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In five decades living in Canada I have watched voters elect successive Liberal and Conservative governments, hoping government policies will make their lives better. However, I have witnessed instead the lives of ordinary Canadians become more onerous.

It’s been said that insanity is repeatedly doing the same thing while expecting a different outcome each time.

Polls leading up to yesterday’s federal election indicated the two most important issues to voters were Trump and affordability.

Focusing on who is best suited to dealing with Trump’s puerile behaviour fails to recognize his actions is a distraction that disguises the efforts by the ultra rich and greedy to destroy the foundations necessary for building a just, equitably and civilized world.

Choosing a nationalistic path in response to Trump’s actions will lead directly into the distraction trap enabling the erosion our democratic foundations. Massive inequity of the kind our country is now experiencing is not merely unjust, it is a form passive institutional violence against the majority of the population.

As to the issue of affordability, it is obvious who is responsible for the situation we are in.

A cursory reading of Canada’s political history reveals that every piece of truly progressive legislation ever passed happened when the NDP held the balance of power.

In the future we can reverse this downward spiral by electing enough candidates from the only two truly progressive parties one can vote for, that is the NDP and the Green Party, to hold the balance of power .

Michael Wong, Toronto

With the election over, hopefully voters paid attention 

Politicians looking for votes seem to be unaware they cannot simultaneously lower taxes, balance the budget and maintain government services.

Their promises seem to ignore the fact that nearly every city and numerous towns in Canada have encampments of unhoused people. Throughout Canada there is also a chronic shortage of skilled medical personnel; deeply affordable housing is not being constructed, and food banks are everywhere. Our justice system is underfunded, as is the educational system.

All of these are the direct result of policy failures by a variety of governments over a period of decades.

One can truthfully say these symptoms show the high cost of low taxes.

We cannot afford the lower taxes that were promised in this most recent federal election campaign and still maintain the facade that Canada is a country where everyone is cared for.

Allan Baker, Scarborough

Toronto’s traffic crisis brought on by a simple lack of common sense

‘Traffic czar’ sure has a nice ring to it. Here’s one thing to keep in mind before you apply for the job, April 25

There is no mystery to the traffic gridlock in Toronto.

The city itself has engineered it: a stoplight almost every block and if not a stoplight then a 4-way stop sign. Driving is literally stop and go.

Besides these, there are the cement outcroppings at corners which allow only one car through at a time on two-way streets; the narrowing of two-lane streets to one all over the city; and allowing parking along main streets like Bathurst which effectively create one lane from two.

Add to this garbage trucks that inconveniently stop mid-street stopping all traffic behind, dedicated raised streetcar tracks that require extra time at stoplights for U-turning, trucks and tractor trailers too big for º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøstreets and the epidemic of orange cones that further block lanes.

So there’s no need to spend further taxpayer funds on traffic consultants.

Just undo the above and we can all get a move on.

Barbara Sternberg, Toronto

Ford’s closure of consumption sites reflects a stunning lack of empathy

Uncertainty looms around treatment hubs promised by Ford government to replace supervised consumption sites, March 15

Recent legislative changes that will force the closure of supervised consumption sites (SCS) are dangerous, counterproductive and will disproportionately harm marginalized populations, particularly Indigenous and homeless populations who already face significant barriers to healthcare.

Claims that SCS encourage drug use, invite crime and pose a safety hazard ignore scientific evidence.

A vast body of evidence crediting SCS with reducing public drug use, preventing overdose deaths, decreasing the spread of infectious disease and reducing the burden on hospitals and emergency services has failed to identify any consistent link between these sites and risks to public safety.

The Government of Canada has reported that between 2017 and 2023, SCS in Canada prevented approximately 49,000 drug-related medical emergencies and made 257,000 referrals to social services and housing supports, as well as medical, mental health and addiction treatment. Furthermore, experts emphasize that SCS make communities safer by moving drug use into monitored sites and out of alleyways, public restrooms and playgrounds — where discarded needles and unwitnessed overdoses present real risks to the community.

Though Ford’s new HART hubs will continue connecting vulnerable people to essential supports, removing access to safe and monitored consumption environments will create an immediate and fatal service gap. As part of the 2011 Insite court decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that safe consumption sites are essential healthcare services. Denying access to this essential service violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In 2023, Ontario led the country in opioid-related deaths.

Legislation requiring the closure of these sites devalues and dehumanizes people who depend on them, and it will have devastating consequences for many.

Kimberley Foster, Westmeath, Ont.