Letters: Is Caroline Mulroney eyeing the prime minister’s office?

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Marjorie Gann, Toronto

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Canada’s Saad state of being

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I am deeply saddened by the decision of Gad Saad to leave Canada for his own safety. I have been following Saad for a number of years now, and would recommend his book Suicidal Empathy as required reading for anyone who values the civilization our forebears built.

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Saad’s departure is a comment on and a condemnation of our institutions of what might loosely be called “higher learning.” It is not surprising Concordia University could not summon up the will to keep him here. Instead of independent thinkers like Gad Saad and Jordan Peterson, we find universities hiring clownish figures who are only to happy to spout progressive twaddle about the U.S. and Israel, and bypassing true statesmen like former PM Stephen Harper for honorary degrees because they are too conservative (big and small “c”).

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Our politicians, too, have to bear responsibility for the decline in our civilization. I would like to call them leaders, but in truth there is no leadership coming from Ottawa, only politics and self-interest. Courage and integrity are not in the lexicon of our government. Too inconvenient and too risky, one supposes. Votes are all that matter, followed by the need to secure a lucrative pension.

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A Saad state of affairs, indeed.

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E. Joan O’Callaghan, Toronto

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Snowbirds: ‘A death blow to a proud tradition’

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As the cat was escaping the bag, Prime Minister Mark Carney dispatched the humbled defence minister and RCAF commander to announce the grounding of the Snowbirds. Airshow season is starting up and those who plan and host them knew what was coming as they began planning for the 2027 season. So someone had to get out and pre-empt the leak.

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The problem, however, was created by the prime minister of a decade ago, now gracing the gossip sheets with a popstar, who abandoned the Canadian military at every turn. Unfortunately for his replacement, the death blow to a proud, prominent and proficient aviation tradition will cost the current government more than they know.

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One of, if not the best, air demonstration in the world showed how good our pilots are and made young aspirants excited at the chance they might become one. The Snowbirds’ reach across Canada was almost too broad to comprehend. They brought an excitement about serving in Canada’s Armed Forces to all corners of the country.

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As the true impact of this mistake sinks in, it should be marked as the beginning of the ultimate decline and failure of Carney’s premiership.

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Shawn Sutherland, Calgary

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Canada’s engine light is on

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I commend Tristin Hopper for taking the time to find the things that Prime Minister Mark Carney has actually done. However, we must point out that many of these things are only one side of the coin. The scrapping of the emissions cap is moot as the body of anti-pipeline legislation still stands. The consumer carbon tax was suspended but there is still an industrial carbon tax. Carney dialled back immigration, but it is still extremely high. The cutting of the gas tax is something most governments in the world have done; it’s not really an original idea. Even the increase in defence spending has not changed how the world or many allies see us as a military power.

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The issue is Carney is playing it safe with Canada. He is doing some things, but only at a very nominal amount. Nothing too much to rock the boat. Philip Cross points out in his recent article that Canada needs an overhaul on many things we are taking for granted. I would amend the ending to Cross’s column to say, “However highly we think of ourselves, we won’t do what is necessary to alleviate our slow growth.” That would be a much more appropriate description. Cross is telling Canada to check their engine (the light is on), but the small things that Carney has done amount to checking the windshield wiper fluid level.