Posted by 
Re. “Power should rest with those who are elected,” David Staples, Aug. 4
Unlike politics, medicine is a reality-based discipline. Medical officers, like all physicians, are bound by the rules of evidence, as flawed as that sometimes seems, and by a code of ethics. Politicians are beholding to the opinions of whoever they see as their base and frankly by their own ignorance — not a great basis on which to make health-related decisions that have life-or-death consequences.
The problem with Mr. Staples’ analysis of the aftermath of COVID, is that the unwanted adverse effects of public health measures are obvious; the benefits are invisible, even more so when they are effective.
Anthony McClellan, Edmonton
Climate change, wildfires are connected
On Thursday, with his editorial cartoon, Malcolm Mayes demonstrates a dangerously deficient understanding of climate change, as it pertains to wildfires.
What climate scientist Richard Betts of the U.K. Met Office said about a carton that appeared recently in the London Telegraph applies to Mayes’ cartoon: “It basically says ‘I hate science, I don’t care about facts or understanding, just as long as I get a cheap laugh, that’s fine.’ ”
Mike Flannigan, science director of the Canadian Partnership for Wildland Fire Science at the University of Alberta sums it up: “Currently in Canada some nonsense is circulating that wildfires and climate change are not related. Many research efforts show that we are seeing more fires as we warm due to anthropogenic climate change including one study just published in PNAS (Proceeding’s of the (U.S.) National Academies of Science).”
In preparation for his next take on climate change and its connection to wildfires, Mayes would be wise to do some research. Or, at the very least, to call can expert.
Peter Adamski, Edmonton
Yes, housing is a federal issue
The Edmonton Journal recently outlined a statement from the PM that “housing not a federal issue.” Remembering that housing prices/affordability are highly reflective of both supply and demand, the federal government has in fact played a major role in the rapid increase in Canadian housing prices.
First and foremost, the federal government’s ongoing promotion of immigration levels at historically high levels (well in excess of the rate of new housing construction) has greatly increased housing demand and prices.
Second, the federal government’s failure to ensure an adequate quality and quantity of housing on First Nations reserves has resulted in overcrowding and an exodus of First Nations people into nearby cities. For example, in Edmonton about half of its large and growing homeless population are Aboriginals who have recently relocated from the overcrowded reserves.
The federal government needs to address these issues when making its decisions to increase and sustain immigration at historically high levels and to be negligent in dealing with housing shortages on First Nations reserves.
