Week of Aug. 25

MP’s words don’t match her voting record Sir: Sarnia-Lambton MP Marilyn Gladu recently declared that she was able to “successfully chair the Standing Committee on the Status of Women,” which led me to believe that she was focused on making progress o

MP’s words don’t match her voting record

Sir: Sarnia-Lambton MP Marilyn Gladu recently declared that she was able to “successfully chair the Standing Committee on the Status of Women,” which led me to believe that she was focused on making progress on women’s issues.

However, later in the report, I read she had actually voted against changing the lyrics of our nation anthem, from their exclusively male reference back to their gender-neutral origins, on the basis that “the majority of constituents were opposed to it.”

I wonder how many women in her constituency were asked their opinion, as she certainly didn’t ask me.

I then remembered that Ms. Gladu tried to amend and later voted against an NDP motion that called on the federal government to close gaps in gender pay equity in Canada, recognize pay equity as a right, implement the recommendations of a 2004 task force on pay equity in the public service, and appoint a special committee that would propose a pay equity regime for Canada.

Fortunately, the motion passed with support from all parties except the Conservatives.

If Ms. Gladu makes too much more progress on women’s issues we’ll find ourselves back in the 19th century.

Trina Smith

Bright’s Grove

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Climate change not some ‘socialist’ conspiracy

Sir: Re: The Ontario government’s ‘Trojan horse of taxes’ to fight climate change.

Ontario is hardly alone in this global battle. Alberta, Quebec, Ireland, Australia, Chile, Sweden, New Zealand, Finland, England, Washington, Oregon, California, India, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, China, Japan and many more have or are developing some form of ‘Trojan Horse.’

Even China has launched a cap and trade anti-carbon policy. Globally 75 countries have announced support for pricing on carbon.

Over billions of years, sure, Earth has warmed and cooled. But never has any increase been as rapid since the Industrial Revolution onward, primarily from GHG’s released from burning fossil fuels. The increase in the temperature rate has nearly doubled just in the last 50 years alone.

About 70% of incoming sunlight is absorbed by land and water and heats the planet. When that energy radiates into the atmosphere much of it is absorbed by water vapor and GHG’s like CO2. A natural greenhouse effect is necessary for life on Earth, yet warming caused by CO2 emissions increases the amount of water vapour in the air by boosting the evaporation rate. Evaporation rates increase with temperature so the amount of water vapour in the air is strongly related to the amount of other GHG’s in the air.

This means over the past 250 years we’ve experienced an enhanced greenhouse effect artificially raising GHG concentration from both burning fossil fuels and deforestation. As a result CO2 levels have increased almost 40% since 1750 resulting in the increasingly warming earth.

This isn’t ‘socialist’ conspiracy or a ‘Trojan Horse.’ It is basic established science.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, one of the largest bodies of international scientists ever assembled to study any scientific issue, concluded most increased warming in the past 50 years is from burning fossil fuels.

These findings are endorsed by the National Academies of Science of all of the G-8 nations and by Brazil, China and India. CO2 levels reached an all-time high in 2015 at 400 ppm, and the earth continues to get hotter.

Far from a supposedly subversive ‘Trojan Horse,’ Ontario has joined a necessary international battle of importance and magnitude that simply dwarfs by a long shot any singular concern of nothing other than ‘my’ tax dollars.

Stanton Earle

Sarnia

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Mayor didn’t deserve council’s harsh punishment

Sir: The Journal has been doing a fine job of providing a platform for those of us who disagree vehemently with the actions of City Council, which inflicted severe financial punishment on Mayor Mike Bradley for creating a “toxic work environment” for two senior city managers, who were each being paid over $100,000 a year.

Terms like toxic work environment and workplace harassment have been bandied about all too freely, based on complaints by the two ladies in question who did not follow the procedure for complaints.

Instead, they aired their complaints in the media after they resigned, which, of course, drew a lot of attention.

This is the code of conduct that Councillor Anne Marie Gillis stated, in a Journal article, that the mayor ignored because he “doesn’t consider himself to be on council.”

The same Coun. Gillis also lamented that she hadn’t apologized sufficiently to the complainants for their mistreatment at the hands of the Mayor.

This matter should have been handled in a closed roundtable of Council. That would have eliminated all the clanking machinery of a report by Integrity Commissioner Robert Swayze.

Mr. Swayze did not interview all those who should have been questioned, because, he said, “You can’t interview everybody.”

For $62,000, I think you CAN interview everybody.

So far, city council’s indefensible spending has reached $162,000. I am including the $100,000 in legal fees for its failed attempt to close down the homeless shelter being operated at no cost to the city by the River City Vineyard.

I recall a suggestion after the city lost that battle that it should take the matter to the Supreme Court of Canada. I shudder to think what that would have cost.

In summary, I think it would be beneficial if council paid more attention to matters like the state of Sarnia’s roads than pursuing what can only be called a vendetta against Mayor Bradley.

A good and faithful public servant, whom I regard as the CEO of the city, doesn’t deserve what has been done to him.

George Allan

Sarnia