After the U.S. election, a North Carolina letter-writer looks north.
O Canada!
Will you be my home and temporary land?
True neighbour we beg you in our time of need.
With frightened heart we run to thee,
The True North strong and free!
From the South we come,
O Canada, we run for cover to thee.
God keep my land from the insanity!
O Canada, we run for cover to thee …
Katherine Titus-Becker, Raleigh, N.C.
Impressive Turcot marred by graffiti
Before COVID, commuting from the West Island to Verdun for work, I witnessed and suffered first-hand the reconstruction of the $3.7-billion Turcot Interchange, which fully opened shortly before I was forced to work from home.
I was genuinely impressed with the finished product; it felt like a much-needed rejuvenation of our city, along with the $4.2-billion Champlain Bridge. And the Turcot provides a spectacular view of the equally impressive $1.3-billion MUHC “superhospital.”
That’s more than 9 billion of our tax dollars spent on projects that we can all be proud of and enjoy every time we pass through.
This past weekend I ventured to N.D.G. for my child’s hockey game and was shocked by the amount of graffiti on this crown jewel of public works. How on Earth has this area been allowed to become something you would expect to see in a dystopian movie set?
Several business colleagues visiting Montreal have commented about the state of our city, based just on the short rides to and from the airport.
Certain aspects of living in Quebec for 48 years seem to have become normalized, like the deplorable state of our roads, never-ending language issues, infrastructure projects delivered behind schedule and over budget.
But for a culture that frequently references pride, there seems to be a major lack of pride of ownership.
Mayor Valérie Plante and her administration should be embarrassed by the state of the city she will leave behind at the end of her term.
Andrew Mahoney, Pointe-Claire
Criticism can cross borders
A regular contributor to a local radio station recently commented that people critical of Mayor Valérie Plante seem primarily to reside outside the City of Montreal. The intimation was that their voices should not count.
However, many people living in neighbouring municipalities on the island work, shop and dine in Montreal, including downtown.
It should also be noted that residents of these other municipalities pay taxes to Montreal through the agglomeration council for shared services such as fire and police.
For better or worse, the mayor of Montreal is effectively mayor of the island. Those of us who reside in other island municipalities have every right to be critical of Plante and to expect any Montreal mayor to be accountable to the whole of the greater area.
Ian Copnick, Côte-St-Luc
What counts is the execution
“Awareness of our problems thus does not necessarily mean that they get solved. It may just mean that we are able to perfectly anticipate where we will fall,” reads the quote by French-American economist Esther Duflo.
In my view, awareness is just like having a good idea: Without its execution, it’s just conversation.
Barry Beloff, Montreal
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