Letters: Judges are only human. Even the Chief Justice

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Please know, Mr. Justice LaForme, that Canadian Jews are deeply grateful for your allyship and that of your Anishinaabe peoples.

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Susan Silverman, Toronto

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The ‘silver lining’ to traffic obstructions

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Peter Shawn Taylor laments the deliberate placing of obstacles, like cones, by city planners to obstruct traffic. I note however, the difference between driving in Toronto when I first came to this city in 1973, and driving here now. Then, people — both drivers and pedestrians crossing a street— were courteous, and driving was a pleasure. Now, with the huge growth in population and cars, both drivers and pedestrians have lost patience and take undue risks daily.

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This seems to be a variation of what happened in a psychological experiment when too many rats were put in a maze or confined space. The result was extreme social stress. Perhaps the city fathers are just trying to slow down traffic to a safer mode. Then again, what additional frustration does this practice engender?

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Eli Honig, Toronto

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Potholes are frequently making headlines these days.

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I walk a lot in Montreal, and what’s immediately obvious is that the more potholes there are on the streets, the slower cars become (which makes sense, as drivers don’t want to damage their vehicles). They play a similar role to speed bumps, which are a traffic-calming measure. And what happens when cars drive slower? Well, there are fewer accidents, fewer deaths.

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How many lives have been saved by potholes and speed bumps in Quebec’s major cities? Researchers may one day be able to tell us.

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Every cloud has a silver lining.

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Sylvio Le Blanc, Montreal

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Make parents responsible for children’s social media use

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Alcohol is not safe. Children are not allowed to buy it, drink it, or possess it. However, if somebody purchases alcohol, and brings it home, and a child at that home drinks it, it is not the retail outlet that sold it nor the manufacturer who made it who is to blame.

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If the government wants to ban children from social media, they should prosecute the adult who provided them with the device on which they accessed social media.

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Prosecuting the social media sites for failing to prevent children from accessing social media when an adult in their life gave them the opportunity and means, is like prosecuting the brewery if a child steals a beer from the fridge in the garage.

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And is likely to be just as successful.

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So no, Carney is not to be applauded. The law will not protect children. If you want to protect the children, make the parent responsible.

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Graham Haig, Toronto

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Bring down PM’s sky-high flight meal costs

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Instead of dining on red-wine-braised beef with a choice of edamame ragu or pearl onion and rosemary roasted red potatoes, or pan-seared salmon with lemon and herb couscous and broccoli, perhaps the prime minister and his pals could eat a few sandwiches on their flights instead, and we could afford to keep our Snowbirds in the air.

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Marcia Green, Saskatoon