Letters to the editor

Article content

Relevant matters

So, Brantford’s “what the heck’s a million?” city council is proceeding with plans for the Oak Park Road commuter shortcut to Highway 403. If it is ever constructed, the road should be named the Redundant Freeway.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Letters to the editor Back to video

It appears some relevant matters may not have been given due consideration:

• The newspaper reports the project’s cost as $85.4 million, which is inflated by the expense of building a bridge (when we have existing bridges). I recently have learned the figure is only for construction. I also have learned the cost to fund the project by longterm debt could add 50 per cent to the pricetag, or $43 million. If interest rates rise from current historical lows, the cost will be much higher. But what the heck’s a million?

• The number of GTA commuters in West Brant is described as “many” but never quantified. So, let’s say there are 9,000 residents. With four people in an average family, that means 2,250 homes. I doubt that each home has a GTA commuter but let’s use 2,000 as our number. Apparently, these commuters want to shave five to 10 minutes off their drive to the 403. Normally, four-lane roads, like the one being planned, are built for traffic demands of 25,000 vehicles, not for 2,000. Those 2,000 commuters can currently conveniently access the 403 at existing ramps south of Paris and north of Cainsville. Brantford taxpayers need not spend one dime. But what the heck’s a million?

• Another potentially costly consideration has not been reported in the media. The archeological dig along the downtown Colborne Street site for the new Laurier-Brantford Y cost more than $8 million, covered about a quarter-mile and turned up 400,000 artifacts. If artifacts are found during construction of the Redundant Freeway, the cost could be enormous and delay construction for years. But what the heck’s a million?

Chris Brown
Brantford

Workers went above and beyond

I’d like to thank construction company Steed and Evans and City of Brantford crews and supervisors who handled the Brant Avenue construction and repaving.

I am pleased with the organization, speed and professionalism of everyone involved. It is amazing to see how things can be done with proper planning and execution. Supervisor Peter O’Dowd let us know that he would assist us in any way he could. The crews went above and beyond to treat our funeral families with dignity and respect, adding temporary entryways to and from the street so that they wouldn’t interfere with visitations, funerals and funeral processions. They also stopped traffic to allow access to the street with minimal impact on the procession and flow of traffic. Hats came off and workers paused momentarily to show their respect. Believe me, the families noticed and appreciated it.

D. Todd Glaves
Beckett-Glaves Family Funeral Centre

No fooling

In 2015, the federal Liberals promised to reduce taxes for the middle class. Instead they increased them for 80 per cent of Canadians.

They promised a balanced budget. Instead, they’ve unbalanced it, with a deficit of more than $50 billion, and are not promising to rebalance before the next election.

As well, Finance Minister Bill Morneau promised increased revenues of $3.5 billion from his first budget, which actually resulted in less revenue by $1.5 billion.

Along the way, he and his trust fund prime minister insulted every professional and small business owner and introduced a unique to Canada tax on dividends from private companies but not on public companies (kind of Robin Hood in reverse).

Far from uniting the country, PM Trudeau now has two-thirds of the provinces suing Ottawa over the carbon tax (a concept that was abandoned by Australia and Europe as an ineffectual nuisance).

While China, India, Russia and the U.S. account for 57 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, Canada accounts for 1.6 per cent and ranks in the top 10 for improving our climate- change performance.

In fact, the only promise where Trudeau has delivered is on legalizing marijuana.

Here’s hoping that we won’t get fooled again.

John Purkiss
St. George