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Indigenous MPs must speak out

RE: Randy Boissonnault steps off the lockerNov. 20

Eight Liberal MPs make up the Indigenous Caucus of the federal Liberal government. Their mandate is to pressure the government to address the many problems facing indigenous peoples. One is the fact that some white Canadians claim aboriginal status to further their personal interests.

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One pretender is apparently MP Randy Boissonnault, who joined that caucus, made conflicting statements about his ancestry and status, and let the Liberal government say for years that he was Indigenous. He has now resigned from government, but when will this caucus exercise its mandate to deal with the Pretendians by demanding that Boissonnault be excluded from the Liberal caucus? If they don’t stand up for the integrity of indigenous identity, who will?

Ed Whitcomb, Ottawa (author, Understanding First Nations: the Legacy of Canadian Colonialism)

Political timing on the sewage plant

RE: Kemptville prison closer to reality after province invests $21.8 million for sewage plantNov 14

Ontario Sun. Gen. Michael Kerzner has announced $21.8 million to upgrade Kemptville’s wastewater treatment plant. This is to serve the much-criticized proposed prison, which was announced in August 2020. More than four years later, he has suddenly discovered that this facility is “an essential step” in getting the prison built. Another example of the hypocrisy of the Ford government.

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John Edmond, Ottawa

Premier’s cycle count ignores the data

Prime Minister Doug Ford’s “Reducing gridlock, saving your time” bill is a stark example of how populism rejects science-based policy. This is a bad faith bill, clearly designed to shake up the party base before an election while sticking with the “urban elites” that Doug Ford blames for gridlock, global warming crime, war, poverty and possibly the Lindbergh kidnapping .

This anti-democratic power grab is designed to emasculate what little power municipalities have without regard to these indisputable facts: Bike lanes save lives, reduce emissions, and enable poorer people to navigate cities. It will cost cities millions to remove existing cycling infrastructure, with no tangible benefit.

If Ford wanted to reduce gridlock, he would take steps to remove the bulky, emission-emitting, mostly single-use vehicles that obstruct high-capacity traffic and routinely kill pedestrians and bicyclists. For the people, really.

Glenn Rigby, Kanata

Condolences as you enter the Trump era, America

I would like to express my sincere condolences to the American people for what they will have to endure in the next four years with Trump as president. This includes: continued state chaos; imposed tariffs that will increase inflation; unwarranted acts of retaliation against senior Democrats; impulse decisions that serve the president’s vindictive interests; appointments of totally unqualified Republican loyalists to key government posts; friction with leaders from other allied countries; praise for oppressive leaders like Vladimir Putin; and drastic and unnecessary changes in government bureaucracy to appease his own interest and agenda.

Although Trump’s victory was the result of a fair and democratic election process, I’m sure many Americans who voted for him are already having second thoughts based solely on the many controversial appointments he makes to his cabinet. There is no doubt that the years from 2025 to 2028 should be aptly named “The Trumpmaniac Era.”

John P. Carroccetto, Ottawa

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