Poilievre, Tories on wrong side of history
Shame on the Conservative caucus for walking out of the House of Commons when their leader was ejected. Pierre Poilievre’s choice of words to describe the prime minister (and refusing to withdraw it) was childish to say the least and not the language of intelligent debate we expect from our elected representatives. Further, Poilievre showed great disrespect for the Speaker of the House. By following Poilievre out, his caucus condoned this unacceptable behaviour. By all means disagree with another’s point of view, but do not sink to this base behaviour when doing so.
Katy Austin, Midland, Ont.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s ejection from question period is only the latest example of the Conservative Party of Canada’s continuous veering off toward the extremist right. The increasingly toxic comportment demonstrates frustration to be sure, but more importantly indicates a trend toward and support for aggressive, authoritarian-style politics. This disrespectful, belligerent, toxic leadership is the farthest thing from Canadian politics we’ve ever seen. It’s embarrassing for Canada. The lack of respect for civil debate and parliamentary protocols is a threat to democracy.
E. Spanier, Toronto
Comparisons to Trump
Canadians ought to thank Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for his recent outburst. After his attempt to redo his image as the nice friendly family guy, he got himself ejected from the House of Commons. It is nice when the true colours of a politician are outed, not by the opposition, but by themselves and their own behaviour. Poilievre has shown that he is grossly unsuitable as a leader, as a prime minister, and that his advisers ought not to be allowed on Parliament Hill. He has confirmed Canadians’ suspicions that he is our own version of Trump. He has proven that he remains simply a partisan, dogmatic, name calling political brat.
Allan Bowman, East Gwillimbury, Ont.
In calling opposing politicians juvenile and disparaging names, threatening to rewrite the Constitution to get his own way, appealing to extremist groups, decrying every progressive government initiative, perpetuating the wrong-headed notion that taxes are evil, showing contempt for the authority of government, it would seem that American presidential hopeful Donald Trump has his very own “Mini-Me” up here in Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. God help us all should he gets into power.
Jonathan OMara, Whitby, Ont.
Police and accountability
Recently, Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw said he and members of the force were “hoping for a different outcome” after a jury found Umar Zameer not guilty. This partisan statement about a judicial outcome was after three police officers were suspected of collusion in their testimony. If the Ontario Provincial Police investigation confirms witness officers gave “false” evidence, will they be dismissed?
Then this week, four innocent people died after a slew of cops insisted (in spite of reportedly being ordered to stand down) on chasing a suspect on to a busy major highway. While we must wait on the outcome of the SIU investigation, if the police involved in the chase did in fact “go rogue” in pursuing a suspect who caused the crash, will they be charged?
I get the impression that many police officers are more interested in supporting their community than in supporting ours, and seem to have abandoned their role to “serve and protect.”
Brigitte Nowak, Toronto
I know that a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigation is underway but hopefully the appropriate ministry will review policies and regulations for such police pursuits, especially on our 400 series highways. Highway 401 is Canada’s busiest highway and proceeding with a police pursuit against oncoming traffic makes no sense to me! This accident was preventable in my opinion!
Jim McEwen, Bowmanville, Ont.
Maybe average folk don’t realize their real salaries have become insufficient
Why is it that the revenue side of financial problems is rarely cited as the source of financial concerns for Canadians? Not too long ago one could buy a house, pay off a mortgage, and raise a large family on a single modest salary. My father did it. He earned a workman’s wage on the floor of a factory as a general labourer. Real wages have been either flat or declining for decades depending on the sector in which you are employed. Perhaps it is up to average folk to direct some of their concerns towards employers who are not paying them enough. Today’s employers love to deflect criticism for their meagre offerings and some of them look for ways to circumvent paying meaningful salaries. Most regular people just trying to maintain a stable standard of living may or may not even realize they are never far from a financial catastrophe with a health or family emergency, a vehicle repair bill, a cut in pay or hours, or worse, long-term unemployment due to layoffs.
Timothy Kwiatkowski, London, ON
It is painful to watch the Blue Jays
It is painful watching the Toronto Blue Jays this year, even more painful than last year. Sadly, we know the architect of this catastrophe: General Manager Ross Atkins. Atkins let go Marcus Semien, the first second baseman in major league history to hit 40 home runs, and a fantastic mentor to his younger teammates. To rub salt even further into the self-inflicted wounds, he let go Teoscar Hernández and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Atkins sucked the character of the team out of the dugout and sucked the enthusiasm out of the club. Gone are the jubilant, goofy, and animated faces that bounced around in the dugout like joyful children. Now, the dugout is as morose as a funeral home.
Louis MacPherson, Bowmanville, Ont.
