Vancouver Sun letters to the editor for Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019
Credit to Author: Gordon Clark| Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2019 01:00:59 +0000
How can Prime Minister Justin Trudeau live with his extreme arrogance in refusing to apologize for his action after receiving the report from the ethics commissioner?
Trying to excuse his actions to preserve jobs is irrelevant. He didn’t even acknowledge that he lied over the issue for months! I guess we have to live with this prime minister for another two months before getting the chance to elect a member with ethics and integrity. We certainly need a prime minister with more intelligence and not just an actor.
James Pocklington, West Vancouver
I accept that the prime minister’s office breached conflict-of-interest guidelines with respect to SNC-Lavalin and the former attorney-general. I do not accept, however, that this was some horrific lapse of integrity as it is being portrayed with some glee by anti-Trudeau politicians and pundits.
It was an honest mistake, made in the course of trying to ensure that the legislation was being properly understood by an attorney-general who didn’t seem to be paying attention. What I haven’t heard anywhere in the press is any analysis or examination of why exactly didn’t SNC-Lavalin qualify for remediation? What were the considerations applied, if any, to denying that legal recourse?
Thousands of jobs were and are at stake, held by employees who had nothing to do with bribes in Libya. That’s the real nuts-and-bolts issue affecting Canadians, not whether Trudeau overstepped in interpreting the vaguely defined Shawcross principle, in trying to bring the focus to that very point.
Richard Coleman, Vancouver
So Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won’t take responsibility for his misconduct. That’s okay because I don’t want an insincere apology. I want his resignation.
He out-and-out lied to the Canadian public. He is unfit for public office. (I’m sure there’s a place for him in Trump’s administration. He’d fit right in.)
John Lee, Vancouver
It was good to see Calvin White’s Aug. 16 op-ed — “Like many teens, Kam and Bryer were lost”. His call for compassion when we are reacting to terrible behaviour, the deliberate taking of innocent lives by kids, makes so much sense when we know the circumstances of their upbringing.
The influences and experiences of children while growing up can either enrich them or destroy them — what they know, they will repeat. How could we expect any other outcome? There are far too many similar stories and having experienced psychologists speak up about a different, healthier perspective is sorely needed.
If we could take the huge financial resources such as those spent in the lengthy manhunt and apply them instead to proactive family support systems, such as food and housing security, arts and sports training, and mental health facilities, we’d have fewer children ending up lost, vulnerable and likely to react violently. We owe our children more.
Pamela Fitzpatrick, Vancouver
Re: Calvin White op-ed.
Oh, my God … since when were 18- and 19-year-olds considered “kids?”
Wilma Alexander, Surrey
David Brett’s expose of the left’s holier-than-the-right stance was overdue. Thank you for giving coverage to this issue, which has been unusually sparse in the media, and educating readers to investigate for themselves.
Cherryl Katnich, Maple Ridge
Is Vancouver a Chinese protectorate? I see people there waving Chinese flags and demonstrating in the streets. Are these people not Canadian?
If they are not, please leave Canada immediately and let us live in peace.
Denis Bourget, Montreal
In his recent op-ed, Chuck Byrne railed against private insurance companies while supporting ICBC’s new and ridiculously complicated driver insurance model.
As COO of the Insurance Brokers Association of B.C., Byrne’s motivation is clear. He fears that a move to private insurers would cut B.C. insurance brokers out of their lucrative Autoplan commissions by selling insurance directly to drivers. ICBC could save drivers a lot of money by cutting out the middlemen and selling Autoplan insurance online, as many progressive insurance companies do these days.
Glen Taylor, Coquitlam
Letters to the editor should be sent to sunletters@vancouversun.com. The editorial pages editor is Gordon Clark, who can be reached at gclark@postmedia.com.
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