Mail bag: Sept. 17, 2020

No need for speaker

Dear Editor:

On Sept. 9 at about 4pm I attended the COVID-19 testing facility at the old Groves hospital in Fergus.

I was third in the queue and waited the appropriate distance as per the signage indicated; a facial mask and hand sanitizer was provided.

As the receptionist posed a series of questions each and every utterance could be heard via a speaker being utilized. The respondent answers could be heard as well due to the individual raising the volume in their voice.

As I arrived, I commented to the receptionist that confidentiality certainly lacked, the receptionist responded “we tell people to keep their distance.”

As I was waiting apart from the signage at no time did anyone present themselves to provide any information.

I was directed to the waiting area and again was privie to the Q & A. As my test was being completed by the nurse this location was in a secure room with the door closed.

The speaker should immediately be placed in abeyance to provide confidentiality and privacy.

The receptionist and nurse were professional in the discharge of their duties.

Robert Plamondon,
Mount Forest

 

‘Stop sensationalizing’

Dear Editor:

I am an RMT in Guelph and I appreciate the fact that you reported the results of the hearing with the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO) in your paper. The public does need to know.

My one objection to your reporting is that you reported it online as “cuts a deal” with the CMTO. What happened is not “cutting a deal”.

It is the mandate of my college to ensure that unethical behaviour be treated seriously and that they protect the public. The evidence they had must have been substantial because he chose not to go through with the hearing and incur more financial hardship.

When a murderer pleads guilty and the lawyer negotiates the penalty you do not call it “cutting a deal.” The most that a college can do is revoke a licence, which is, by the information provided, what was going to happen.

So, in saying this, stop sensationalizing your article with misleading headlines and report the news and congratulate the college for moving forward with the client’s concerns and coming to a conclusion that protects the public without additional stress put on the client.

Renata DeForest,
Guelph

 

Call for help

Dear Editor:

An open letter to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland.

We Canadians need your help:

In a couple of weeks Justin Trudeau will be delivering a throne speech aimed at reinventing his government, by which he will mean reinventing himself and his image.

According to the Canadian free press, and indeed even some of the Canadian controlled press, he will be introducing initiatives based upon “reshaping Canada”, “dreaming big”, “green recovery” and other non measurables, in the hope of catching enough votes to stay in power.

Your PM has a history of throwing taxpayer money at areas where he sees political gain, international fame and/or needs support from such as the NDP for unmanageable and unaffordable social programs.  As such, in this instance, we can expect him to throw around lots more money, which we cannot afford and do not have, in order to get his needs met.

To date he has grown our annual deficit to $400 billion and the national debt to around $900 billion.  These numbers are too high for me to even imagine but the one I can imagine is the $25,000 of debt each Canadian has been handed from this massive national debt. I know he has used COVID-19 and avoidance of a recession to justify the massive spending, but I would expect the person in change of my country to do all that and still exercise fiscal management.

In any case, I am sorry but I do not have the $25,000 you need from me to get us out of debt with the international lenders and those countries that buy our debt for political and national reasons. At some time these debt collectors will come calling and they will not be satisfied with devalued dollars and “big dreams”. They alone will determine how we can repay them!

You are the finance minister and must assume responsibility for at least trying to get the PM to understand that the fiscal management of the country is not a toy to be played with or dreamt about.  It is the livelihood of millions of Canadians and their future.

I implore you to try to get him to understand. This will not be an easy task, even for his favoured minister.  As Michael Wernick (as Clerk of the Privy Council) said about the PM during the investigation into the SNC/PMO corruption scandal, “he will have his way.”

Please try; I know the chances are slim because this man is not known for listening to experts or cabinet ministers, unless it suits his plans anyway.

There is some career danger of course, as we know what happens to ministers who try to guide him on a more sensible course, and what he does to Parliament in order to control disagreement, but I ask you to be brave and persevere.

Canada needs your help. Please!

Michael Lee,
Salem