“Our leaders need to do much more than simply make bland statements after the fact.”
Many demonstrations have occurred during the past year in Montreal — some of which have been violent and destructive, and some of which have defied legal injunctions.
In spite of this, some of our politicians keep telling us that Montreal is a “peaceful metropolis.” I wonder what their criteria are for defining “peaceful.”
Our leaders need to do much more than simply make bland statements after the fact — they need to provide visible deterrence and serious consequences to demonstrators who break the law.
So far, it seems to be open season on Montreal, with no end in sight.
Gary Ikeman, Westmount
Trump win bad for humankind
I was more than surprised to read the commentary by Diane Francis concerning Donald Trump’s election victory.
How can it be good news when a convicted felon, who has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and reportedly stated “Hitler did some good things,” is put in charge of one of the world’s most powerful nations?
How can it be good news for Canada when Trump intends to impose across-the-board tariffs on goods entering the U.S.? How will this help Canadian businesses selling to the U.S., or improve the lives of Americans who will face higher prices for imported goods?
Trump’s stated objective to “drill, baby, drill” may be profitable for the fossil-fuel industry, but it will certainly not benefit humankind. We are already experiencing more forest fires, flooding and other extreme weather events than at any other time in history. We need to stop the development of new fossil-fuel projects and continue the transition to renewable energy.
Moving investments away from the natural-resources sector is essential for us to have a livable world. I hope that Canadians will have more sense when it comes to choosing a government capable of taking serious action on the existential threat posed by climate change.
Now that would be good news.
Sandra Maki, Pointe-Claire
Local democracy watered down
Montreal city councillor Maja Vodanovic describes the recent vote of the agglomeration council to cease water fluoridation at two West Island treatment plants as democratic.
As I understand it, there’s more to democracy than the tyranny of the majority, which, in this case, was wielded unanimously by a group of Montreal city councillors, whose constituents will be largely unaffected by their decision.
The opposing views of the West Island mayors, whose constituents will be directly affected by this retrograde decision, were effectively disregarded. Democracy, indeed!
Victor Nerenberg, Dollard-des-Ormeaux
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