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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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Prosperity in the balance?

I am growing weary, if not frustrated, with the constant reference to "balancing the budget" (No Path To Balance – Feb. 28). The whole purpose of government is to tax and spend, or perhaps better stated, tax and invest. As long as the debt can be managed, Canada should maximize government spending to keep its citizens healthy and educated, and to promote maximum opportunities in the workplace. This in turn will lead to a prosperous nation.

Robert Milan, Victoria

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The federal budget continues the irresponsible practice of running deficits to fund the Liberals' social policies. Yes, the Trudeau government has a mandate to fund its social priorities. However, unless it increases taxes to pay for these policies, most taxpayers just shrug and move on. There is no link between cause and effect.

The government argues that the debt-to-GDP ratio is stable or declining modestly. Meanwhile, it increases our national debt with frivolous spending while ignoring other important economic priorities. This will come back to bite us in the next recession when the cost of servicing the debt forces the government of the day to rationalize spending. The pain this will inflict on Canadians is tomorrow's problem; today, the PM and his team have no worries except pandering to their left-wing base.

Gordon Birnie, Stouffville, Ont.

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Vacation home tax

Re Canadians With B.C. Vacation Homes To Be Hit With New Tax (Feb. 22): Alberta oil executives who own B.C. vacation properties can afford the new B.C. tax on out-of-province owners, says UBC real estate expert Tom Davidoff. "If it's a vacation home, you're not part of the work force that's struggling with affordability," he states.

Does Prof. Davidoff have any facts as to what percentage of Albertans with vacation property in B.C. are actually wealthy oil executives – and how many are just hard-working Canadians, like teachers, or factory workers or farmers? Could he please explain how someone who owns a vacation home in Kelowna but lives in Vancouver contributes any more or less to the local "work force that's struggling with affordability" than someone who owns a vacation home in Kelowna but lives in Edmonton?

The million-dollar homes being built in and around Kelowna are being directly marketed to people from Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. These homes may not be built for the local market, but they are being built by local contractors, hiring local trades that buy materials from local suppliers. The furniture, rugs, window coverings and appliances are from local businesses. How can anyone suggest they aren't contributing to a local work force that's struggling with affordability?

John Bilodeau, Calgary and Penticton, B.C.

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Motive for 'proof'?

Re PM Defends Official Who Said Indian Government Tried To Sabotage Trip (Feb. 28): It makes sense that factions in the Indian government of BJP, with its "Hindutva" ideology (which seeks to establish the hegemony of Hindus and their way of life) would have played a role in embarrassing Canada in the case of Jaspal Atwal, a former Sikh militant.

But what does Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer want to achieve by demanding "proof" for the charge made by a senior Canadian bureaucrat – prolongation of the controversy and further disruption in Indian-Canadian relations, not to mention compromising our sources of intelligence?

Masud Sheikh, Oakville, Ont.

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In the age of big data

Re NATO Researcher Warns Of Russian Interference In 2019 Canadian Election (Feb. 27): Take it as a foregone conclusion that Russia will meddle in the 2019 election. After all, governments have interfered in the affairs of competitor states from time immemorial.

In the international context of anarchy, influencing outcomes in competitor states is a fundamental interest. In the past, states resorted to comparatively malicious strategies, including (but not limited to) sponsoring coups and financing opposition parties.

Using carefully crafted, targeted marketing campaigns to manipulate public opinion is, by far, the most ingenious means of foreign intervention to date. Marketers have long recognized that repetitive, targeted advertising is the future of acquiring and retaining customers. In the age of data, it's also an integral element of foreign policy.

The Canadian government should prepare accordingly.

George Monastiriakos, Laval, Que.

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Re Sensor City: Google Project Triggers Debate Over Data (Report on Business, Feb. 24): Josh O'Kane's article is a wake-up call for our policy makers, at all levels of government, to take note of what Europe is doing in the domain of big data ownership and to begin implementation of a cohesive national strategy.

As a market researcher for more than 30 years, I've consulted for small-to-medium enterprises and large corporations in generating strategic information for decision making. This type of information is driven by scientific methods of data collection and is expensive. Today, the likes of Google and Facebook are acquiring census-type data for free.

Our governments need to act expeditiously. T.S. Eliot, in Choruses from the Rock, says, "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" By extension, where is the information we have lost in data, and where is the data we have lost in ignorance?

D.J. Sandhu, associate professor, School of Business, University of the Fraser Valley

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Re In China, Big Data Policing Leads To Political Detention Before A Crime (Feb. 28): I am sure that many Globe and Mail readers have made the connection I am going to articulate but I can't help but write it out.

Your report on China's big data policing of the day-to-day activities of its citizens is a golden opportunity to appreciate and understand the trade-offs that come with a liberal democracy. One price we pay is illustrated by the Toronto Police Chief calling for more co-operation from citizens in preventing crime. The freedom that comes with a liberal democracy is partly the result of our placing limits on government and its agencies, unlike what is being reported regarding China. We rely on other sources of moral authority than the law and government to help guide human behaviour at the street level.

Other cultures are making different choices: for example, the evolution of illiberal democracies in Europe. The price we pay for a liberal democracy is that it is much harder to prevent people from doing bad things. There is a clash of values, but so far we are still on the side of providing lots of room for human development.

I hope that you will continue to cover stories that will illustrate and make visible the value foundation underlying this choice.

John Krauser, Mississauga

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Well, the story on China's big data policing certainly ruined Wednesday's breakfast. Monday, it was the pending ascension of President Xi Jinping to Eternal Leader.

Any thoughts of taking tomorrow off?

R. Paul Edmonds, Toronto

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