Letters to the editor, Oct. 29: ‘Carney is staying calm, carrying on and refusing to be intimidated in the face of Donald Trump’s trade tantrum’

Keep calm

Re “Carney tries to reassure Canadians after Trump threatens 10% tariff hike” (Oct. 27): Mark Carney is staying calm, carrying on and refusing to be intimidated in the face of Donald Trump’s trade tantrum.

He’s an example for other world leaders.

Alison Dennis Calgary

Re “Carney saw Reagan anti-tariff ad before it aired, Ford says” (Oct. 28): At first I thought the commercial was an expensive mistake, but now I think Doug Ford makes a good point.

Perfectly placed during the World Series, the advertisement garnered massive attention regarding the subject of tariffs then, like wildfire, spread worldwide across social media. Other countries experiencing the negotiation craziness of Donald Trump are watching carefully.

Mark Carney’s calm and measured response seems appropriate. I believe that all is unfolding as it should.

Sydney Sharpe West Vancouver

All the cards

Re “Where is Canada’s leverage in trade talks with Trump?” (Oct. 27): Canada has three strong cards to play, although Ottawa may have already discarded one.

First, tourism-dependent states, like my home of Massachusetts, are already suffering from a roughly 20-per-cent decline in Canadian visitors.

Second, with China recently imposing restrictions on exports of critical minerals, Washington is desperately seeking new sources of these vital items, a role Canada can and should fulfill in exchange for a mutually beneficial trade deal.

Finally, Donald Trump’s Golden Dome defence proposal only works if Canada fully participates. If he has not already agreed to do so, Mark Carney should hold back his – forgive the poor pun – trump card as leverage.

Mark Sternman Somerville, Mass.

Quite right to suggest the way for Canada to exert leverage is to ally with U.S. citizens who are hurt by higher tariffs. One way is to describe how new tariffs on softwood lumber aggravate the housing affordability crisis, particularly in rural America.

Incomes in rural America are lower than in urban areas and have grown more slowly than housing costs. According to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, real inflation-adjusted rental costs between 2000 and 2023 rose 31.2 per cent, while real median incomes in rural areas rose only 5.5 per cent.

There is already a housing crisis there, in other words. Lumber tariffs just make it worse by raising construction costs.

Ed Dunnett Qualicum Beach, B.C.

Cold comfort

Re “Course correction: Students learn Arctic’s biggest lesson is adapting” (Oct. 27): An evocative account of what the Arctic means for our national and climate future.

It should also evoke memories of the Arctic Council, created 29 years ago thanks to the inspired leadership of then-foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy. The 1996 Ottawa Declaration created a visionary forum bringing together representatives of nation states bordering on the Arctic as well as trans-Arctic Indigenous leaders, with a shared mandate to address economic, societal and environmental challenges facing this unique region of our world.

The council has since faced challenges with the collapse of Gorbachev-Yeltsin-era efforts to end East-West confrontation, NATO’s eastward expansion and the ongoing explosive confrontation over Ukraine and other post-Soviet republics. Thus the hopeful prospects of Mr. Axworthy’s initiative have been trashed, and we are left with an Arctic whose future is defined as an area for expanded mining operations and global trade routes – and at risk of becoming a global battlefield.

Scott Burbidge Port Williams, N.S.

Get back

Re “The lesson from Afghanistan that Canada has yet to learn” (Editorial, Oct. 24): There is no question that other powers – Russia, India, China – are filling the vacuum which our isolationist policy has created with the Taliban. Surely we can find ways to meet that challenge without sacrificing our position on human rights.

Women in Afghanistan are living under a form of gender apartheid. The Taliban will continue to act with impunity if the international community doesn’t rally more forcefully. Calling for the International Criminal Court to recognize gender apartheid as a crime against humanity is one step.

Global security is not a black-and-white game of militaristic power. Building and reinforcing human capacity is equally important. Canada planted seeds to create more democratic institutions and brought education and other basic rights to a generation of women. Afghans have not forgotten us or our sacrifices.

Let Canada work with our allies to reckon with the Taliban and malicious players filling the vacuum in Afghanistan.

Catherine Lang Victoria

Loosen up

Re “Venture capital fund raises $10.2-million for immigrant-led startups” (Report on Business, Oct. 28): This news is a reminder of the immense value immigrant entrepreneurs bring to Canada. They create jobs, fuel innovation and help diversify our trade beyond the U.S. market, exactly what our economy needs.

Yet the immigration programs that most entrepreneurial newcomers rely on have been capped and slowed so severely that it can take years to gain entry. This is counterproductive and stifles the very opportunities Canada claims to support.

If we are serious about growth, innovation and global competitiveness, we should reform these programs to welcome, not hinder, those ready to build our future.

Mike Dearden Cambridge, Ont.

More or less

Re “Ottawa’s RRIF rules are forcing seniors to run out of savings” (Report on Business, Oct. 23): That two-thirds of registered retirement income fund holders withdraw only the minimum required by law does not mean they are rapidly depleting their assets. Instead, it is clear to me they have other sources of income that reduce or even eliminate the need to withdraw more.

The other one-third, those who withdraw more than mandated, are the ones who are likely under financial stress. Though, without considering incomes from all sources, that is not necessarily a solid conclusion.

Delaying withdrawals to age 75, reducing rates or eliminating forced withdrawals altogether would likely not help this latter group. But it would fatten the assets of the former.

The issue of income deficiency affecting any age group should be addressed by considering all sources of wealth and income available to it, not in the piecemeal fashion I see proposed here by the C.D. Howe Institute.

Michel Côté Ottawa

Don’t buy it

Re “There’s no home-run fix for sky-high ticket prices” (Editorial, Oct. 28): The right pitch is for people not to buy overpriced tickets.

If tickets go begging, prices will fall. Any market is based on demand and availability.

Reduce the demand for price-gouging tickets and the availability of reasonably priced tickets will abound.

M.C.H. Burgess Cobourg, Ont.

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