{"id":159222,"date":"2026-08-07T08:19:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T08:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/159222\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T08:19:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T08:19:09","slug":"letters-to-the-editor-aug-7-the-prime-minister-has-repeatedly-and-deliberately-provoked-the-u-s-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/159222\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters to the editor, Aug. 7: \u2018The Prime Minister has repeatedly and deliberately provoked the U.S. President\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Evian-les-Bains, France on June 16.Evelyn Hockstein\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Count the ways<\/p>\n

Re \u201cCanada ready to \u2018get tougher\u2019 if U.S. trade deal isn\u2019t reached before deadline, Carney says\u201d<\/a> (Aug. 6): \u201cThe Prime Minister \u2026 is typically careful not to unnecessarily provoke the mercurial U.S. President.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister has repeatedly and deliberately provoked the U.S. President. Just to name a few, these provocations include allowing Doug Ford to run anti-tariff Ronald Reagan advertising in the United States; mumbling \u201cwho cares\u201d late last year when a reporter asked how free trade negotiations were going; the Davos speech; jetting about in search of new trade deals elsewhere; more recently saying that Canada\u2019s ties with the U.S. have become \u201cweaknesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canadians who think the U.S. is totally at fault for the mess we\u2019re in should give their heads a shake. <\/p>\n

Marcia Garman Medicine Hat, Alta.<\/p>\n

Drink to that<\/p>\n

Re \u201cThe provinces serve up a cocktail of petty political posturing\u201d <\/a>(Editorial, Aug. 6): The quasi-agreement between provinces (except Quebec) to allow interprovincial direct-to-consumer alcohol sales is the typical mish-mash of rules whose main goal seems to be preserving parochial interests \u2013 a consequence of provinces controlling retail alcohol sales through government-owned stores. <\/p>\n

In an enlightened environment, provincial entities would never be the retail model. An unfettered competitive retail environment regulated by a province, as principally a tax collector, would be a far better choice. <\/p>\n

Provinces seem unable to rid themselves of the puritan yoke that, not that long ago, had alcohol hidden in brown paper bags.<\/p>\n

Frank Malone Aurora, Ont.<\/p>\n

Standstill<\/p>\n

Re \u201cAlberta is allowing patients to self-refer for some diagnostic tests. What\u2019s the end game?\u201d<\/a> (July 31): I believe the health care reform debate has been lost. <\/p>\n

Coming out of the pandemic, I thought there was momentum for change. Canadians had been confronted on a mass scale with the significant shortfalls of their once most-beloved institution, which leaves millions of people without even a family doctor.<\/p>\n

There were lines that formed outside walk-in clinics in winter an hour before registration even began. If we were not waiting in the cold, we were waiting on the phone, in the hallways, in the emergency room, in pain.<\/p>\n

The momentum I saw is gone. We are back to where Canadians always are, increasingly dissatisfied but paralyzed with fear.<\/p>\n

Reactions from health care leaders and the professional class to modest proposals in Alberta seem to be the typical Canadian response: uncertainty, simplistic moralization and, worst of all, no useful proposals on what should be done other than nothing.<\/p>\n

Canada is stuck.<\/p>\n

Mark Wolfgram Ottawa<\/p>\n

Money to burn<\/p>\n

Re \u201cA $140-million hack has bitcoin users rethinking how they store their crypto\u201d<\/a> (Aug. 5): How can this be reality? I believe bitcoin is a worthless commodity backed by the fresh air of the globe\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

When the dance finally ends, every participant will likely lose whatever they bet. Note the description of bitcoin \u201cusers,\u201d not bitcoin \u201cinvestors.\u201d <\/p>\n

This makes collateralized debt obligation, as reported on by Michael Lewis in his book The Big Short, look like gold ingots in comparison. <\/p>\n

This event could also have been caused by a good lighter.<\/p>\n

Ian Douglas Burlington, Ont.<\/p>\n

Church and state<\/p>\n

Re \u201cThe CAF\u2019s new public \u2018prayer ban\u2019 is not an attack on religious freedom\u201d<\/a> (Aug. 6): I agree. <\/p>\n

But as living things, it is our nature to adapt. And as human beings, it is our nature to strive to understand, to make better and more creative use of the universe in which we live. <\/p>\n

Without reference to a particular religious prescription or doctrine, to acknowledge God is simply to acknowledge that we are part of a greater, awesome, marvellous, grand, splendid, dynamic universe with, from a human point of view, infinite potential. It is, in other words, to be realistic and avoid what the ancient Greeks called hubris.<\/p>\n

Not really a religious belief, it is neutral. It is acknowledgment of our fallibility and, in opening a public meeting, of good and collaborative intentions. It should not offend anyone with an open mind. <\/p>\n

Stephen McNamee Ottawa<\/p>\n

I have no difficulty accepting the beneficial side of religion as it provides for many people in Canada, and around the world, both guidance and comfort. I cannot abide the use of religion to justify claims of superiority of one group over others, let alone the hate and violence that too often stem from extreme religious views.<\/p>\n

On balance, I believe the sooner we truly separate state affairs from religion, the better. Meanwhile, I will continue to teach my young grandchildren the official version of our national anthem, but will probably always wince a bit singing, \u201cGod keep our land glorious and free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donald Hall Ottawa\t<\/p>\n

Butt out<\/p>\n

Re \u201cAt 23, I\u2019ve become a \u2018social smoker.\u2019 And I\u2019m not the only one\u201d<\/a> (Opinion, Aug. 1): This disturbs me for two reasons.<\/p>\n

The first is that the incidence of smoking seems to be on the rise. No smoker escapes the effects of the poison which cigarettes contain.<\/p>\n

Tobacco kills, and this behaviour is not simply risky or a bit dangerous, as some \u201cinfluencers\u201d may suggest. Tobacco smoke is self-destructive with every inhalation. <\/p>\n

The second is the nihilistic point of view used as a rationale for smoking. Yet throughout history, there have always been wars, unemployment, disasters of various kinds and political upheaval. <\/p>\n

It is still the best of times. We happen to live in one of the most stable, beautiful, prosperous and safe countries in the world. We have all won the lottery.<\/p>\n

If we consider the incredible hardships our ancestors, whatever their background, endured to live and compare that to our current way of life, the outlook expressed here seems just a touch, well, privileged. <\/p>\n

Peter Lapner Ottawa<\/p>\n

No go<\/p>\n

Re \u201cNew York City wants Canadian tourists back. Will discounts woo you there?\u201d <\/a>(Retire Rich Newsletter, July 31): I cancelled four planned trips to the United States starting in January, 2025, and I have not been there since. No amount of enticement, while Donald Trump continues to harass Canada, would get me to travel and spend my hard-earned money there. <\/p>\n

I used to go to New York every year to see musicals, but now I just double my trips to London. Going to the U.S. is convenient and easy, but the world is a big place.<\/p>\n

Until the harassment comes to an end, I can\u2019t understand why Canadians are still travelling to the U.S. I have to give my head a shake. <\/p>\n

Bryce Code Calgary<\/p>\n

Letters 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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Evian-les-Bains, France…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[616,111,484,617],"class_list":["post-159222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mark-carney","tag-letters-to-the-editor","tag-mark-carney","tag-noastack","tag-nopolly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}