Letters to The Spec: Anti-maskers are COVID deniers
Stop calling them anti-maskers'
We need to stop referring to the anti-science movement as antimask." It makes them sound a lot less harmful than they actually are. If they were really just antimask, they wouldn't be hosting mass public gatherings, flaunting COVID restrictions, and putting their neighbours at risk. Antimasker is just a fancy term for COVID-denier.
Haley Pierce, Hamilton
Just turn O'Toole off
O'Toole should put Canada first (Dec. 8)
This letter writer hit it right on. I guess the Conservatives have not learned their lesson yet. Have you noticed anything but negativity? I just turn O'Toole off. There's never a perfect government, but thanks for our present one.
Marlene Claessens, Hamilton
Protesting is always our right
Permits for protests? (Dec. 7)
Protest, as defined, is a statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something, which in present times usually means demonstrating against something the government has done or has failed to do. Asking permission from the very people you are going to demonstrate against and paying a fee does not sound like democracy to me and defeats the very purpose of freedom of speech and assembly. Usually protests are one of the last lines of defence of marginalized and financially challenged people have when a government fails to fulfil their duty in protecting or serving the very public that voted them into office and pays their wages. Please see France and recently India. Do you think if the Indian people were required to obtain permission they would have received it? Whether you agree or disagree with any protest, it is our absolute right and duty to have our voices heard peacefully and in some extreme situations, forcefully.
Tony Fallucco, Hamilton
Remember to thank a plant
Well, well isn't this nice. When we need the Greenbelt council more than ever they resign in protest to Section 6. What will that achieve?
Donna Skelly thinks noise from special interest groups." Yes we are interested in keeping the beautiful greenery around our world. The forest and meadows have been a godsend during this pandemic. Remember every time you breathe thank a plant.
Kathy Cozens, Hamilton
Ford's power play needed more coverage
One would have expected much more media coverage of the Ford government's attempt to restrict conservation authorities' responsibilities and powers and permit developers to build on the Ontario's wetlands and protected areas.
Forty municipalities and thousands of people have objected, written to, telephoned, and otherwise contacted the premier's and minister's offices about this travesty. But in what appears to be a strong reaction to this significant outcry, the Ontario government brought forward 90-plus pages of amendments to the bill, including requiring conservation authorities to approve developments that are subject to a Minister's Zoning Order and require the authority to agree to a pay-to-slay" scheme in which the developer can pay a fee to destroy a wetland or conduct some other activity that would otherwise be prohibited.
This government's show of power, intimidation, and disregard for the environment is unacceptable. Premier Ford and his ministers would do well to remember that the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment, not the reverse.
James F. Newman, Hamilton
Three cheers for Denmark!
Hooray for Denmark! This small but mighty country has voted to end its oil and gas extraction from the North Sea by 2050 - a firm commitment to phase-out fossil fuels. Forget the virus! This notice should be headlined on the front page of every newspaper in the world. What a terrific and needed example.
Margo Jamieson, Burlington
Making a mountain out of a molehill
Please stop making a Mountain out of a molehill. It is appropriately called the Escarpment.
Raymond Rea, Hamilton
Demolishing needed housing
It is ironic that at a time when protesters are at city hall complaining about the lack of affordable housing in the city I read where 21 of 60 empty buildings, which they say were unsalvageable, are being demolished. I wonder if the other 39 will be refurbished and used to give shelter to those in need.
Diana MacKenzie, Hamilton
Complaining writer should move to the U.S.
Liberals are dooming Canada (Dec. 3)
The writer indicates that Justin Trudeau and his government Do what Liberal governments do best - spend taxpayers' money."
There is a misconception that Liberal governments are bad at managing the economy whereas the facts say otherwise.
Government of Canada deficits for the past 25 years (Source: Statistics Canada) shows the following:
- Liberals (in power 15 years of last 25) accumulated $86.7 billion in deficits or $5.7 billion per year average;
- Conservatives (in power 10 years of last 25) accumulated $118.6 billion in deficits or $11.8 billion per year.
The writer is conveniently forgetting that we're in a pandemic (the first in 100 years) and the Liberal government is taking steps to assist a shattered economy. You only have to look at the U.S. to see the alternative to the assistance that the Canadian government has provided. They have long food lines and people starving because of the lack of government actions there. If the writer would prefer U.S. style economics, I would suggest he move there.
Ray Di Lullo, Vineland