Libs committed to reforming Ports board
Re PortsToronto’s “backroom deal…” (NOW, June 15-21). Opposition to the expansion of the Island airport and our government’s position of upholding the Tripartite Agreement and not allowing jets to land on the waterfront is unchanged.
We also remain committed to reforming the Port authority’s board to make it more public and accountable. This can only be done within the legal framework defined by the Marine Act. The sale of surplus land is a delegated responsibility under the act. All federal ports have this authority.
Our goal as a government, and my commitment to residents of my riding, is to build a clean green waterfront for all, where the cultural, environmental, residential and commercial components of the lakefront are kept in balance.
P.S. Great story on Ron Nelson (NOW, June 8-14). He was our star DJ when I was station manager at CKLN.
Adam Vaughan, MP, Spadina-Fort York
The real crisis in Venezuela
Letter-writer Ted Turner compares the current crisis in Venezuela (NOW, June 8-14) to the U.S.-backed coup in Chile in 1973. Turner should look deeper.
The opposition in Venezuela took to the streets to protest corruption and repression, hunger, lack of medicine and health care and a collapsed economy with over 600 per cent inflation.
The death toll stands at more than 70 people, mostly young students shot by “colectivos” made up of political enforcers and army forces.
Nicolás Maduro was elected, but people want a real democracy, not an authoritarian. That is the real situation. If the USA wanted to intervene, they would have done it a long time ago.
Roselby Rodriquez, Toronto
Getting results on the fight against racism
Re The Coming Storm In Education by Neil Price (NOW, May 25-31). Blaming racism (or colonialism or sexism) for our societal woes is misplaced.
One can almost always find some racism in nearly every large activity of a society, such as work, education or health. Our resources are limited. We need to allocate them to optimize results.
Arif Uddin, Toronto
Band-aid solutions to global warming
Re Salps Spell Trouble For Antarctica by Nicholas Engelmann (NOW, June 15-21).
Antarctica could save the planet. Despite global warming, Antarctica is still the coldest place on Earth. However, the world has trouble agreeing on anything.
Maybe in 20 years there will be international agreement on how to produce energy in an environmentally friendly way.
Right now, all we have are band-aids.
Jeff Pancer, Toronto
Crosswords Xmas in June!
Thanks for printing the solution to last week’s crossword. Unfortunately, you forgot to print this week’s crossword (NOW, June 8-14).
So will we be having two crosswords? That would be like Christmas in June!
Doug Hicton, Toronto
More density means less green in High Park
I support density in the city and am a tenant of one of the apartment towers that will be affected by the Minto and Great West Life developments (NOW, June 8-14). I recognize there are opponents to the development who are “millionaires fighting to keep what they have,” as Doug Howat suggests. But the majority of people at recent community consultations were tenants of the existing buildings: families, seniors and couples.
Our tower houses hundreds of people from all generations in the community, and new, often young tenants move in all the time. All these towers combined make for a thriving community with sidewalks that are rarely “barren.”
Many of us have concerns about the irreparable damage to our green space. Over 100 mature trees will be knocked down. And Minto and GWL’s proposals all but ignore the Toronto Green Standard, with little in the way of sustainable building practices.
That they are not offering any affordable housing further calls into question their lack of responsibility to urgent social and environmental issues that affect us all.
Rose Tavelli, Toronto
For abuse survivors, no Hollywood endings
After learning about the horrendous abuse that A Better Man filmmaker Attiya Khan experienced (NOW, April 27-May 3), I found it absolutely remarkable that she was able to get her ex on camera and attempt any kind of dialogue.
Yes, it would have been more compelling to hear all the gory details of the abuse he claims to have undergone as a child. Susan G. Cole found it “disappointing,” however, that he didn’t open up.
Survivors and those who work with them know better than to expect Hollywood endings.
Khan said she chose not to push because she felt it needed to come from him. She found healing from the attempt and made an incredibly important contribution to the conversation.
An amazing woman who deserves enormous credit for the undertaking.
Valerie Gow, Toronto
Letter for a friend
A friend, recently deceased, read your magazine every week. He would cut out articles and make photocopies to give away. An uninformed opinion upset him. “Ignore the media,” advised graffiti in a photograph he also cut out and placed on a wall in his home. Heinz survived the Third Reich. He was a retired documentary filmmaker, lived in the Annex and cycled to the age of 89.
May I tell your readers about a website of stories, photos and quotes (leftwinglife.org)? Some may feel less alone. Your work added something positive to my friend’s life.
Thank you.
Elizabeth Green, Toronto
