Views vary on the Trump tariffs
Re: Trump bulldozes the leftist nonsense of the last four years — Conrad Black, Feb. 1; An ‘existential crisis’ of Canada’s own making — Diane Francis, Jan. 28
While Conrad Black’s take on Donald Trump’s first few days in office was interesting, comparing him with the likes of Churchill, or Roosevelt, or de Gaulle may be the proverbial “bridge too far.”
I am not a student of history but I do not believe any of these gentlemen were ever classified as a bully or an idiot, while it is easy to cast Trump as both, as has already been done many times over. Case in point is his approach to tariffs. His approach to dealing with what is essentially a non-existent problem at the Canadian–U.S. border is unutterably reckless and will no doubt seriously damage the economies of both countries for some time, certainly for the next two years, possibly longer.
Given that his backers, no matter how tolerant they are of his brash mannerisms and autocratic leadership style, will have little tolerance for a faltering U.S. economy, some, at least those capable of rationale thought, may show their displeasure in the U.S. midterms. Thus his impetuous approach to ruling by tariffs may well cost him control of the Senate or the House, or both, making his last two years in office much more difficult.
There are parallels between Trump’s approach to the Canadian tariff situation and Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine: neither Trump nor Putin have a defensible reason for their actions; all countries involved will suffer needlessly; and no one is sure how or when it will end. In fact, perhaps Trump is the West’s very own Putin.
Bob Atkinson, Victoria, B.C.
There are Canadians who believe that Donald Trump is a powerful bully. For them, he presents a clear and present danger to our national sovereignty. For them, Canada’s autonomy has never been questioned until now. They literally feel he is an existential threat.
But there are Canadians who believe that the Davos/World Economic Forum crowd, with their net zero and DEI policies, have been the clear and present danger to our national sovereignty and that they have shaped Canada’s energy, pension, economic, business and taxation policies for too long. To us, they have been the existential threat to our sovereignty.
Trump is wrestling power from the scourge of these puppet masters. It’s the end of radical globalism. Trump may be tactless but he is reigniting the formula that led to the ascendancy of the West: law and order, borders, economic growth, innovation and patriotism.
I, for one, am sleeping like a baby.
Johanne Brownrigg, Orleans, Ont.
Regardless of the outcome of the 30-day tariff negotiation, we should perhaps offer President Donald Trump thanks for the prompt to our government to finally get serious about immigration and border security, illicit drugs, crime and the threat of terrorism. And thanks, too, for the reminder that we must restore our productivity and competitiveness. Now is the time to dismantle internal trade barriers and protectionism and foster a renewed sense of unity. Canadians need that after the past decade.
Breton Smith, Calgary
Strengthen ties with our Arctic allies
Re: Whether Trump is serious or merely trolling, it’s not funny anymore — Terry Glavin, Jan. 8
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to annex Canada by economic force and Greenland (a territory belonging to Denmark) by military force. It therefore seems desirable that Canada move closer to Denmark and form an alliance with it in order to better monitor their northern territories, which, with global warming, will be increasingly coveted.
In fact, a rapprochement should take place between all the small countries of the Arctic Council: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. This is to make it clear to the two other countries on the council — the powerful United States (which is no longer trustworthy) and Russia — that they do not intend to cede their territories.
Recently, Denmark announced that it wanted to devote some $3 billion to security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic. At the very least, Canada should follow suit and show its teeth, too.
Sylvio Le Blanc, Montreal
Take my president, please!
Re: No ‘snowball’s chance in hell,’ Trudeau says, after Trump threatens ‘economic force’ to take Canada — Jan. 7
Hi neighbours. Our president wants to steal a larger country and declare it the 51st state. Make a counter offer: annex Florida as your 11th province. If a big majority of Florida adults demand to stay part of Confederate States of America, as a second choice, just annex Palm Beach County (including all of Mar-a-Lago) as your fourth territory. Take my president, please!
Ron Renkoski, Trenton, Mo.
‘Trudeau provoked these tariffs’
Re: A geopolitical marriage on the rocks — Diane Francis, Feb. 5
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s consistent rude behaviour towards Donald Trump provoked these tariffs.
In London, England, in December of 2019, Trudeau was caught on camera mocking Trump to British prime minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron. The next day, Trump called Trudeau “two-faced.”
At the conclusion of the 2018 G7 summit in Quebec, after Trump had left, Trudeau said at a news conference, “As Canadians, we are polite, we’re reasonable, but also we will not be pushed around.” Trump called Trudeau dishonest and weak and refused to sign the G7 joint statement.
During the 2020 American election, Trudeau said that he had confidence in the integrity of the U.S. electoral system, implicitly criticizing Trump’s claims of electoral fraud.
Trump does not forget or forgive. We are paying the price of Trudeau’s impertinence.
Irwin Pressman, North York, Ont.
Where has B.C. been?
Re: B.C. will stand up to Trump by building at home — David Eby, Feb. 4
Where was B.C. when the Trudeau government cancelled the Northern Gateway pipeline? Silent.
Where was it on the elimination of interprovincial trade barriers? Not even talking about it.
Where was B.C. on addictive drug reduction? Fighting for legalization.
Where was it when Trans Mountain was seeking to expand? Fighting it with every tool in the book.
Where was it on facilitating resource industries? Drafting legislation to introduce an industry-hampering resource development oversight to First Nations.
Where was B.C. on massive non-resident property taxes to frustrate foreign ownership? Inventing new ways to anger Americans.
Where has it been on massive money laundering in Metro Vancouver? Watching.
B.C. has a checkerboard of things that it will or will not stand up for. Unfortunately, that pattern has weakened Canada’s ability to stand up for itself and has created a great opportunity for Trump to push B.C. around.
John P.A. Budreski, Whistler, B.C.
Trump’s Gaza proposal ‘ludicrous’
Re: Donald Trump’s unserious plan for Gaza — Jesse Kline, Feb. 5
Gaza may well be uninhabitable but Donald Trump’s ideas are, politely, ludicrous. At the same time, why would Egypt or Jordan want more than two million foreigners living in their countries for years as refugees with no means of support?
Perhaps a better temporary measure would be to move the Palestinians to Florida for a few years. Mar-a-Lago might have some space?
Richard Holloway, Oakville, Ont.
We’ve been a bad ‘bestie’
Re: Trump fools around and finds out the foolishness of fighting Canadians — John Ivison, Feb. 2
We poor, betrayed Canadians are realizing that we aren’t as loved as we think we deserve to be, particularly by our neighbour. We’re America’s best friend (even if we don’t act like it). We always say we are, so it must be true.
Canada is like that friend you’ve always hung out with, but eventually you realize that they never bring anything when invited for dinner, never have you over for dinner, and are often in the restroom when it’s their turn to buy the next round. That’s the kind of bestie Canada has been, not paying our share while hiding under America’s military, taking little digs at them while they kept the free world safe. They’ve known it all along but were magnanimous enough to let it pass.
Now a new leader comes along and says no more free rides, pay your way and share the burden. Canadians respond by whining, complaining, booing their national anthem and declaring (a trade) war. Finally, the prime minister who said Canada doesn’t have a national identity makes a Churchill-like appeal to patriotism. Saying it may have been his finest moment represents the ill-informed mentality that brought Canada to this point.
Gary Krieger, North York, Ont.
Don’t let Donald Trump into Canada
Re: Wilderness area to close in June ahead of G7 summit — Feb. 7 (print)
Leaders of the U.S., France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy and Canada, as well as the European Union, are expected to attend the June 15-17 gathering of G7 nations in Kananaskis, Alta.
I sincerely hope we will not allow Donald Trump to set foot in our country — especially after his statements about forcing economic hardship on Canada to make it “his” 51st state.
Mike Priaro, Calgary
Send Armed Forces Reserves to the border
Re: Military not being deployed to U.S.-Canada border, but will send drones — Stephanie Taylor, Feb. 4
Canada has come up with an upgraded border security plan to halt fentanyl shipments and illegal border crossings into the United States.
As an interim measure and until the issue of protecting our borders and our sovereignty is resolved, the Canadian Forces Reserves should be deployed to aid border agents and police. After all, the role of reserve forces is to protect and defend Canada in the event of a crisis. The deployment would be beneficial in two ways. First, it would show that we care about our border, and it would possibly satisfy our neighbour. Second, it would provide invaluable training and a sense of pride and purpose for our reserve units. It might also give visibility to the military and help with the recruiting effort.
Canadian Forces Reserves are trained and are part of our military forces. They would be ideally suited as interim border agents during this critical period.
Roger Cyr, Victoria, B.C.
Carney’s support cast the same as Trudeau’s
Re: Mark Carney has no plan, but did you know he played hockey? — Jamie Sarkonak, Jan. 16
There is little doubt that Mark Carney would be a vast improvement over his predecessor. However, sadly for Canada, he would be surrounded by the same incompetent and ineffectual support cast who have done so much damage to our nation and clearly do not deserve to be re-elected.
It is incumbent that the Canadian electorate vote for a changing of the guard on Parliament Hill.
Bob Erwin, Ottawa
TDSB blunders with school renamings
Re: TDSB follows the woke crowd by scrubbing historical figures from schools — Greg Piasetzki, Feb. 6; and Dundas, Ryerson and Macdonald schools to be renamed in Toronto: TDSB — Tyler Dawson, Jan. 29
Greg Piasetzki makes good points regarding the case of the three historical people targeted for school renamings in Toronto: Henry Dundas, Egerton Ryerson and Sir John A. Macdonald. The renamings were a recommendation to the school board by an uninformed staff group, which the board should turn down.
Recall that Toronto city council reversed its decision to rename Dundas Street, after a clobbering by three former mayors with convincing contrary evidence: Dundas was a solid and effective abolitionist, whose first success was getting rid of slavery in Scotland.
The case against Egerton Ryerson is even more is pathetic, if facts matter. Ryerson never even used the words “residential school” in any of his writing. Nowhere.
Macdonald called for separating Indigenous children from their parents for schooling, but the legislation he introduced was for “schools,” not residential. The Toronto District School Board is supposed to take into account the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which never blamed Ryerson or Macdonald for the abuses at residential schools.
The Friends of Egerton Ryerson have offered an expert briefing to the TDSB and staff.
Lynn McDonald, fellow, Royal Historical Society
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