Letters to the editor, Sept. 7: ‘Is there not a more effective way to grow our economy and maintain our sovereignty than by manufacturing more military weaponry?'

Re 'Did the Leipzig incident bring Russia and NATO closer to all-out war?' (Sept. 3): What will it take for NATO to invoke Article 5? Asking for a friend in Ukraine. David Schenck Vaughan, Ont. Re 'Hit by tariffs, Canadian tool-and-die makers eye opportunities in defence industry' (Report on Business, Aug. 31): Canada is preparing to defend itself from which invaders? The only threat to Canada's sovereignty has come from the United States, and it is employing economic force. Is there not a more effective way to grow our economy and maintain our sovereignty than by manufacturing more military weaponry? Catharina Summers Kingston, Ont. Re 'Emergency physicians say this summer's patient levels are unprecedented' (Aug. 31): This suggests an unprecedented level of emergency room crowding due to an unexplained 'summer phenomenon.' Check with us in January when it will likely be attributed to the flu. Summer or winter, spring or fall, hospital crowding should be a constant miserable reminder that provincial governments cannot distance themselves from the myth that crowding is due to inappropriate visits by patients with minor illnesses. The result is repeated attempts to solve the problem by diverting patients to alternate primary care sites, urgent care centres, walk-in clinics and, God forbid, virtual care. It hasn't worked in 30 years and won't work tomorrow. Crowding is caused by the boarding of admitted ER patients, which leads to a paucity of available treatment stretchers and crowded waiting rooms. The only 'phenomenon' I find responsible for this misery is insufficient hospital bed capacity, in turn due to inadequate home care and inaccessible quality long-term care. Alan Drummond MD; Perth, Ont. Our public health system used to be the envy of most other countries and a point of pride. These days, we are fed a steady stream of hospital horror stories: emergency rooms shutting down, doctors and nurses burning out, patients waiting many hours to see a doctor, in some cases dying on stretchers in hallways before help is provided. Some of this may be due to shortages of qualified caregivers. But lack of funding isn't a problem: We spend nearly $400-billion on health care. The issue, then, is our redundant health care structure with 13 provincial systems instead of one national system like in Britain. They all have layers of managers who could be administrating more efficiently across the national level. Canada should rethink how we provide health care; we should have more doctors and nurses and fewer bureaucrats. Graham Farrell Toronto As someone who began a career in health care and went on to supporting the life and health insurance industry, I can speak from extensive personal experience of many fraught emergency room visits over many years. From young children's health issues on to dementia-suffering seniors and life-threatening incidents, ERs have superficially seemed to evolve, yet care has tanked. So much is lacking in patient-focused medical care. Waste also continues to proliferate. Hospital administrators historically came from medical backgrounds, yet many now are business-oriented and can stymie true progress in health care. The challenges we face should be met with more funding, more general practitioners, more thoughtful ER triage and more medical brains in the C-suites. Marianna Kingsmill Hamilton Re 'Toronto-Quebec high-speed rail project could cost $150-billion over 40 years, document shows' (Aug. 31): Is it relevant to assess the merits of a proposed infrastructure project based on its projected operating costs over a 40-year period? Air Canada's operating costs, for instance, were $21.45-billion in 2025; national freight trucking is at least $60-billion a year. Is it even notable that Alto's operating costs over 40 years are projected at a relatively modest $62.6-billion, or $1.6-billion annually? A neglected factor is the massive savings in carbon emissions the project would generate over 40 years, taking cars off the roads, keeping planes grounded and mitigating the increasing costs of the climate emergency: wildfires, floods, drought, extreme heat. I do not believe Canada has completed a great infrastructure project since the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885. Alto's high-speed rail line, though smaller in scope, would finally bring Canada into the company of most other advanced nations, as well as move us closer to a low-carbon economy. Kenneth Oppel Toronto Re 'Money train' (Letters, Sept. 2): A letter-writer asks why, when high-speed rail is embraced in other countries, these trains are not welcomed here? Canada does not have the population numbers or density when compared to the other countries mentioned, leading me to believe revenue will be much lower than predicted. How many people actually travel from Montreal to Ottawa on any given day? Every level of government seems completely incapable of predicting costs for constructing a project and then runs massively over budget. 'Money train,' indeed. Vivian Vandenhazel Cobourg, Ont. Re 'Big-city life demands a place to sit' (Editorial, Aug. 31): In 2022 iGenOttawa, a community initiative I co-founded, wanted to create outdoor seating areas to connect different generations post-pandemic. In partnership with the Ottawa Tool Library and Ottawa Community Housing, a sectional gathering bench was designed and built on an OCH property. After this prototype's success, OCH built more intergenerational gathering benches on properties around the city. Benches can transform lives, not only through supporting healthy everyday activities, but by offering spaces that hold the potential to foster connections and a sense of belonging. Particularly as our population ages, accessible and inviting neighbourhood spaces should become more of a priority for both governments and citizens. As our bench-making experience shows, if someone sees a gap in their community, then develop a project proposal. There may be collaborators and supporters with the know-how and resources to make things happen. All the better if it is scalable. Christine Franklin Ottawa You mention William H. Whyte's 1980 book The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, which also has an accompanying documentary film. Mr. Whyte collected his data by observing, filming and mapping how people use urban outdoor public spaces. In a memorable scene from the documentary, he shows many pages of tabulated data on seating and then quips that 'this might not strike you as an intellectual bombshell, but people like to sit where there are places for them to sit.' These places are not just chairs and benches but also ledges, stairs and anywhere one can park their bum for a shorter or longer time. We need more places to sit outdoors, indoors and in pubic places – and more public washrooms. Reiner Jaakson, Urban planner (retired); Oakville, Ont. .................................................................................................................................. Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com