Letters to the Editor: May 2025

It Will Cost You

In “Sticker Shock” (January/February), Ira Wells details how rising costs of living would influence the election. Wells attributes this to COVID-19 supply chains and Loblaw’s price gouging, among other reasons, but neglects to point out that our diets, housing, and vehicle choices give us lots of room to mitigate inflationary pressures. Wells makes no mention of the role of climate change in diminished food supply and prices worldwide. Canada is one of the wealthiest countries and therefore relatively insulated from the food scarcity behind so much of the global distress we are witnessing. Similarly with housing: Canadians have some of the largest homes on the planet, at twice the average area of those in Europe. Many of our homes are getting bigger as family sizes shrink. And Canadians choose larger vehicles than people in most other countries do. The wide range in the purchase and fuel costs of our vehicles far outweighs the small increments in gas prices and carbon tax that incensed everyone. Perhaps if we revisited our consumption, we could also spare a thought for the store clerks, bank tellers, and personal support workers who were cheered during COVID-19 but who have had barely any increase in their near-minimum wages since.

Anthony Leaning Ottawa, ON

Flying High

In “Why Flying Sucks So Much,” Emma Buchanan writes about Toronto Pearson’s rankings for delays and customer service “at various points over the past few years.” It would be misleading to suggest that this reflects the current state of operations at Canada’s busiest airport. For customer service, Toronto Pearson is considered the gold standard. This year, our airport was named “Best airport over 40 million passengers in North America” for the sixth time in seven years by Airports Council International (ACI) World, the global industry representative for the world’s airports. This industry-wide ranking is part of ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) program, which recognizes airports delivering the best experience for passengers. ASQ is rooted in methodology that analyzes data from passengers who have actually passed directly through the facilities it ranks.

Other airports tend to lean on On Time Performance (OTP) as a satisfaction measure, or allegedly pay for feedback from small numbers of US-skewed respondents who may never have passed through a Canadian airport. Perhaps OTP rankings have less to do with what airports build than how carriers use them. If the ground team is understaffed, they’ll take longer to refuel planes and handle baggage. And if you’re waiting for a gate, that’s normally because your flight missed its slot. Gates are allocated like reservations at a busy restaurant. If a plane is early or late, it has to wait.

Karen Mazurkewich Vice president of stakeholder relations and communications, Toronto Pearson

Love Doesn’t Cost a Thing

I read Chantal Braganza’s “Want to Raise a Kid in Canada? That’ll Be $293,000” (January/February) with consternation. As a father of three, the headline-grabbing piece was worrying. To me, having children is the greatest joy possible, and those who are so fortunate to have children rarely look back. Only analyzing the cost side of an idea is an incomplete portrait and is disingenuous in nature. If I have one small regret in life, it is not having my children earlier (my first was when I was thirty-six). I encourage everyone who can to have children, regardless of the perceived cost. It is worth it, no matter what.

Jonathan Brun Montreal, QC