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President Donald Trump admits making up facts about trade in a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

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The fib-lie hierarchy

The institutionalized turmoil associated with this White House stands in the way of rational dealing with this administration, particularly regarding the NAFTA negotiations. With the recent firing of secretary of state Rex Tillerson and the expanding activities of Robert Mueller’s investigation, perhaps it’s time for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to cultivate soon-to-be-president Mike Pence?

Michael Cook, London, Ont.

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There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies and Donald Trump.

Rob Burbank, Toronto

Aspiring to be PM

Aspiring to be PM

Re Singh Defends Sikh Rally Attendance (March 16): It is disturbing that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh remains unapologetic for attending rallies featuring Sikh extremists who extolled political violence to create a homeland separate from India.

I wonder what he would say if other political leaders were attending rallies of other extremist organizations.

It would be a poor excuse to defend that position by saying that he/she attended the rally not in support of their violent views but because he/she wanted to support free speech.

Whether Mr. Singh was naive and completely ignorant of their agenda (highly unlikely), supportive of their views or merely pandering for Sikh votes is something only Mr. Singh knows. Whatever the reason, I do not think it says much for the judgment and character of an individual who aspires to be the next prime minister of Canada.

Michael Gilman, Toronto

StatsCan replies

Re StatsCan Needs To Come Clean (editorial March 14): Statistics Canada took immediate measures and in fact did inform respondents in the case you cite involving questionnaires which were lost due to a car being stolen in Montreal during the 2016 Census.

Nothing matters more to our employees than the privacy and security of confidential respondent information. We are in discussions with Treasury Board officials and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to see how we can apply the lessons learned from this incident to the 2021 Census.

Within hours of the incident coming to our attention, we consulted local police. A police investigation was launched; their expert advice deemed the questionnaires to have been destroyed with the car. Within a few hours, searches of the nearby area and waste receptacles were conducted. Requests were made to municipal recycling services to search their facilities.

We contacted community leaders the same day and commenced with the deployment of a team to notify individuals in the northern community. Households were informed of the circumstances around the loss of their questionnaire, and we committed to provide updates as part of our re-enumeration about two weeks later.

The Census is a large and complex operation involving more than 35,000 dedicated enumerators. We continue to learn from incidents. The planned expansion of our existing on-line data collection will reduce manual operations involving the handling and shipping of paper forms and further enhance protection of respondent information.

Marc Hamel, Director General, Census of Population Program

Unintended consequences

His views have since achieved widespread recognition and even given him his moments of fame.

Such is the perversity of life, an example of unintended consequence. I note that Prof. Peterson’s book, 12 Rules for Life, is still at the top of the non-fiction bestsellers list published by The Globe and Mail.

Ian Guthrie, Ottawa

Outlaw the NRA

Re Enough: Across The U.S., Thousands Of Students Walk Out To Deliver Message On Gun Violence (March 15): I am greatly heartened by the thousands of students protesting against the inaction on gun control by spineless politicians. It demonstrates how civic-minded citizens not beholden to special interests can take effective action.

Gun companies only want to sell more guns to enhance their profits: Follow the money. The ludicrous suggestion that teachers should carry guns simply enables the selling of more weapons. How would a teacher with a handgun be effective against an assault rifle? What about the accidental shooting of a student in a school?

The NRA is the real terrorist organization. It clearly doesn’t value human life by making it extremely easy to kill its own country’s citizens. How can its members justify that cultural attitude and live with themselves?

The NRA should be called out for what it is, outlawed and prevented from supporting politicians in any manner!

Jim Boyd, West Vancouver

Bikes, cars, pedestrians

Despite paying more in taxes and user fees, and despite being more strenuously licensed and monitored, trucks are banned from express lanes, the vehicles are subject to constant inspection, they’re often banned from residential areas, and truck drivers’ time behind the wheel is monitored and regulated.

So we already have separate rules and expectations for “road users.” We legally and by social norms restrict truck users (and conversely grant more permissions to car users) because we acknowledge the difference in the inherent danger/vulnerability.

Maybe there’s a hypocrisy blinker somewhere on the steering column that allows so many car drivers to switch their arguments on and off.

Jon McGoey, London, Ont.

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As a pedestrian, my safety is already threatened by cyclists riding through crosswalks to avoid stopping at red lights. And who monitors cyclists so they follow traffic laws? No registration, no licence plate for bikes – and no officers with the time to focus on policing riders.

Diana Chastain, Toronto

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