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Pay consequences

Re “Canada Revenue Agency workers who misused CERB must face consequences, says union leader” (July 3): While the Canada Revenue Agency is snatching overpayments of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit from poor Canadians, leading many to be evicted or actually starving, some of its own employees, earning at least $50,000, defrauded the agency and they only might lose their jobs?

I find the hypocrisy stunning.

Susan Franzini-Teeuwen Peterborough, Ont.

By definition

Re “Ontario rejects recommendation to label intimate partner violence an epidemic” (June 29): Ontario argues that the term “epidemic” is reserved for the spread of disease.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a second definition is a “rapid increase in how often something bad happens.” The term “epidemic” therefore qualifies in this context.

I am disgusted that these officials would be so picayune as to diminish the importance of intimate partner violence with such sophistry.

Irv Salit Toronto

In and out

Re “Port of Vancouver faces cargo bottleneck during strike by waterfront workers across B.C.” (Report on Business, July 4): Before the strike began, Premier David Eby was “profoundly worried” about the impact on supply chains, which could seriously damage the economy.

The Port of Vancouver, Canada’s busiest port, is a shockingly weak performer. It placed second to last (347 of 348) in the most recent World Bank global efficiency ranking. The port workers’ union opposes efficiency-boosting automation.

Given the importance of ports to the Canadian economy, why is there no investigation of the concentration of industrial power at B.C. ports? By contrast, a recent Competition Bureau study said that “governments at all levels need to take steps to encourage and support more grocery competition” (”Canada’s grocery industry doesn’t give consumers enough choice, Competition Bureau finds” – Report on Business, June 28).

If Loblaws workers go on strike, I can shop at Sobeys or Walmart or other grocery stores. Users of the Port of Vancouver do not have such ready alternatives.

Constance Smith Victoria

New direction

Re “U.S. senator urges Canada to resist pressure from Meta, Google over Bill C-18″ (July 4): I say, “So what, who cares?”

Maybe Canadians will have to go directly to Canadian sources to get their news. No big deal.

Bruce Burbank Woodstock, Ont.

Action-oriented

Re “The U.S. Supreme Court got something right about affirmative action” (Report on Business, June 30): In Canada, what we do have are foreign students with the means to pay “full-price” tuition fees. Thus young Canadians (of all backgrounds) are increasingly disfavoured in access to their own country’s institutions in a drive to maximize revenue.

David Payne Toronto

Affirmative action is a promise written into our constitution.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, at section 15(2), upholds so-called reverse discrimination in affirmative action when its purpose is to correct historical wrongs against disadvantaged groups. This includes university admissions, hiring practices and housing opportunities for racialized, disabled and gender-disempowered people.

Canada’s federal human-rights law also affirms special programs that use affirmative action to help the marginalized. This is substantive equality, a legal principle that helps the marginalized seek equal treatment and access compared to those who do not face similar barriers.

Our Supreme Court has upheld and promised to protect this right because it is logical, fair and legally sound.

Sarah Niman Human-rights lawyer, Ottawa

Canada is not the United States, yet we seem to have gradually followed that country’s decades-long descent into a world where education is only available to those with the ability to pay up front, or for decades after completion.

It doesn’t matter if it is a trades diploma or a PhD: It should be a disgrace that we limit people’s ability to educate themselves, transition to new careers or discover new ones. Furthermore, I see a growing reliance on international students to pay for domestic programs, sullying our reputation as a welcoming, fair-minded nation.

Education is the basis of civilized society. It should always be a service provided to all, by all.

No matter the political party, all governments should make education a right for all Canadians to access for free.

Chris Alemany Port Alberni, B.C.

Combien?

Re “Word of mouth” and “Price comparison” (Letters, July 3): Two letter-writers, arguing against bilingualism requirements for Supreme Court judges and food labels, remind me of a conversation I had with a Toronto-born colleague.

A few years ago, while working on a bilingual mobile app targeted at the Canadian market, we looked up how many of our potential users are francophones. Upon learning the number is more than seven million people, she remarked that she’s always surprised how many people speak French in Canada.

Having immigrated to Canada from Europe, my retort was that I’m always surprised how many people don’t.

Ian Starwell Toronto

Move it

Re “Drive through” (Letters, July 4): A letter-writer says mobility for all is a social good. I agree, but not with mobility in a two-ton box.

A car takes up many times more room than a person on foot, on a bus or on a bike. But as it is, nobody seems to have good mobility in our clogged cities. I guess one could say that is a form of equality.

How do low-income people afford to own and operate cars in our expensive cities in the first place? How liberating it would be if money collected from road pricing could be used to greatly improve transit, cycling and walking.

Ed Janicki Victoria

Prairie prices

Re “Canada’s housing policy is failing citizens and newcomers alike” (June 29): There are houses – real houses – for sale under $200,000 in Regina. If someone is clever, they can buy a fixer-upper that doesn’t need too much work.

A renovated four-bed, two-bath house – with new kitchen, bathroom and floors, lots of parking and good location – goes for less than $500,000. There are also houses that cost $1-million-plus in new developments, but why spend that much?

Sure, Regina is a small city. But it has everything a bigger city has: cinemas, theatre, a symphony, restaurants, football, jobs. It’s also easier to manage and less congested. Kitty-corner across town takes 15 minutes by car – at 4:30 in the afternoon on a weekday.

Come visit (in the summer, though).

Claudette Claereboudt Regina

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

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