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Indigenous MPs must speak out

Concerning: Randy Boissonnault leaves the CabinetNovember 20.

Eight Liberal MPs make up the federal Liberal government’s Indigenous caucus. Their mandate is to pressure the government to address the many issues facing indigenous people. One of them is the fact that some white Canadians claim their indigenous ancestry to promote their personal interests.

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

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

Political calendar on the wastewater treatment plant

Concerning: Kemptville jail moves closer to reality after province invests $21.8 million for wastewater treatment plantNovember 14.

Ontario soil. Gen. Michael Kerzner announced $21.8 million to upgrade the Kemptville wastewater treatment plant. This is a widely criticized prison project, announced in August 2020. More than four years later, he suddenly discovered that this factory was “an essential step” for the construction of the prison. Yet another example of the hypocrisy of the Ford government.

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John Edmond, Ottawa

Prime Minister’s cycling bill ignores data

Premier Doug Ford’s “Cutting Traffic and Saving Time” bill is a stark example of how populism anathemas science-based policy. This is a bad faith bill, clearly designed to undermine the party’s base before an election while limiting it to the “urban elites” that Doug Ford accuses of being responsible for the gridlock, the criminality , global warming, war, poverty and perhaps the Lindbergh kidnapping.

This undemocratic power grab is designed to neutralize what little power municipalities have, ignoring these indisputable facts: bike lanes save lives, reduce emissions and allow the poorest to move around cities. It will cost cities millions to remove existing cycling infrastructure, with no tangible benefit.

If Ford wanted to reduce traffic congestion, it would take steps to remove the bulky, emissions-emitting, mostly single-use vehicles that hamper high-capacity mass transit and regularly kill pedestrians and cyclists. For the people, indeed.

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 over the next four years under President Trump. This includes: continued government chaos; imposed tariffs that will drive up inflation; unjustified acts of retaliation against senior Democrats; impulsive decisions that serve the president’s vengeful interests; appointments of totally unqualified Republican loyalists to key cabinet positions; friction with the leaders of other allied countries; praise of oppressive leaders such as Vladimir Putin; and drastic and unwarranted changes in government bureaucracy to appease its own interests and agendas.

Even though Trump’s victory was the result of a fair and democratic electoral process, I am sure that many Americans who voted for him already have doubts based solely on the many controversial appointments he makes within the his office. There is no doubt that the years 2025 to 2028 should be aptly dubbed the “Trumpmaniac era.”

John P. Carrocetto, Ottawa

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