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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, A pr il 8, 20 21 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editorial@waterloochronicle.ca facebook.com/waterloochronicle @wlchronicle WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira nparreira@metroland.com Regional Director of Media Heather Dunbar hdunbar@starmetrolandmedia.com Advertising Representatives Cassandra Dellow, Jan Bodanka, Matt Miller, Lisa Humphreys, Sheri-Lyn Blair, Chris Rego Managing Editor Robyn Wilkinson Online Editor Adam Jackson Reporters Bill Jackson CONTACT US Waterloo Chronicle 475 Thompson Dr., Units 1-4 Cambridge, ON N1T 2K7 Phone: 519-886-2830 Fax: 519-623-9155 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at waterloochronicle.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail customerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000 OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA EDITORIAL LETTERS & COMMENTARY BYLAW OFFICIALS FELL SHORT IN ENFORCING RULES AT WEDDING RE: Only the video shows what really happened at su- perspreader wedding (see waterloochronicle.ca, March 25): Thanks to Luisa D'Ama- to for her honest and well- researched opinions. Her column was regarding the wedding at Sri Guru Singh Sabra temple in Cam- bridge. Before reading this col- umn, I had feared that CO- VID-19 was even more viru- lent and contagious, be- cause bylaw officers re- ported that all safety rules were followed. Now I learn that was not the case at all. This is not the first time that these city employees have failed the public. Do these employees need better skill training or are they simply a waste of public funds? Can they be held accountable for their actions? LYNDA VEITCH, BADEN NOT EVERYONE IS BASHFUL ABOUT A HIGH SALARY I think it is hilarious that people are upset about our wonderful health care providers and teachers etc. being on the Sunshine list. Apparently it is meant to embarrass them. I'll bet all the profession- al athletes that make mil- lions and millions aren't embarrassed by their sala- ries. JUDY NEWMAN, WATERLOO SUPREME COURT DECISION ALLOWS US TO MOVE FORWARD In a 6-3 decision, the Su- preme Court of Canada has ruled that the federal gov- ernment has the right to impose minimum carbon- pricing standards on the provinces. Chief Justice Richard Wagner wrote for the ma- jority of the judges. "Cli- mate change is real. It is caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities, and it poses a grave threat to hu- manity's future," Wagner wrote. He described cli- mate change as "a threat of the highest order to the country, and indeed the world." The majority noted that global warming causes harm beyond pro- vincial boundaries and that it is a matter of nation- al concern under the "peace, order and good gov- ernment" clause of Cana- da's Constitution. This is good news, be- cause now we can move ahead with the plan to in- crease the carbon price steadily, reaching $130 per tonne in 2030. Carbon pric- ing is one of the most effec- tive ways to foster energy conservation, and to en- able noncarbon technolo- gies to prosper, while the rebate of the revenues means that the poor and middle class, indeed, 80 per cent of households, will come out ahead. Now Can- ada can work together to contribute to preserving a livable planet. CATERINA LINDMAN, WATERLOO It's a damning indictment. Canada's auditor general recently released a report that finds Canada's public health and border control authorities did a poor job at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Systems didn't work as planned. Updates and mon- itoring were not carried out in spite of ample. Recom- mended changes were ignored, literally for decades. The country's vaunted pandemic early-warning system didn't work properly. There were shortcomings in how the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and PHAC responded. None of this should come as a surprise. Canada's federal public health bureaucracy was slow and inept to begin with, and didn't find its feet until the pandemic was already well underway. To be fair, that was the case in many other countries around the world. Scientists have been warning the world about the next pandemic since the last pandemic. And collectively, the world paid lip service to the warnings, for the most part. For those who like to see heads roll and blame as- signed, who should we be pointing at? Presumably, public health and border service leader- ship at the time. The buck always stops at the govern- ment, so the Trudeau Liberals get some of the blame, too. There is an election coming soon, and those who want to send a message can vote for a different party if that helps. But keep in mind that the most likely alterna- tive, the Conservatives, were in power for much of the time the warnings were being sounded, and they did little or nothing, like the Liberal government before them. The auditor general's criticism and observation are of critical importance, not so we can assign blame, but so we can make sure we do this a lot better the next time a pandemic comes knocking, as we know it will. And there is another aspect to consider. Governments don't tend to do things in the face of overwhelming pub- lic opposition. Had there been tremendous pushback when the Mul- roney government privatized Canada's largest domestic vaccine manufacturing lab, or when cuts to research and development by the Harper government led to other pharmaceutical companies moving to friendlier cli- mates, those things would not have happened. Those things were not big priorities to the average Canadian at the time, otherwise they would not have happened. Now, if we want different outcomes, we can demand different things. We must have a domestic vaccine in- dustry. We must have unfettered access to all sorts of PPE. We must have proactive policy and bureaucratic measures in place so all the things that went wrong this time don't go wrong the next time. It will not be cheap or easy. It will not work with a small government that wants the market to drive every- thing. Preparing for future pandemics demands govern- ment, industry and business buy-in and collaboration. We can have that if we want it, or we can take our chanc- es. WE NEED A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NEXT PANDEMIC