipping point, April 18.
Ron Moore is a good example of a climate change alarmist by his stating, “We are rapidly approaching a tipping point beyond which there may be no return to a world as we know it.” Wow! How does he justify such a wild statement? This is how.
He uses the stat that Canadians are the fifth highest per capita emitters to support his illogical alarmist rhetoric. He ignores the fact that Canada represents a mere 1.5% of man-made global CO2 emissions since Canada is one of the largest, coldest countries in the world with a small population – about 10% of the U.S.
Transportation and heating are huge contributors to our emissions. He has the audacity to paint us as almost twice as bad as China on a per capita basis while ignoring the fact that China is the highest emitter with 31% and Canada at 1.5%.
If Canada was eliminated, man-made emissions would drop by 0.06%. When this was posed to a liberal politician recently on 1010 Talk Radio who was justifying the carbon tax, he said that if we did nothing, China would then say why should we address our emissions?
Does he really believe that China doesn’t see us as fools while they continue building coal plants? This warped thinking is what we are being fed by the Liberals.
Moore is also against us building pipelines while forgetting that Canada is a resource-based economy and our prosperity is owed to it. Countries would love to buy our oil and natural gas rather than from countries with poor human rights records. Liberals have done all they can to keep our resources in the ground while buying 15% of our crude needs from Saudi Arabia and 13% from Nigeria.
Moore goes on to say we should “do our part” while ignoring energy facts. Ontario’s energy comes from hydro 25.1%, nuclear 46.5%, wind 12%, solar 0.5%, biomass 0.2% and natural gas 15.6%. I’d surmise we are definitely doing our part. Quebec is also doing its part with 87.4% of its energy coming from hydro and 1.8% from natural gas.
Peter Mandic,
Elora