Saturday's letters: Smith's survey bars contrary views
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Perhaps being a senior and concerned about health care, vaccinations and my pension has put me out of the loop to what is really important. However my vote is important and right now it is going the NDP. Premier Smith says she cares for all Albertans, but she has not learned that her opinion of what is right for all is just her opinion. If she really wants to know what the rest of us think, her survey should offer us the opportunity to actually express ourselves. After all, we are footing the bill.
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So the UCP town hall meetings are underway with the stated goal of protecting Alberta from Ottawa's attacks while building a more prosperous, strong and sovereign Alberta within Canada. I would much rather have the town halls focus on protecting Albertans from the UCP. It is clear that Albertans do not want an Alberta pension plan nor do we want an Alberta police force which has quietly been thrust upon us.
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Meanwhile, Danielle Smith continues to push the outsourcing of medical procedures at the expense of public health, our education system is underfunded, and our province is under attack from the Trump administration. Ottawa is not the enemy; the enemy is from within.
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John Campbell, Edmonton
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Louise Davis makes a point in her letter about how politicians should step down gracefully. She rightly highlights the issue of disrespect — and that's exactly the word that applies to what's happened with Pierre Poilievre.
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In his riding, individuals chose to put 90 extra names on the ballot — an act that seems not only undemocratic but deeply disrespectful to our country and to the integrity of our voting system. It undermines the foundation of democracy and disrespects the people who participate in it in good faith.
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It seems this kind of interference is happening again in the current byelection. We need to be honest: We're comparing apples and oranges when we talk about Poilievre and Singh. Jagmeet Singh's NDP was soundly defeated in the last election, so stepping down was almost inevitable. Poilievre, on the other hand, didn't lose in the traditional sense — his loss was due to chaos caused by people who don't respect how elections are supposed to work.
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Toronto Sun
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- Toronto Sun
Letters to the Editor, July 20, 2025
Sunday letters Photo by Illustration / Toronto Sun STAND ON GUARD This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Our military is like an immune system, keeping us alive and safe. Even ant colonies have soldier ants which enable the common ants to work, move and live. If our military gets too small, Canadian society could get weak, sick and die. I really hope more Canadians step up to the plate and do at least a three-year stint in our Armed Forces. Sean Michael Murray Victoria, B.C. (It's a shame how our military has been neglected) LOSING FAITH As Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre hopes to regain a House of Commons seat in an August byelection, the party has some choices to make. Poilievre failed to 'bring it home' and is now asking for another shot. All the problems Conservative leaders faced were complex and their choices were entirely to blame for a string of losses. In the minds of most Canadians, the leader was ultimately responsible. As such, the leader must be held to account. Life is challenging for a lot of people right now. However, an incredibly large percentage of Canadians do not blame the current federal government. They realize that our No. 1 challenge is Donald Trump. What is almost never pointed out is how Poilievre wasn't able to get most Canadians to accept his vision of change; Conservatives packaging it in the context of their most hallowed tradition, but not delivered by their leader. Perhaps it was partly his wrapping himself in the flag after railing about Canadians being dumb, offering little beyond Trump-like insults and slogans. What would be the result if more Conservative voters and delegates carved a new path? William Perry Victoria, B.C. (Liberals were listening to him and loved his ideas) MMA World Toronto & GTA Tennis World
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
Sask. NDP wants province to call for more help as feds warn extreme fire season will continue
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Edmonton Journal
a day ago
- Edmonton Journal
Opinion: Transportation minister needs to stay in his lane
Article content Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen recently wrote to the mayors of both Edmonton and Calgary with 'concerns' about bike lanes. His first letter to Edmonton called for the cancellation of the 132nd Avenue project, but the letter to Calgary was more vague, stating 'we need to seriously consider on how to maintain adequate capacity for motor vehicle traffic flow for current and future traffic needs, not reducing capacity.' Article content Article content If Dreeshen is concerned about the movement of traffic through the city, he should support more transportation options, not fewer. Traffic doesn't just include cars, it includes people who walk, take transit and, yes, ride bikes. Article content Calgary city council has, in fact, been too hesitant in building cycling infrastructure. It has allowed the downtown cycle track to slowly crumble year after year, never making permanent what was built in the pilot project phase. This would be unacceptable if it were a road built for cars. Article content Much of the pathways end abruptly and large swaths of the city, including some of Calgary's lowest-income neighbourhoods, have little to no cycling infrastructure at all. Article content Buying and maintaining a car is a huge financial burden and one that should be optional. Thanks to inflation, people are forced to pay more of their income into their vehicles. If Dreeshen's concern is making life easier for Albertans, he'd make it so we wouldn't need to. Article content Article content Adding more car traffic lanes in cities with limited space isn't going to solve traffic problems. If anything, it forces everything to spread out, which in turn forces us all into cars. It's a vicious cycle that we have been doing for decades, and stretches both municipal and personal budgets. Article content I know Dreeshen supports transportation options. He made it legal to drive golf carts on roads in his home riding last year. So why does he want to constrain options in Alberta's cities? Article content The research is abundant — giving people options to get around not only reduces traffic congestion, but improves quality of life. Article content Additionally, being able to experience the city around you in a way that is impossible to do in a car also feels pretty dang good. Since the initial build out of the downtown cycle track, other factors have induced a boom in people riding for transportation. Bike shops saw a boom during pandemic restrictions, and Calgary streets that were converted to active transportation were well used.
