With a tunnel and school trip probe, Doug Ford isn’t helping anyone

Ford announces proposal for tunnel under Highway 401 to carry more traffic, Sept. 25
Premier Doug Ford is like a guy on the bumper cars. He has no idea where he is going, he careens into some things (having then to reverse himself) and side-swipes others, all in an effort to get nowhere and accomplish little. The paper is filled with stories about unaffordable rent and the impact rents and abysmal minimum wages have on the working poor. Meanwhile, Ford’s priorities have been condemning bike paths, bringing alcohol to corner stores and moving the Science Centre. He is wasting billions on nonsense in a province and city that are decaying around him. He is fond of aligning himself with his “folks.” Which folks would those be?
Peter Bradley, Mississauga
Instead of taking 10 years to build Highway 413, Premier Doug Ford could immediately solve the overcrowding on Highway 401, one of the most congested corridors in North America, by persuading the federal government to create an incentive for truck operators. It would offer a subsidy for trucks who lease transponders and drive on Highway 407, instead of passing the Greater Toronto Area on Highway 401 between the hours of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Chris Keating, Toronto
I only have one message for Premier Doug Ford: take back Highway 407 and cut tolls to a tenth of current ones. This would bring immediate relief to the congestion on Highway 401. This is a simple, fast and the most economical solution.
Michael Gilmor, Ajax
Ontario education ministry orders probe into Toronto school board over field trip to protest, Sept. 24
Shame on Education Minister Jill Dunlop for agreeing to this probe, a distraction from the inaction of her Conservative government on providing justice and compensation to the people poisoned by mercury at Grassy Narrows. Thousands of us marched to support the human right to a healthy environment for the people of Grassy Narrows. I would be proud if my grandchildren protested for human rights.
Judy Mitchell-Wilson, Brechin, Ont.
Premier Doug Ford is “disgusted,” the education minister is ”deeply disappointed” and the Toronto District School Board is “apologetic.” Why? Because some Toronto students participated in a field trip to observe a Grassy Narrows event that also included pro-Palestinian protesters? While Ford implied they should have been in school learning spelling, writing and arithmetic, do we not also want our children and teens to learn the importance of social interaction and a concern for humanitarian causes? I taught teens for about 38 years and I learned quickly that they wanted to be involved in fighting injustice and showing that they cared. We should be proud of them.
John Morton, Toronto
Home renos and teardowns contributed to skyrocketing Toronto home prices, report finds, Sept. 24
The practice of demolishing livable houses for monster houses is not only a major contributor to soaring house prices, it’s also an environmental disaster. Currently, one-third of Ontario’s landfill comes from demolition and construction waste, and a large part of that waste comes from infill housing. In addition, the construction of each new monster house demands copious amounts of virgin building materials, such as wood, stone, bricks, cement, glass, plastic, paint, drywall and shingles. This further harms our environment. The final insult comes when we realize that thousands of mature trees are cut down and put through the wood chipper to make room for the new monsters. The provincial government, constantly wrestling with the issue of affordable housing, would only have to take one simple step to start solving this problem. All they would have to do would be to deny demolition permits for livable houses. Current provincial regulations compel municipalities to issue demolition permits for any house that is not designated as historically significant under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Scott Kennedy, Toronto
St. Lawrence Centre redevelopment in jeopardy as city staff recommend cancelling $421-million project, Sept. 25
As one who has designed many productions in both the Bluma Appel and Jane Mallett theatres, I am well aware of the need for upgrades to those spaces and support facilities. But I take issue with Coun. Chris Moise’s comments that “we want to show the world that we’re serious about the arts. We want great productions here.” It’s not venues that make “great productions.” It is the artists and the time they have available to try ideas and refine the work. So I urge Moise to put his efforts into increasing grant support to theatre, dance and opera companies so that productions can have longer development and rehearsal periods for the creative teams, casts and crews and appropriate budgets for the staging requirements. Those are the factors that make “great productions” possible!
Phillip Silver, Toronto
Recently I witnessed three people, including an older woman, with their dog slowly packing up and clearing a tent encampment they seemed to have been living in in our abandoned neighbourhood school property. They took the warnings of local police seriously. I went over in the afternoon to ask where they were headed and was greeted with friendliness but not consoled by their lack of direction. I worked with the homeless for almost 10 years in St. Catharines and find it so hard to accept this kind of “lostness” in our community. I remember when being baffled in the 1980s by what then seemed to be a kind of novel social stigma that helped keep the issue invisible. Well, it’s 2024, and the world appears to be shaking with political strife and economic instability. Maybe the least we can do as individuals is earnestly practice a kindness to strangers. The systemic barriers and gaps in services are another thing that can also benefit from practices of basic human compassion. Let us each do our part in these mean times.
Julia Blushak, St. Catharines