Letters to the Editor: November 23, 2024

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Don’t ask

Regarding the article On the critical list: Study urges doctors to never use these phrases with patients (Nov. 14).

I have another suggestion for something that should not be said to patients.

“Sign this form please. It’s called a DNR, a do-not-resuscitate order. You’ve lived a good, long life.”

This was said to me in a hospital emergency room.

My suggested reply is: “No, I’m not interested, I am having a great life. I am healthy, and intend to live for many more years, a long, full life.”

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I think making such requests is not appropriate by any doctor. Personal decisions should only be made and discussed at a time when a patient decides to bring the subject up.

I. L. Hudgin, St. Thomas

Oversight lacking

Where is the Ontario government oversight with all this unnecessary spending in our schools and our hospitals. To me the problem stems from a government too busy with it’s own corruption to govern.

How is it our tax money is not being monitored and it’s only being looked into after the money is spent and the public outcry occurs.

Would anything actually be investigated if they weren’t wanting to call an early election?

Jennifer Robinson, London

Storage missing

Regarding the article Councillors balk at adding more homeless encampment depots (Nov. 20).

There is a barrier preventing many homeless people from entering shelters that has not been addressed by the city’s coalition. Someone wanting to sleep inside for the night needs somewhere to store their belongings to prevent theft.

The unsheltered are regularly forced to choose between their belongings and shelter.

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Brian Aziz, London

EOA bias

Regarding the article Councillors balk at adding more homeless encampment depots (Nov. 20).

I am not directly impacted by the proposed service depot locations but it is obvious there is an ingrained institutional bias at City Hall. They will not look beyond the old east-of-Adelaide mindset that has existed in this city for far too long.

The responsibility of providing services and supports for the unhoused must be equitably shared by all areas in the city.

Shame on the staff and administration for putting forward these proposed locations and expecting it would be fine. There are homeless encampments in all parts of the city and these proposed locations send the message that administration wants to concentrate all the problems in one part of London.

Ann Smith, London

Add traffic cameras

The city of London could fill our coffers and pay down debt if there were cameras at every stop sign. Tickets could be issued automatically to the owner of any vehicle which did not come to a full stop. People who don’t stop at a red light before turning right also be ticketed.

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Pedestrians are being menaced all the time by criminal drivers. What’s it like for someone with a walker or a baby stroller?

K. Pettit, London

Don’t study, do

What a difference 25 kilometers can make. That is the distance from London City Hall to St. Thomas City Hall.

St. Thomas has a full-time, year-round homeless shelter and has built the first eight of 40 low rent tiny homes.

London keeps pushing their homeless problems to committees for further study whereas St. Thomas has taken positive action.

Quite a difference in management styles.

Dave Mathers, St. Thomas

Ideology over aid

As someone with family roots in London, I am dismayed by recent federal Conservative decisions.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has instructed his MPs not to support applications to the housing accelerator fund from municipalities in their ridings. MP Karen Vecchio (C – Elgin-Middlesex-London) has agreed to fall in line.

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These Conservative politicians have agreed their ideology is more important than the needs of their constituents, those same people who voted Conservative believing Poilievre and Vecchio actually cared about them and would serve their interests. Nope.

In the end, it’s a shame. Shame on Poilievre, and shame on Vecchio.

Rick Baker, Victoria, B.C.

Work for peace

We are becoming immune to destruction, massive killings and genocide by many world leaders. Voters are responsible for electing these politicians.

Most of these countries are considered democratic, but oligarchs are slowly taking over some. The citizens are suffering. Inequality in these countries is increasing, leading to homelessness and violent crimes. This is not what we expect with progress in science, technology, and innovation.

It is time for all of us to work hard for a better world. The present leaders of international organizations are not doing their job for a peaceful world. It is getting too late to stop the politicians who are on the destructive path of war and oppression.

George Cherian, London

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Easy solution

Regarding Robert Kent’s letter to the editor Essential service (Nov. 21) regarding monthly benefit cheques caught up in the postal strike.

A two-word solution: Direct deposit.

DW Campbell, London

Bike lanes a benefit

Regarding the letter to the editor Prioritize traffic (Nov. 21).

As a fellow advocate of logic and data, John Lisowski raises concerns about traffic congestion, but his argument overlooks the fact bike lanes provide effective alternatives to car travel, reducing congestion. Research from cities worldwide shows bike lanes encourage cycling, freeing up road space for those who must drive. Far from worsening traffic, bike lanes alleviate it.

Lisowski suggests that removing car lanes for bike lanes inevitably worsens traffic flow. However, a typical car lane is about three meters wide, while a bike lane is just one meter, or two meters for bidirectional lanes. Two meters of bike lane often fit into underutilized road space without removing a car lane. How does this modest reallocation of space cause such significant disruption?

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Moreover, the logic of adding more car lanes ignores a well-documented phenomenon: induced demand. Adding lanes leads to more cars, more emissions, and ultimately the same congestion we started with. If we want to address traffic in a growing city, we need solutions that move more people, not just more cars. And let’s not forget the traffic disruptions from the months (or years) of construction required to add these new car lanes.

How many lanes will it take to prove this isn’t the answer for a growing city? The evidence is clear: multimodal infrastructure, including bike lanes, is how we build cities that work for everyone.

Andrew McClenaghan, London

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