{"id":161657,"date":"2023-06-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mediaintel.asia\/?p=920642"},"modified":"2023-06-30T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T00:00:00","slug":"public-policy-plus-other-letters-june-30-conservative-politicians-are-usually-good-at-lowering-taxes-and-not-so-good-at-owning-the-decline-decay-and-disorder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/2023\/06\/30\/public-policy-plus-other-letters-june-30-conservative-politicians-are-usually-good-at-lowering-taxes-and-not-so-good-at-owning-the-decline-decay-and-disorder\/","title":{"rendered":"Public policy plus other letters, June 30: \u2018Conservative politicians are usually good at lowering taxes and not so good at owning the decline, decay and disorder\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"MediaIntel.Asia\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Open this photo in gallery: Toronto mayor-elect Olivia Chow enters City Hall in Toronto, on June 27.Arlyn McAdorey\/The Canadian Press
\nMoney talks
\nRe \u201cWar between China and the U.S. doesn\u2019t have to be a fait accompli\u201d (Opinion, June 24): I believe the real war between China and the United States, inevitably involving Western democracies, is not being waged with tanks, bombers and warships.
\nChina\u2019s primary goal seems to be economic, not military, domination. On that front, China is on the verge of becoming the world\u2019s largest economy \u2013 and winning.
\nThe Belt and Road Initiative now involves more than 100 countries. Many of them, indebted to China, are increasingly in its orbit, not just economically but diplomatically and ideologically.
\nLook, too, at international trade laws: China benefits enormously but flouts the rules when it suits Beijing. Recently, for example, the World Trade Organization sided with Japan in its challenge to Chinese anti-dumping laws, which were imposed on Japanese stainless steel in 2019.
\nI am encouraged that Western nations, among others, are finally awake to recognizing China as deeply autocratic, anti-democratic and no friend of the rules-based economic order.
\nMichael Craig Owen Sound, Ont.
\nNumbered
\nRe \u201cMayoral powers\u201d (Letters, June 28): A letter-writer notes that Toronto mayor-elect Olivia Chow won \u201conly\u201d 37 per cent of the votes where the turnout was 39 per cent, thus obtaining a derisory result of about 270,000 votes.
\nImmensely more powerful than her is Premier Doug Ford, who won his riding in the last Ontario election with a turnout of 33.98 per cent (fourth-lowest in the province), a total of 13,934 votes \u2013 or little more than 5 per cent of Ms. Chow\u2019s vote.
\nMichael Johnson Toronto
\nWarning against a \u201cVancouver-style increase\u201d in property taxes, a letter-writer opines that \u201cusually, progressive politicians are good at raising taxes and not so good at cutting spending.\u201d
\nI don\u2019t know about that, but I do know that Toronto\u2019s property-tax rate is the lowest of any city in Southern Ontario, meaning that conservative politicians are usually good at lowering taxes and not so good at owning the decline, decay and disorder which often follow.
\nMichael Arkin Toronto
\nIncoming
\nRe \u201cThe cure for Canada\u2019s housing crisis? Boost immigration\u201d (June 26): So the \u201ccure\u201d for Canada\u2019s housing crisis is to siphon off skilled workers from poorer nations, which have scrimped and saved to educate them? Would these be the same countries that receive millions of dollars in aid from Canada? Where would the land come from?
\nWould we offer expanded and expedited family reunification privileges? So we would receive even larger numbers of unskilled workers, children and seniors, who would all suffer from the lack of affordable housing, medical care and education.
\nIt is also unlikely that these workers would be proficient in either of our official languages, or be familiar with the rules and procedures of Canadian construction or health care.
\nNaive, simplistic? It is clear that the shortages that Canada faces will not be alleviated by a single, simple solution. Sadly, most complex, interlinked long-term problems can only be solved by approaches that are complex, comprehensive and long term.
\nColin Lowe Nanaimo, B.C.
\nIt\u2019s beyond passing strange to me that opinions on Canada\u2019s housing crisis and immigration policy can be aired without mentioning the overarching reality conditioning all human decisions going forward: the climate crisis.
\nFor example, a recent delegation of African leaders, whose countries are experiencing food shortages and skyrocketing prices because of war in Ukraine, were sent away empty-handed by Vladimir Putin. And many species are under threat of or have undergone extinction because of human encroachment. The list goes on.
\nEnding population growth would set the world on a long-term path, but would do little to end carbon emissions, the principal driver of our crisis. Canadians should face the reality that boosting immigration would be like pouring oil on a fire, adding to the housing shortage and encroaching on protected wilderness and farmland.
\nWe should develop better strategies to build our economy, and this takes considerable sacrifices.
\nJames Heller Member, Population Institute of Canada Toronto
\nHistory repeating
\nRe \u201cLegault\u2019s coalition with God\u201d (Opinion, June 24): In his fusion of conservative nationalism and Catholic identity, Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault can be called a modern Maurice Duplessis.
\nMr. Duplessis \u2013 \u201cLe Chef\u201d \u2013 ruled Quebec with an iron fist for 18 years. His reign was typified by intolerance for religious and other minorities, disregard for civil liberties and a narrow, parochial vision of Quebec society.
\nIn taking a page from Mr. Duplessis, it seems Mr. Legault is indeed bringing Quebec back to a past known as La grande noirceur \u2013 \u201cthe great darkness.\u201d
\nMichael Kaczorowski Ottawa
\nClose to home
\nRe \u201cCanada\u2019s grocery industry doesn\u2019t give consumers enough choice, Competition Bureau finds\u201d (Report on Business, June 28): I\u2019d like to see more protection and support for independent stores and regional grocery chains that focus on locally produced goods, both fresh produce and prepared foods.
\nThis would go a long way to supporting our local farmers and food producers, as well as bolstering regional food security, safety and sovereignty.
\nTuula Talvila Ottawa
\nPlay ball
\nRe \u201cToronto Blue Jays\u2019 CEO Mark Shapiro discusses Moneyball, Ayn Rand and hotdogs\u201d (Sports, June 24): Gee, I wonder why Mark Shapiro doesn\u2019t like the film Moneyball?
\nCould it be because he\u2019s portrayed as arrogant? Is it because he gets fleeced by general manager Billy Beane, the guy whom he arrogantly flips off early in the story? No matter. It\u2019s just \u201cbased on a true story.\u201d True enough.
\nHe seems pleasant and bright (however ironic and disingenuous his reading of Ayn Rand may read to me). But all I know is that he and his GM have done little for the Blue Jays \u2013 and I find their \u201cspinning\u201d beyond the pale, even for Toronto sports executives \u2013 especially when compared to Alex Anthopoulos, the man they replaced, who I see demonstrating elsewhere his devotion to actually winning, rather than fattening the corporate wallet.
\nAndrew Milner Peterborough, Ont.
\nIs Pepsi OK?
\nRe \u201cFrank Zamboni receives his patent\u201d (Moment in Time, June 23): Your article on the origins of the Zamboni states that the name has become generic \u201clike Coke is to cola.\u201d
\nTry that one on your French-Canadian colleagues who, as a gesture of independence, prefer Pepsi.
\nA.S. Brown Kingston
\nLetters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com<\/p>\n

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery: Toronto mayor-elect Olivia Chow enters City Hall in Toronto, on June 27.Arlyn McAdorey\/The Canadian Press
\nMoney talks
\nRe \u201cWar between China and the U.S. doesn\u2019t have to be a fait accompli\u201d (Opinion, June 24): I believe the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":253,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1380,65,692,144,586,325,693,288,194,249,484,552],"tags":[10347,10407,3472,10338,10331,2274,7654,2461,10315,2240,7571,10413,2107,7596,10351],"class_list":["post-161657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-africa","category-beijing","category-canada","category-china","category-economy","category-education","category-japan","category-medicine","category-news-chinese-law","category-russia","category-united-states","category-wto","tag-bri","tag-catholic","tag-chinese","tag-democracy","tag-elections","tag-entertainment","tag-france","tag-immigration","tag-media-intelligence","tag-military","tag-oil","tag-putin","tag-religion","tag-sports","tag-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/253"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161657"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161658,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161657\/revisions\/161658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}