ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

Shari Baker, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

Congratulations to the mayor and city council for approving the construction of six new shelters. People whose pension no longer covers their retired life or who have fallen on bad times, having lost employment or gotten sick, won’t have to sleep on the streets. Such people deserve the dignity of having a safe place to stay. Not all predicaments are the result of bad choices: sometimes life make decisions for us.

The idea that Councillor Brad Bradford would object to zoning changes allowing a seniors’ shelter outside his ward smacks of ignorance and heartlessness. Bradford should read the book Ragged Company, by Richard Wagamese. It’s a work of fiction based on the author’s own experiences that’s insightful and informative on the subject of homelessness.

Gail Rutherford, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

Thinking clearly about MAID

MAID: One woman’s legal challenge to get the care she hopes for, Jul 19

Yes, mental illness can certainly cause unbearable suffering. The problem is that depression, to take one example, can convince a patient by its very nature that such suffering is all that can be hoped for, yet that is not necessarily the case. Supporting people to help them get through the dark times allows for the possibility of (and hope for) better times ahead. Death forever removes that possibility.

Lisa Volkov, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

Let Ontario students touch grass

School board takeover: Don’t be fooled. It is not about finances — it’s power politics, July 2

It’s telling that Ontario’s education minister, Paul Calandra, stated in the Ontario legislature that “every one of those trustees is either a former Liberal or NDP caucus member or candidate.â€� Apparently the minister also needs to be reminded that “every one of those trustees” was also duly elected by voters and told that he is blatantly overriding the democratic wishes of “the people,â€� as Premier Doug Ford likes to call us.

I am particularly concerned about Calandra’s role in obliging the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ District School Board to cut its outdoor and environmental programs. The minister should be reminded that many of these programs were established and flourished under the leadership of Bill Davis, first as our education minister and subsequently as our Progressive Conservative premier.

Times have indeed changed, but research shows that teacher-led, hands-on education outdoors is fundamental to meaningful education, broadening and deepening the curriculum across all grades and subject areas. Most important, it also informs and motivates students to care about the support systems that keep this planet alive.

Grant Linney, Dundas, ON

Rolling out the green carpet

Is this repeatedly delayed construction project the city’s new Eglinton Crosstown? July 25

Recreational infrastructure is appealing because it can be built on a smaller scale and therefore is often cheaper and faster to implement. But such is not always the case. Take the Lower Don River Trail improvements for one example. Although the scale of the project is no larger geographically, it’s on track to open five seasons later than was projected, due to soil-erosion issues. But solving those issues is worth the time it will take to ensure the project is high-quality and long-lasting. I say take the time and make sure we’re rolling out the green carpet for generations to come. It’s not comparable to the years-long delays that have plagued the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

Trevor Heywood, Guelph, ON

Telling Trump to pound sand

The world is caving to Trump’s one-sided trade ‘deals.’ Canada should show him the door, July 26

This article, touching on many countries that are acquiescing to U.S. President Donald Trump’s financial shakedowns, is illuminating. It reminds me of the former British prime minister Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement policy towards Adolf Hitler. Sure, Trump isn’t looking to acquire additional land yet, but he is placing economic pressure on most countries (notably excepting Russia) to accede to his whims of the moment. I congratulate the Brazilians for having told Trump where to go. Now, Canada should do the same. If we give in to Trump’s current demands, who knows what he’ll dream up tomorrow. As long as Americans are under the impression that foreign countries are paying Trump’s tariffs and not themselves, the president will continue to make his threats.

Jacob Psutka, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

David Olive is correct. Canadians should not get swept up in Trump’s “immense con job.” Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam appear to have cut hasty and dubious deals with the United States on trade and tariffs (although it’s difficult to say for sure, given we’ve mostly heard Trump’s interpretation of the agreements). There’s no need for Canada to rush in and join them, by August 1 or any so-called deadline.

Thomas Mulligan, Grimsby, ON

When kids were made of sterner stuff

These are the common dangers ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ ER doctors say kids should avoid: ‘The risk is simply not worth it,’ July 20

Back in the early 1960s, my not-quite-teenage friends and I decided to make an abandoned grain mill our secret hideout. The easiest way to the ventilation outlet at the top was up the mill’s centre staircase, but that route soon bored us. The other option was to climb the ladders in one of four of the silos. As a number of the ladder rungs were loose or broken, this straight-up-the-wall route required planning. Each faulty rung in each silo was saved on paper and in our preteen memory banks. Still, the rule of climbing was to count and then double-check the rungs as we proceeded. Aside from suffering the odd wood sliver, no one ever got hurt. The mill was our hangout for the better part of a year, and our parents never had a clue: adults were not required. We kids of the 1960s learned how to take care of ourselves.

Jack Drury, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½