ɫɫ��

I agree with Éric��Blais that the prime minister’s residence at 24 Sussex Drive ought to be a nation building project. I suggest a bold replacement with a modern��state-of-the-art��building that is a showcase of design and craftsmanship. The house should show off the latest environmental construction materials and techniques. The design must be out of this world and left to Canada’s best designers. The project should create an international buzz. It must incorporate all the latest concepts using Canadian materials, components, systems and labour.�� Sustainability and energy efficiency must be at the forefront of the design. Yet, since this is a residence, the house must be a comfortable and livable home for the prime minister and family and include ��separate areas to serve government needs such as reception and meeting areas, galleries, kitchen and catering facilities. As Canada is seeking projects of national importance, this is the time to do this. Cost should not the issue that it has been since this will be much more than just the PM’s house.

George Novotny, ɫɫ����

For Carney ‘elbows up’ is��political rhetoric

Yes, Carney mostly caved on Trump’s tariffs. What else were Liberal voters expecting?

Many Canadians who gave Mark Carney their vote on April 28 were duped. On March 22, 2025, Carney referred to having an “elbows up” approach when dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. On March 27 he announced Canada would fight U.S. tariffs with retaliatory trade actions. Canadians caught the “fighting spirit,” but alas for Carney, it now turns out to have only been political rhetoric.

Catharina Summers, Kingston, ON��

Now is not the time for ‘elbows up’

Mark Carney needs to stop placating the mad king and actually fight Trump, Sep. 2

I agree with everything Justin Ling says, except for the timing. Yes, Prime Minister Mark Carney is placating U.S. President Donald Trump, but the result has been continued tariffs����for most of Canada’s goods being shipped to the U.S. There is indeed a time for “elbows up,” and that time is next year. If the Free Trade Agreement��between the U.S, Mexico, and Canada��(USMCA)��expires without a new deal to replace it, that is when our elbows go back up. Until then, we need to reap all the benefits we can. We should not provoke Trump now, as he could easily tear up the USMCA tomorrow.

Clyde McDonald, Bracebridge, ON

More articles about Carney’s initiatives please

Yes, Carney mostly caved on Trump’s tariffs. What else were Liberal voters expecting?

Mark Carney joins in a shameful Canadian tradition

It feels like there is another headline every other day talking about how Prime Minister Mark Carney has handed Canada to U.S. President Donald Trump in one way or another. This could not be further from the truth. It would be great to read about some of the very positive and proactive initiatives being planned and executed both here and internationally. I have not seen one article on the Canada-EU pact, the various international coalitions currently being formed among countries, excluding the U.S.��

I would appreciate it if The Star displayed a little more pride in Canada, our current Prime Minister and the way we are currently viewed around the world — which is a leader in a number of areas.

Rosemary Walton, Guelph, ON��

Parents are being silenced when our children need advocacy the most

Is Ontario’s education system too old school? The Ford government plans a revamp of how boards are run, Sept. 2

I am a parent of four children in Mississauga. I am deeply concerned about the state of Ontario’s schools and I believe the public needs to know how families are being affected. Our schools are underfunded, leaving teachers and students without basic supplies, without resources to address bullying, and without proper mental health supports. Autism funding remains inadequate, leaving many families struggling alone. Now, with the removal of elected school trustees, parents like me have lost the only direct voice we had in education governance. We are being silenced at a time when our children need advocacy the most.

It is unacceptable that this government continues to erode accountability while failing to invest in education and health supports for Ontario’s children. Our kids deserve better.

Natasha Alam, Mississauga, ON

Transparency is a good idea. Start with the��Eglinton Crosstown LRT

Is Ontario’s education system too old school? The Ford government plans a revamp of how boards are run, Sept. 2

That’s great that Premier Doug Ford is going to be so transparent with the finances of these school boards. We deserve a look around. Hopefully he’ll be equally transparent with the chaos surrounding the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. It’s obvious now it’s not opening this year, but why, and why are taxpayers being kept in the dark? Why has the parking lot at Kennedy station not open? What are they waiting for? We want transit options in Scarborough not political spectacle.

Richard Kadziewicz, Scarborough, ON

We need to extend our basic respect for human rights to animals

Animal testing isn’t just cruel. It could be setting us back,��Aug. 29

As Jessica Scott-Reid highlighted in her recent article, millions of mice, fishes, cows, pigs, dogs, monkeys, and other animals are harmed and killed annually in laboratories in Canada. To put it simply, vivisection, also known as animal testing, is violence. An animal rights perspective advocates that non-human animals are not inferior to human beings and are not resources for our use. Many people respect the right of human beings to not be subjected to medical experimentation without their consent, regardless of the alleged benefits of those experiments to others. We need to extend this basic respect to our fellow animals, stop breeding them into lives of captivity, and let them thrive in their natural habitats, unfettered by human control.

Carolyn Harris, Ottawa��

Before��Lévesque,��Montreal was the engine in Canada

Quebec without anglophones? That’d be like a poutine without cheese curds, Aug. 31

Janice Kennedy’s Sunday column should win a literary award. She hit the nail on the head in more ways than one. As I read her column my Irish blood boiled. My wife and I are native Montrealers and lived through the two years of Premier René Lévesque and his ilk.

We left Quebec in 1978 with more than 100,000 others in the ‘70s. Prior to ‘76, being bilingual was a great advantage in Quebec. After ‘76 you joined the rest of the Anglos in the “dustbin.” In my case I was 14 years with an international company and a successful sales manager. I was offered a lateral move to ɫɫ�� so I could be replaced by a Francophone. I turned it down and quit. In ‘67 Montreal was one of the greatest cities in the world — more than 50 million people visited Expo. Montreal was the engine in Canada.

Thanks to the separatists, Montreal became a caboose and ɫɫ�� never looked back. To think that the��Parti Québécois��is favoured to win the next election makes me sick.

Patrick Callaghan, Bobcaygeon, ON