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Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One in Melsbroek, Belgium, Tuesday, July 10, 2018. He is in Brussels to attend a two-day NATO summit.Geert Vanden Wijngaert/The Associated Press

Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com

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Defence of empire

Do Americans forget their own history? When the empire of the day – the British – made subjects in the 13 colonies pay for British military expenditures through customs duties and stamp taxes, it sparked the American Revolution. Now that the U.S. is today’s (faltering) empire, it calls leaders of its vassal states, like Canada, “dishonest and weak,” imposes tariffs on steel and aluminum, and demands they shoulder more of the military burdens of empire.

Maybe it’s time to throw a Tea Party in Toronto’s harbour.

Gordon Laxer, Gravenhurst, Ont.

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Canada should meet the NATO standard of 2 per cent of GDP on defence spending (Why Canada Should Pave A Path For NATO Longevity – July 10). Estonia is one of only a handful of NATO countries that meets the standard. A key component of its defence investment is against cyber warfare, for which it’s an important lesson.

Estonia is one of the world’s most digitally advanced countries. It has made huge investments in computer networking and infrastructure. Free, fast wireless internet is available across the country.

The downside is that this makes Estonia vulnerable to cyber attacks and hybrid warfare. That happened in 2007, when banks, media, businesses, government, and military networks were attacked for several weeks, paralyzing the country. This followed rioting by Estonia’s minority Russian population; intelligence experts also point to cyber attacks by Russia in Crimea, Ukraine, and Georgia. NATO must have full support, and funding.

Reiner Jaakson, Oakville, Ont.

Welcome (?) to Canada

Ontario gets no say in who comes to the province as refugees or seeks asylum. This is the responsibility of the federal government.

All across Canada, the federal government has traditionally fully funded settlement for these groups. Some provinces, like Saskatchewan, have topped up funding – but only of their own accord and only in some years. No province has entered into an agreement to “share” the cost of refugee or asylum settlement. No province, other than Quebec, is allowed to select refugees – and as such, the funding for this group remains the responsibility of the federal government.

Ontario’s reluctance to voluntarily change this tradition is not due to the “parsimonious” nature of the Ford government (Doug Ford’s Troubling First Week – editorial, July 10). Justin Trudeau’s insistence that these costs are to be shared across all levels of government is both dictatorial and sanctimonious.

Randy Boldt, immigration consultant, Winnipeg

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The situation with border jumpers has been growing for more than a year, most recently with Nigerians flying to the U.S. as visitors in order to walk across our border, and the response from Ottawa has been muddled. Our publicity-grabbing PM set the stage for this abuse, not Donald Trump.

Justin Trudeau threw out a figure of $50-million for assistance to Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba to help pay for the costs of asylum seekers illegally crossing into Canada. Where is the costing for that figure? Toronto Mayor John Tory has already stated that Toronto alone is spending more than $65-million this year.

The long-term effects of this incompetence will be largely born in Ontario and Quebec, through the services we must provide. Ontario Premier Doug Ford knows this, but can’t put a figure forward as we don’t know how many more persons will be transferred here.

The cavalier attitude of the federal government toward solving problems that have long-standing effects for the country is disturbing. There is only one taxpayer and the money that the feds volunteer comes from the pockets of Ontario residents, as well as those of the rest of the provinces.

Anne Robinson, Toronto

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The photo of Toronto Mayor John Tory and Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggests Mr. Tory wants to get as far away as he can from our new Premier (Former Rivals Tory And Ford Discuss Refugee Resettlement In Meeting – July 10). It’s just as well that Mr. Tory’s chair had arms on it – or he’d have fallen off onto the bleak grey carpet beneath him. How metaphorical.

Trish Crowe, Kingston

Courting legitimacy

Re Trump Sets Stage For Conservative Majority On U.S. Supreme Court With Kavanaugh Pick (July 10): The Attorney-General of the United States, its highest-ranking legal official, uses a biblical reference to justify public policy. A nominee for the highest court in the U.S. references his Catholic faith. Heaven help us, indeed.

Andrew Matthews, Toronto

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A morally centred Republican Congress would realize that any Trump Supreme Court nominee will be critically impaired if the Mueller investigation determines that Donald Trump should be indicted, or in lieu of an indictment, recommends that the House proceed with sanctions – for example, impeachment. At minimum, the Senate should not proceed with a Trump nomination until the Mueller report’s conclusions are published. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would be wise to consider the adage that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Frank Malone, Aurora, Ont.

Who pays in Ontario

Re PCs Pull Plug On Some Teacher Training, Energy-Efficient Repairs To Schools (July 10): And so it begins. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has begun finding his “efficiencies” to save the taxpayers’ money, and as a result cutting their services. Cancelling Ontario’s cap-and-trade carbon program will not be without ramifications for the treasury or the environment. Also, what did he have against the new chief scientist whom he fired? Just didn’t like the fact she was chosen by the Liberals?

In Britain, “polls show a second referendum on Europe would receive a substantial “No” vote” now that the ramifications of leaving the EU are apparent. As time goes on, Ontario voters who wanted change for its own sake may feel exactly the same way.

Ann Sullivan, Peterborough, Ont.

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On the one hand, you vilify Premier Doug Ford based on his first week in office, while on the other you praise previous governments for transforming Ontario into a “prosperous, open and modern society” (Doug Ford’s Troubling First Week – editorial, July 10).

It was the reckless spending of previous governments that achieved your so-called “prosperous” society in this debt-crushed province. Thanks goodness our new Premier is parsimonious (your word). It’s about time!

Cecil Rorabeck, London, Ont.

Hmm. I’ll take aging

Re Could Diabetes Medication Be The Next Anti-Aging Pill? (July 9): You don’t mention that a common side effect of metformin is diarrhea; I had three friends who had to change their lifestyles dramatically, mainly because of surprise attacks. I think I’ll take aging as it comes.

Susan Halliday, Sarnia, Ont.

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