Today's letters: What Canada needs now is a 'war cabinet'

Monday Dec. 30: With Donald Trump threatening tariffs, Canada's leaders need to work together, not clamour for elections, says one reader. You can write to us too, at [email protected]

Published Dec 30, 2024  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  10 minute read

Donald Trump greets Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House in 2019. The president-elect is now threatening costly tariffs against Canada. Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM /AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Singh and Poilievre are focused on the wrong question

Re: Jagmeet Singh promises non-confidence motion when Parliament returns, Dec. 20.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative leader Peter Poilievre say that, “The Liberals do not deserve another chance to govern.” They are answering the wrong question. This is not about the Liberals; it is about Canada. Canada does not deserve to be torn apart by partisan strife and distracted by an election while it is being attacked by a powerful neighbour.

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When Israel declared that it was at war with Hamas, it formed a “war cabinet” that included both government members and members of the opposition. I seldom agree with Israel on anything but, when a nation is at war, it needs to overcome internal differences and work together. The United States has elected a trade warrior who has announced a trade war against his neighbours and trading partners. Consequently Canada needs a “trade-war cabinet.”

Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refreshed Canada’s cabinet, he should invite selected MPs from other parties to join and sit in an extended cabinet to help find the best strategies for the imminent trade war. If no sitting members of a party are willing to put their country above their party, former MPs and premiers can be invited instead.

Canada deserves a unity government that can use the best ideas from all parties and present a united front to “the enemy.” In unity, there is strength.

Dave Parnas, Ottawa

The world is the limit for Donald Trump

Re: Trump again floats idea of making Canada the ’51st state,’ Dec. 18.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has indicated several times that he thinks it would be a good idea for Canada to become the 51st state. He even suggested that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau be appointed governor of the 51st state. But Trump hasn’t stopped there. Now he wants the United States to reclaim the Panama Canal, and he also wants to take possession of Greenland.

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Perhaps he should continue with his desire to take over the world and have the U.S. claim Russia, Iran, Afganistan and North Korea and appoint the head of those countries as governors. Why stop there? Why not have the U.S. also take over China, Great Britain, Australia and soon, and have Trump appointed as the leader of the world?

Perhaps someone should tell Trump to stop dreaming in technicolour. May I suggest that a few sessions with a psychiatrist might cure Trump of his fantasies?

John P. Carroccetto, Ottawa

Trump should think hard about the numbers

If Canada were to join the United States, we would be sending to Congress new senators and representatives in number sufficient to make life impossible for Donald Trump.

He has not thought about that.

Sylvester Damus, Ottawa

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Please send Trump a clear message

I am a Canadian who wishes that our federal government would broadcast a clear, succinct message to the United States saying, “We are an independent nation with a prime minister as our leader. We have no desire to be a 51st state.”

Does the United States wish to be an 11th province or a fourth territory?

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Lin Dickson, Ottawa

Canada can survive without the U.S.

Some years ago someone, possibly David Suzuki, suggested a hypothetical test for the idea of countries being able to exist. He envisioned a high wall built around each country to block everything, including people, from going out and coming in. Which of them would be able to survive?

Canada is unique in its ability to survive such a situation. We have energy, water, ore, food production, technology, skilled people and myriad other advantages that would enable us to survive quite well. Compare us to Japan, for example, which must import many necessities for survival.

The greatest hindrance to our current problems is that our provinces have so many trade barriers and protectionist policies among them that we are in competition with each other in the marketplace. Such stupidity!

If only our provincial leaders would tackle this little problem and open their markets to the rest of Canada, we could very well withstand pressures from our largest trading partner. Our southern neighbours need us but we really don’t need them if we work together to make our own country great by co-operating with domestic development.

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Gord Cross, Renfrew

Canada should woo the progressive American states

Instead of fretting over whether Canada will become the 51st state, we should be trying to lure some of the progressive American states on the west coast and in the northeast to become part of Canada, and leave the MAGA “red states” to suffer from the self-inflicted tribulations of convicted felon Donald Trump and his billionaire friends.

David B. Flemming, Ottawa

What if Canada and California teamed up?

So, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would like to see Canada become the 51st state? That would make the Great State of Canada the largest state, by population, slightly larger than California. That would give Canada about 54 electoral college votes. Canada and California would have a combined total of 108 votes.

Is that really what you want, Mr. Trump? Be careful what you wish for.

John Haslip, Ottawa

How a classmate saw the United States

When I was in high school in the early 1960s, a young American immigrant joined us. During one class, he made the comment that “Canada should become the United States’ largest state.” A Canadian classmate objected loudly, saying, “Heck, no. The United States would do fine to become Canada’s largest city!”

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Touché, Mr. Trump.

Lynda Haddon, Perth

Trump should study Canada-U.S. history

President-elect Donald Trump is, in my opinion, free to say whatever he wants about anything he wants — but only if he says it while in the U.S. That said, his recent remarks about Canada were insulting and rude.

But even as Trump is free to say whatever he wants while in his country, he should recall how Charles de Gaulle’s 1967 “Vive le Quebec libre” remark was answered by then-prime minister Lester Pearson. Pearson abruptly told de Gaulle that “Canadians do not need to be liberated” and he sent de Gaulle back to France, never to return to Canada.

Similarly, we now need a prime minister to tell Trump that Canada will never be demoted to become a state but that, if we ever did become one, with more than 40 million voters there would likely be enough of us to never elect such an ignorant person as president.

Finally, Trump should go back to his history books and recall what happened the last time the United States pissed us off. It was 1814 and we stormed and burned down the White House.

Ken Bowering, Woodlawn

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Summing up Trump in one bad word

Re: Trump again riles up foreign nations, Dec. 24.

A new dirty word for 2025: “Expansionist.”

Happy New Year!

Colleen Rutherford Archer, Deep River

Trump shows he’s scared of Freeland

Re: Trump mocks ‘toxic’ Freeland, Dec. 17.

These may be challenging times in our relationship with the United States and in Canada’s response to Donald Trump’s tariff threats and his suggested takeover of Canada. But Trump’s comments on Chrystia Freeland show that the bully is scared. That makes me more comfortable.

Michael Wiggin, Ottawa

Trump fears Freeland? Then make her prime minister

Canadians are afraid of Donald Trump. Donald Trump is afraid of Chrystia Freeland. Therefore, let’s have Chrystia Freeland as our next prime minister.

Valerie Burton, Ottawa

Have we forgotten all the COVID casualties?

Re: One in three Canadians say government response to COVID was overblown: poll, Dec. 11.

Our country is truly in trouble. A significant percentage of the population has contracted the same virus that in November swept our neighbours to the South: MPS, or Mass Public Stupidity. It is an acknowledged and severe side-effect of the highly-contagious MPA (Mass Public Amnesia).

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This must be the explanation for the findings of the recent Leger survey for the Association of Canadian Studies that reported 36 per cent of those polled claimed that governments (unspecified) over-reacted to COVID-19 and 18 per cent “regretted” being vaccinated.

The poll indicates that men led the way in this MPS affliction, along with those under age 54. Do so few people remember the thousands who died or became seriously ill in Canada, to say nothing of the millions throughout the world, during the period before the arrival of effective vaccines? Was Paul Newman right in his observation from the classic film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: “I’ve got morons on my team”?

Bill Russell, Ottawa

East-end bridge is slowly progressing

Re: Feds commit to pushing forward on new Ottawa-Gatineau bridge, Dec. 16.

The government of Canada has moved along the project for an east-end bridge over the Ottawa River and we should all rejoice. I am certain heavy-truck drivers who have to snake down Waller and Rideau streets to get across the Ottawa River are honking for joy.

Let’s give this project a chance and make our community safer and smarter.

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Nicole C. Beauchamp, Ottawa

Do we really need costly play structures?

Re: Aging play structures to be replaced by OCDSB, Dec. 15.

When I read the ridiculous cost of replacing aging school play structures, my thoughts went to my own elementary school yard back in the 1960s.

Our only permanent fixture was a punching bag structure that would have survived an apocalypse. We had lines painted on the asphalt for hopscotch and dodgeball. We had a couple of tetherball poles. Girls would bring their own skipping ropes. Boys would bring their own football or a tennis or rubber ball to bounce against a wall.

We played tag. We invented new games. We re-enacted scenes from our favourite movie or TV show. We had lots of fun. The cost of exercising our imagination was zero.

Guy Foisy, Orléans

After the postal strike, this is what we get?

With the recent back-to-work order for Canada Post employees, I feel for both the workers and the corporation.

Workers are concerned about temporary workers, benefits/wages and changes in the business model to reduce the number of letter carrier days. Canada Post requires temporary workers and firm wages to compete with other delivery services, combined with alternate delivery frequency and methods.

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We saw the telegraph take over for the pony express. How many of us moved to online billing during the strike? We have a community letter box which we were hesitant about at first, but now it works well, especially when we go away for a few days. For the most part, a once-a-week check now works as most deliveries are online orders.

But what irks us was that on the day service resumed, the only mail was an advertiser for a fitness club. Straight back in the send letter box as “return to sender.”

Gabriel Sion, Ottawa

Speed cameras are just money grabs

Speed cameras have gotten out of hand. It seems every day they’re putting more of these automated revenue collectors up in high-volume, frequently trafficked areas — just to nab commuters who are going four km/hr over the artificially lowered speed limit.

It’s time we called out these sleeping policemen for what they are: money grabs. I think they are a tax on the public and politicians are happy to put more speed cameras up in order to look like they’re doing something productive. To heck wth the lot of ’em.

Ben Barkin, Nepean

In all weather, Addai delivers!

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A huge thank you to my wonderful Ottawa Citizen newspaper deliverer, Addai.

Even during a severe snowstorm, he still drives from house to house and gets the paper into my mailbox at 3:30 a.m. I am so grateful.

Mary Catherine Moore, Ottawa

Ottawa’s snow-clearing is second to none

I moved from Alberta to Ottawa in April 2023, and since that time … let’s just say I’ve had my share of challenges with services provided at both the provincial and municipal levels.

That said, credit where credit is due: Ottawa’s snow-clearing services are second to none. Waking up to find my residential street cleared just hours after a major snowfall (on a few different occasions now) is something I never thought possible. In most major cities, this process would drag on for weeks, if it got done at all. Well done.

Colin McComb, Ottawa

Even X.com can deliver inner peace

I have learned to achieve inner peace and good mental health by reading X, a.k.a. Twitter. Yes, really.

First I muted everything political, regardless of party. That got rid of all the hate, cussing and poor spelling. And somehow I stumbled onto a British hiker and photographer, which led me to another, and so on, mostly in Yorkshire and Scotland. (They all follow each other and retweet back and forth). And an artist or two. Each morning now begins with coffee and calming scenery. Lots of rocky hills.

May I recommend any of: @TheKentAcorn, (loves ancient oaks and woodlands); @peaklass1 (hikes in Peak District); @JudyCorbett (owns a Welsh castle); @MaureenPlatts (Lake District valleys and water); @CatherineMMunro (lives in Shetland, loves ponies); and for art, @impression_ists.

All is calm. You’re welcome.

Tom Spears, Ottawa

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