Letters: Canada’s leaders should focus on demand for drugs

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Is spending billions of dollars hardening the U.S./Canada border the best solution to the fentanyl problem? Is the “war” on drugs the best way to halt the national/International plague killing so many of our citizens? Do none of our “political leaders” remember Ronald Reagan’s disastrous, jail-filling war on drugs?

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Why not approach this as a marketing problem? Fentanyl is only a problem is because it is profitable and is in demand. Why? In my view, it is in demand because our political leaders have failed us by allowing our social structures to deteriorate to a level only seen in the most underdeveloped countries.

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They have created a society with a large cadre of people without reason to hope. A large portion of our society no longer believe they can participate in the Canadian dream when it takes all of their energy and ingenuity just to survive. No longer able to believe in an achievable goal they are left with no vision.

With nothing to believe in, they lack strength of will, resilience and any sense of agency. What we need to end this problem is to attack the conditions that create the demand for an easy solution to the compelling power of hopelessness.

We need compassionate, knowledgeable leaders who will rise to address the real social issues of the day and give us reason and the wherewithal to hope that with hard work, commitment and resilience there can be a better, brighter day for all of us. There is power in believing; we just need reason to believe.

Don Barss, Saskatoon

Support Canadian goods to defy Trump

Canada is enduring the policies of a maniacal dictator, echoing the authoritarian regimes of the past and present, such as Putin’s Russia and North Korea under Kim Jong Un. Under President Donald Trump, the United States has undergone a profound shift — from democracy toward dictatorship.

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His recent demands for Canada to tighten its borders against drug trafficking and illegal immigration — under the threat of a 25 per cent tariff on our exports — are merely the beginning of further coercion. The temporary one-month delay on these tariffs offers only a brief respite from his reckless agenda.

Eliminating counter-tariffs in response to the March deadline is not the solution to confronting this bully. Instead, we must take the offensive — supporting Canadian-made goods to send a clear message that we will not be intimidated.

It is deeply disheartening to see how the American government — and what was once our most trusted ally — has turned its back on Canada. But even more disappointing is the American people’s decision to elect this reprehensible leader — not once, but twice.

Les Sicherman, Saskatoon

Help poor with more recycling bins

As I drive around Saskatoon in the middle of the night, I frequently see poor people rummaging through public garbage bins to look for cans and bottles to return for money.

To try to prevent this unhygienic, disgusting and unhealthy behaviour, the City of Saskatoon and stores should have recycling bins for cans and bottles next to public garbage bins. Then poor people can just take the cans and bottles instead of sorting through landfill garbage.

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Providing more recycling bins will increase recycling and decrease waste, landfill size, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, natural resource consumption, etc.

Ashu Solo, Saskatoon

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