Letters to the editor, Oct. 17: ‘Canada is good at resource extraction … why wouldn’t we exploit our resources and use that wealth to build higher-value sectors?’
A section of the Syncrude oil sands facility is seen near Fort McMurray, Alta., April 14.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
The holdovers
Re “The weakest links in Carney’s cabinet are still there” (Oct. 10): For a Prime Minister who wields executive power in a seemingly non-collegial fashion, I suspect it makes little difference to Mark Carney who occupies his cabinet seats. This was strikingly evident to me with his choice of several Trudeau-era holdovers, despite being less than stellar in previous portfolios.
I am reminded of Sir John A. Macdonald’s famous remark: “Give me better wood and I will make you a better cabinet.”
Angelo Mele Newmarket, Ont.
Dig in
Re “Canada is becoming an outpost of everyone’s empire” (Opinion, Oct. 10): This is the sort of Laurentian polemic that can drive Albertans crazy.
The last 20 years have shown that renewables can pick up increases in energy demand, but cannot as yet materially decrease hydrocarbon consumption. The effects of climate change will grow worse, but there will be little real change until either the great powers come together in a grand agreement, or there is some as-yet-unimagined technological breakthrough.
The oil sands are long-life resources good for 40 years once a plant is built. So building new pipelines now sounds absolutely like a good business case.
Canada grew rich through resource development. As long as we take account of First Nations concerns and environmental sustainability, we can do very well with further resource development.
Jim Hornett Calgary
Canada is good at resource extraction, but Canada is hardly a one‑trick pony. Ours is a diversified, service‑heavy, urban economy with a strong financial sector, large public sector and globally competitive manufacturing niches.
Canada has clear comparative advantages in resource extraction. Alongside vast reserves, we benefit from stable institutions, strong rule of law, world‑class engineering expertise and environmental and safety standards far above global norms.
Given all this, why wouldn’t we exploit our resources and use that wealth to build higher-value sectors?
Jamie Coulter Toronto
Privacy please
Re “The Lawful Access Act threatens to blow a hole in Canada’s national security” (Opinion, Oct. 10): Warnings about the shortcomings of Bill C-22 are apt and timely.
After years of the annoying privacy concerns of governments – “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you your account balance due to privacy regulations” – this bill would eliminate our privacy in one fell swoop, in a real and dangerous way.
Bill C-22 is more like Big Brother in a security uniform. It should be amended.
Paul LeBel Toronto
Root responsibility
Re “Who is legally responsible when AI agents go rogue?” (Report on Business, Oct. 10): Artificial intelligence agents behave in unforeseen ways, so it’s hard to argue that their creators “could have reasonably prevented” negative outcomes?
How about not releasing or using products until they have been shown to be safe?
Greg DePaco New Westminster, B.C.
I find it maddening that artificial intelligence companies have escaped many of the laws ordinary humans live by.
An individual cannot copy the work of others and then sell it as their own for profit. Yet AI gets away with just that because the inputs can be hidden or too complex to account for.
The same move is being used to escape legal liability when AI is involved in other crime: Arguing that AI agents have “degrees of freedom” suggests their creators cannot predict what they will do. But they are not “free,” rather they have causal chains too complex for most to understand.
It is this complexity that companies can hide behind. But it cannot be protection from liability for those who have unleashed this unpredictable force upon us.
Sascha Maicher Ottawa
Board stiff
Re “B.C. universities and colleges in limbo as they await release of independent review” (Oct. 10): An accurate reflection of the problems afflicting British Columbia’s postsecondary schools, but I do not believe the solutions proposed, such as hiking tuition caps, go deep enough.
At the heart of this financial crisis is governance failure. In B.C., these institutions are overseen by boards dominated by government appointees, most of whom seem to know little about the schools they oversee.
In the absence of independent knowledge, they can fall victim to presidents who focus on domesticating their boards. Often in this environment, few if no questions are asked (except by faculty representatives who are in practice marginalized as a special interest group). Consequently, most boards rubber-stamp every administrative budget and motion in spite of yawning deficits.
In addition to the suggestion of funding attached to enrolment targets, we should have boards independent of the administrations they oversee.
Alexandra Phillips Associate professor and former board of governors faculty representative, Emily Carr University of Art and Design; Vancouver
Story time
Re “Robert Munsch and the art of dropping in” (Arts & Books, Oct. 10): I first met Bob when he and his wife Ann were at the University of Guelph’s family studies laboratory preschool.
I remember observing his stories during circle time. He’d start with an idea and “offer” it to the children, who’d come up with the next idea, then he’d build on that and carry on.
As life continued, I formed the children’s musical trio TURKEY Rhubarb. In the early 2000s, Bob was giving a keynote at an education conference where we had an afternoon concert. Somehow he agreed to team up.
His keynote’s last story was Love You Forever and we joined him for the chorus of its world-famous lullaby. When he left the stage, we stayed to start our set. Most of the audience left, too – he was a bigger draw than we could ever hope to be.
But my dream came true: I shared a stage with Robert Munsch.
Paul Fralick Hamilton
In the 1980s, Robert Munsch, with Jean Little and three others, wanted to advance children’s literature in Guelph, Ont. Eventually, Robert and Jean decided to write stories, the others to tell stories.
Thus the Guelph Guild of Storytellers was born. Of that group, only Robert remains.
Over recent years, Robert reconnected with the guild, coming to our monthly meets and Tea ‘n’ Tales, our outdoor festival of storytelling (to the delight of attendees, who always enjoy his impromptu appearances). He accepted our ask to be guild patron, provided he was not required to make patronizing remarks.
Sometimes I took Robert for coffee at his favourite venue. When we left, I would quietly inform the table-sharing students who they had sat beside: The man who wrote their bedtime stories. The sight of their jaws, dropped in disbelief, was always priceless.
Guelph is proud of Robert Munsch. He is a national treasurer.
Brian Holstein Host, Tea ‘n’ Tales; president, Guelph Guild of Storytellers
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