Saturday’s letters: Politicians ill-suited for public health decisions

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.