Today's letters: The parking crisis at DND, and the election call

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DND doesn’t need a parking garage

Re: DND to lease parking lots to deal with Carling headquarters parking chaos, parkade planned for later, Sept. 12.

I am shocked that the Department of National Defence is even contemplating building a parking garage at the new campus when a shuttle bus to transport employees to the site is being set up. Why can the buses not be a long-term solution?

I do not know the diverse locations of employees, but surely offering employees the same kind of Presto pass that students of the universities and colleges receive would be a better, cost-effective way to deal with the pollution of cars at rush hour than would be parking vehicles for several hours during the day.

Providing parking for employees who are required to leave the premises for business intermittently makes sense, but not all employees need to do so during working hours. A direct shuttle from Orléans could speed the commute for those employees. And direct shuttles from other locations around the region would remove the multiple switching from city buses on regular routes, and would provide certainty to employees concerned about child care or mobility issues.

Losing employees because of this parking/transportation issue reflects badly on the department. Getting 3,000 cars off the road should be the goal now.

Carolyn Herbert, Nepean

DND’s new site is costing us too much

This new DND (the former Nortel) site is costing taxpayers far too much. The Nortel building was state-of-the-art and millions have been spent to make it DND-ready. A new interchange off Hwy. 417 has been built with a transit stop, and now we are going to build additional parking that will be subsidized.

Monthly parking in the core was $200 per month 10 years ago when I chose to drive rather than take public transit. Why would taxpayers be expected to subsidize well paid federal employees? If parking is only $35 per month, hopefully the full rate ($200 plus per month) is considered a taxable benefit. The same should apply to municipal employees (fire, police, bylaw) who park for free at city-owned properties/stations.

It’s clear many at DND have a horrible commute to the new campus from the Orléans area, but driving and parking is a personal choice; so is your employer, where you live, and your life balance choices. Taxpayers should not be expected to subsidize the parking rates. If we do, the recipient should have to claim the going rate as a taxable benefit.

Mike Hayes, Ottawa

How did they manage to botch the parking?

Why did the defence department only plan half the parking that will be required for the Nortel campus? Could they have wrongly thought that the LRT would swing through their grounds on the way to the largest high-tech area in Canada?

Not realizing that the mayor had to have his tunnel, and Coun. Allan Hubley had to have the LRT some day running into the heart of Stittsville? The money for the enormous expense of building parkades, and busing staff in from eight kilometres away, should be put towards the LRT cost to provide the exact transportation required.

Every day I ask myself, “Does this city have no planning, or quality assurance”? Still, it’s only money, isn’t it?

Andrew Hartshorn, Kanata

Key gender issues at stake in this election

Re: SNC-Lavalin affair, Quebec secularism law dominate launch of federal election campaign, Sept. 11.

If I may, I’d like to offer an alternative title to this piece. Instead, I’d like to propose: “Women’s concerns at the centre of federal election campaign launch.”

What the article overlooks is that both the SNC-Lavalin affair and Bill 21 are deeply gendered. The departure of ministers and onetime Liberal MPs Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott stemming from the SNC- Lavalin affair has drawn attention to the limits of the prime minister’s feminism and showcased the challenges faced by women in politics.

The implications of the falling-out between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and these important cabinet members were not lost on young feminists, many of whom demonstrated their disappointment by turning their backs when the prime minister delivered his remarks at the Daughters of the Vote event in the House of Commons.

Likewise, Bill 21 has sexist undertones, as it disproportionately affects Muslim women who cover their faces. The legislation has the effect of reducing access to employment and public services for women who choose to wear a veil as a part of living their faith.

If we look closely, we can see gender-based interests in every electoral issue. As we enter this election season, I hope the media will draw attention to the gendered elements of the issues under debate. For women, there is much at stake.

Katharine Cornish, Vanier

Why shield people from police inquiries?

What is obstruction of justice? If the prime minister stops the RCMP from talking to those persons covered by cabinet confidentiality, does that very act in itself constitute an obstruction of justice?

I can understand invoking cabinet confidentiality to shield those persons from most other persons, but from the RCMP (the police)?

E.J. Ted Legg, Almonte

We have choices aside from the Liberals

I want to vote for a party that tells the truth and doesn’t block investigations into potential wrongdoing by its leader. Guess that leaves Justin Trudeau’s Liberals outside looking in.

Ah well, there are four other choices.

Joe Spence, Ottawa

Don’t create your own myths about democracy

Re: Election 2019 – Are Canadians losing confidence in their democracy? Sept. 11.

If it was not clear to readers that an election was upon us, this opinion piece by Michael Adams and Andrew Parkin reinforced that depressing fact. In a nutshell, the authors tell us that all is fine in this country.

Their first myth is that most Canadians are content with Liberal immigration policy. On the surface, this may be true, but I would like to believe that most Canadians are not happy with illegal immigration. Unfortunately, the Liberal Party does not use such a distinction.

Another myth is that contrary to what many Canadians believe, democracy in our country is working wonderfully. Curiously, these authors make no mention of the SNC-Lavalin saga. If they did, it would remind Canadians of several worrisome facts. First, rather than voting with their consciences, our MPs have become robotic sycophants terrorized into voting along party lines. If they publicly do not conform, like former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould or the popular Jane Philpott, they face the wrath of the prime minister.

The conduct of parliamentary committees would have made Stalin proud; any attempts to get at “the facts” are shut down by Liberal MPs, who have the majority. The increasing role of unelected appointees making policy, as opposed to Parliament, must be of concern to Canadians (albeit a legacy of the previous Conservative government).

I would suggest that many Canadians are not comfortable about democracy in Canada – at all three levels of government. We are only a few days into the federal election race, and I’m already tired of the partisan rhetoric of our party leaders. So please, if you want to talk to me about national “myths,” don’t try to dispel them with those of your own.

Ray Stouffer, Orléans

Election debate like watching paint dry

I’ve never watched paint dry but, I have watched an ant drag a dead ant over and around grass. I’ve also watched two ants do the same. Eventually though, I had to stop watching because I had no idea how long it would take for them to get where they were going.

On Thursday, I sat down to watch Canada’s leaders (minus what’s-his-name) debate. I probably shouldn’t admit this but I have spent more time watching ants than I did Elizabeth May, Andrew Scheer and Jagmeet Singh.

Jill Young, Ottawa

Economic attack unfair to the Liberals

Re: Trudeau’s reckless inexperience is hurting the Canadian economy, Sept. 9.

Diane Francis is using her version of employment and growth data for political purposes to undermine the Liberal government’s achievements.

To insist that the economy has been mismanaged, and then to add the insult of quoting Kevin O’Leary, who is clearly biased as a failed Conservative leader, is just not a fair assessment. Not only has the unemployment level been kept at a many-decades long, the GDP increased beyond the American mark in August. Surely those are bell-weathers for at least a decently managed economy.

As well. the debt-to-GDP ratio has declined, and is much lower than that of the U.S., which is a good sign, especially as the economy shows more growth.

She also mixes in an ethics violation, which has nothing to do with hurting Canada’s economy other than the Liberals failing to assist a corporation which could result in many employees out of work.

Peter Haley, Ottawa

Where’s the foreign aid pledge, political candidates?

Re: Fifty years ago, Pearson identified a ‘crisis in aid.’ It’s still with us, Sept. 9.

I was a CUSO volunteer in Nigeria from 1972 to 1974, just after Ian Smillie’s tenure as a field staff officer there. He is a respected leader in the international development community, and I couldn’t agree more with him that we have seen 50 years of lost opportunities and broken promises.

If we actually lived up to our commitment of 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income for Official Development Assistance, it would mean more money to provide food for the world’s hungry, to protect children in war-torn countries, to provide anti-retroviral drugs to treat AIDS, to tackle climate change, to improve maternal and child health, and boost education.

Now, all these years after my time teaching in Nigeria, I am a member of the Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN), a non-partisan network of volunteers across Canada. We advocate to promote and protect the human rights of sub-Saharan African grandmothers, children and youth. We are among the many, many groups and individuals across the country calling on Canada to commit to 15-per-cent annual increases in aid until the target of 0.7 per cent is reached.

I will be asking all candidates who come to my door in the upcoming federal election to make a real commitment, if elected, to advocate for increasing Canadian Aid.

Pat Dolan, Aylmer

Foreign aid is still in crisis

I wholeheartedly support Ian Smillie’s critique of developed countries’ responses to the clarion call of the Pearson Report on International Development released in 1969.

As Smillie noted, the report set a standard for the development assistance budgets of donor countries which amounted to 70 cents for every $100 of Gross National Income. Most Canadians might be surprised to know that Canada has never come close to meeting the standard, whereas some Scandinavian countries have surpassed it, and even England ,with all its Brexit concerns, has maintained U.K. Aid at close to this level.  

Under successive administrations, Canada has prided itself on being a leader on the international development stage, but we have never really put our money where our mouth is. Time to step up on Canadian aid.

Sherry Moran, Ottawa

Nothing wrong with oil and gas themes on T-shirt

Re: Parliament security apologizes after man told shirt expressing love for Canadian oil might be offensive, Sept. 5. 

I read this article with great interest and surprise. I would like to remind the “offended” that, unfortunately, the country we live in is ultimately dependent on oil and gas.

Canada is a resource-producing country. Its oil, gas, lumber and other mineral exports generate enormous revenue and wealth. These exports make it possible for Canada to offer generous social benefits and services that attract immigrants and talent from around the world. Canada has been rated consistently as one of the best countries in the world in which to live.

Three cheers to “I Love Canadian Oil & Gas.”

Frank Yen, Ottawa

How the city’s swimming safety standards are set

Re: Letters, Rules too strict for family swims, Sept. 11.

The city of Ottawa’s pool admission standard is a reflection of the Ontario provincial regulation governing public pools in the province. The city does not have the ability to lower its own admission standard.

As part of a province-wide change supported by the Chief Coroner of Ontario and the Ministry of Health Promotion, the city’s admission standard to public swimming sessions changed in 2010. These changes were a result of several coroner inquests relating to drownings in Ontario.The Ontario Lifesaving Society, the drowning prevention authority in the province, also endorsed these ratios.

The admission standards recognize that young children and non-swimmers must be within arm’s reach of a responsible adult or guardian in order to be safe. They further recognize that one adult can only provide safe supervision to a limited number of children at one time. That is why the ratio for younger children and non-swimmers is low, and increases as the proficiency for swimming increases.

We understand the inconvenience this can cause families. However, public safety is paramount, and the standard we have is reflective of best practices in aquatic safety across the province and beyond. When the children turn six years of age, further opportunities will be available.

More information can be found on the City of Ottawa website, www.ottawa.ca.

Dan Brisebois, Director, City Wide Programs, Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services Department, Ottawa