Today’s letters: Canada should invest in fighting forest fires

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How about manufacturing more water bombers?

Last year, Canada experienced its longest and largest forest fire situation. As it happens, Canada makes water bombers in Alberta at the Canadair plant.

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The federal government throws money at a lot of causes and a carbon tax windfall comes on everything sold — including fuel for water bombers. Surprise, not a single dollar has been budgeted to expand that aircraft industry.

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Canada contributes 1.5 per cent of global greenhouse gases and we probably led the world last year simply by producing smoke from burning forests. It should be a no-brainer to expand the manufacturing of water bombers, buying a fleet of them and — when Canada is not burning — invoicing other countries for using our fleet.

Brian Vachon, Greely

Carbon-pricing is tough but good policy

Re: Should Trudeau rethink his approach to the carbon tax? March 30.

Columnist Shachi Kurl should consider this: Justin Trudeau is no dummy, and knows full well that carbon-pricing is tough medicine to sell. The thrashing that Stéphane Dion took in 2008 for his science-based “Green Shift” is fresh enough in sapient political minds.

Trusting in unassailable science, and in line with many other countries, our duly elected Justin Trudeau is pressing on with a policy that is solid, true, good for Canadians and good for the planet. This is not foolery. This is not ignorance. This, ladies and gentlemen, is leadership.

Thomas Brawn, Orléans

Punishment to suit the crime

A number of letter writers have suggested that “tough on crime” is ineffective as a deterrent. So what?

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If I am ever the victim of a violent crime, I can assure you that the message the judge tries to send in sentencing my attacker will be of little interest to me. I will want justice, a punishment proportionate to the crime. Nothing less or more. The ethnicity of my assailant: completely and totally irrelevant. The life circumstances of the offender: even less relevant.

I am a recovering alcoholic. Thirty-five years ago, I was penniless and effectively a street person. I sobered up and got on with the challenge of life. Now old, I’m happy and quite financially secure. It’s not rocket science: face your demons and work your posterior off.

Whether tough on crime is effective is a debate I will leave to the shrinks. I know for a fact that we are all free to make choices and those choices come with consequences. Choose the behaviour and choose the consequences.

Ken Johnston, Ottawa

Terrorism rarely succeeds in its goals

The horrendous terrorist attack in Moscow, leaving 140 dead, indicates that our enemies are as susceptible to terrorism as are our friends. Phil Gurski’s column on March 26 correctly states that the world can expect more such attacks.

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What is missing from the narrative on terrorism, though, is that these attacks are almost never successful. Their purpose is to effect a change in government policy or in people’s attitudes and behaviour. The result is usually the opposite, a hardening of policy and attitude. Attacks are almost all counter-productive. Killing people is a means to an end, not the end itself, which is almost never achieved.

Ed Whitcomb, retired intelligence analyst, Ottawa

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