Letters to the Editor: October 12, 2024

Article content

Ad nauseam

I am a senior who spends all of my day at home; that is all I can afford.

My only enjoyment is television, so imagine my displeasure, for the last couple of weeks, to have to put up with Pierre Poilievre or his wife telling us – every five to 10 minutes, every time there is an ad break – what a wonderful person he is and all the great things he is going to do for the real, working Canadians.

Article content

I was a Progressive Conservative person, but not any more.

No thanks to the damage Premier Doug Ford has done to Ontario and now, this man? He sure hasn’t tried to work with the other parties. He’s just looking after himself.

D. Watts, London

Move trains

The rapid growth of the city of London and surrounding areas requires outside-the-box thinking to deal with current and future transportation needs.

London needs to amp up road improvements, as the temporary road closures around Western University and current construction clearly illustrate our city is a nightmare to navigate during rush hour.

We’re seven years into the saga of widening Wharncliffe Road, and moving Nan Finlayson’s century-old house at 100 Stanley St. to do so, and the house still sits, four years after purchase. The rail bridge constricts traffic at the key Wharncliffe-Horton Street intersection, creating an environmental and safety issue. Constantly seeing hundreds of cars backed up there idling and wasting time increases frustration.

Why not divert freight train tracks (and trains) out of town and use that land to create new roads for rapid transit, vehicles and bike trails.

Article content

We need to come up with new, fresh solutions, fast.

Ric Louis, London

Wrong insurance

Regarding the letter to the editor, Rules apply to all (Oct. 4), in which K. Humphries states they have life insurance to cover them whether walking, cycling or driving.

Life insurance will not cover someone else’s injury or damage to property in an at-fault accident.

Johanne Nichols, London

Wilful blindness

The letter Weigh alternatives (Oct. 10) shows how the Liberals have stayed in power as long as they have.

There isn’t enough room to list the missteps and foibles of this government, and yet the writer, Carol Hardy, still thinks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the best person to lead our great nation.

If she means he can lead us straight into the ground, she’s right, because he already has done that.

It’s high time Liberal voters swallow their pride and look long and hard at how this government has failed Canadians.

We can’t afford another four years of Liberal largesse.

Steve Matthews, London

Article content

LRT needed

Regarding the article Our population’s poised to pop (Oct. 3) about Queen’s Park forecasts the London region population will grow by 50 per cent during the next 25 years.

This city needs an elevated light rail transit line as soon as possible.

Our more than century-old city design is not capable of that kind of traffic, it will become gridlocked in many areas. More buses will just mean more people stuck in that gridlock, actually adding to the problem.

We need to elevate and get above the flow of vehicles and let a train or tram do the heavy lifting of getting people around quickly, safely, and without disruption.

Jordon Squires, London

Not a visionary

Regarding Andrew Macdougall’s column A great capital needs a new PM who innovates (Oct. 8).

The London Free Press’s predictable, anti-Liberal pandering to Pierre Poilievre has gone far beyond its routine, blatant partisanship to being absurdly laughable.

Observe Poilievre pandering to the far-right in 2022 when the “freedom” convoy overran our already great capital.

We’re supposed to believe the answer is this 20-year MP who has accomplished nothing in his only career, politics, save for purposefully dividing Canada to achieve his personal goals and, presently, purposefully bogging down Parliament.

Article content

The man known for stifling common sense with his nonsensical slogans suddenly is an international thought leader?

Witness his mind-numbing, fable-laden commercials designed to mislead Canadians into voting for him, against their own best interests.

Suddenly from thin air – poof – Poilievre, a visionary capable of magically creating “a great capital?”

He’s going to need a lot of Krazy Glue, because according to Poilievre’s gospel, “everything is broken.”

Michael Luce, London

Remember the love

As a teenager I watched my mother deteriorate from multiple sclerosis, eventually needing a wheelchair. My father cared for her with so much love it’s hard to describe. He was a very proud man and wouldn’t accept outside help or a Goodfellow turkey, even though we had none. After her passing, at age 42, I’d hear him crying he was missing her so much. Now, when I eat turkey, I think of my mom’s suffering, but also my dad’s love for her. This Thanksgiving, please give thanks for family and friends that are a big part of your life.

Peter J. Middlemore Sr., Windsor

Thank a veteran

This month is one of the greatest tributes to Canadian veterans.

Article content

Canada used to celebrate Thanksgiving in November, at the same time as the Americans.

However, Canada’s sacrifice in the First World War was so significant – one of every three soldiers Canada sent to fight were either killed or wounded – we decided November should be a “sacred month,” especially Armistice Day (today’s Remembrance Day) where our focus could be on our veterans alone.

An Act of Parliament moved Canadian Thanksgiving from November to the second Monday in October, so Canadians’ thoughts and prayers in November could be on those soldiers who gave their lives for our freedom.

So, when you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner with your family, remember why Thanksgiving is in October and give thanks for your freedom and quality of life and to all Canadian soldiers past and present, who protected us, so the gift of Canada is ours to enjoy.

Chris Robertson, Stony Plain, Alta.

No construction

I was in London Oct. 9. I drove Highbury Avenue from Elginfield Road to Highway 401.

I went through at least four construction zones; the problem was, there was no construction happening at any of them.

Dale Whitelaw, Bayfield

Article content