YOU SAID IT: Council broken

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COUNCIL BROKEN

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Ottawa city council is broken. There is a small handful of what appear to be objective and level-headed councilors (Laura Dudas, Catherine Kitts, Eli El-Chantiry, etc.), who I think do a great job of representing their ridings.

Unfortunately, there are others who are far less composed, regularly letting their anger get the best of them. At the heart of this disorder is the so-called “Watson club” and the very much “anti-Watson — and anti-most things, for that matter, club.”

While I don’t believe there is a conspiracy of city councilors doing whatever our mayor bids, I do believe that he’s been a polarizing figure. We’ve seen it every time the LRT comes up on the agenda or, most recently, with the “Freedom Convoy.”

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Many of council’s meetings are more grudge match than anything else, and I hope, for the sake of our city, that the next municipal election brings positive change.

ALEX JOSEPH

ORLEANS

(As much as the bickering sometimes seems juvenile, disagreements do often provide checks and balances.)

GUN MONEY

Justin, in the middle of protests in the city of Ottawa, was spending millions in advertisements telling you how he was going to save you from gun violence.

He spends millions in tax money sending it to news outlets, so why would they dare criticize him?

Don’t be fooled. He is going to spend lots more money taking guns from registered gun owners, but he does nothing to stop the use of handguns that are the root of the problem. Mandatory sentencing would solve some of the problem, but will he go there? Not on your life.

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BOB MORRIS

OTTAWA

(Wait. What? I have felt millions our way?!?!)

CHIP, ANYONE?

It’s not newsworthy, but it made the news anyway, so …

I shop at Loblaws, and that’s where I buy my bag of “family” size Lay’s chips for me, not the family. If I wanted to buy a bag for “the family,” I’d have to jump to the “party size,” and even then I’d have to buy two bags. One of my sons-in-law can polish off a bag in two seconds.

Maybe Lay’s thinks chip eaters are stupid people, but we’re not. We’re only going to pay so much for a bag of chips because the fact is a chip is just a chip and there are cheaper chips, which, once we get used to them, will be just fine.

And, finally, just so Lay’s knows, I’m not going to leave Loblaws and drive to Walmart for a bag of Lay’s chips, which, as soon as I open the bag, the chips fall three-quarters of the way down the bag .

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JILL YOUNG

OTTAWA

(Bet you can’t eat just one.)

ALL ABOUT CHOICES

To me, life is all about choices. Some are easy and are sometimes made without much thought. Do I wear black socks or white ones? Should we eat out or order in? Their impact is minimal. In essence, they have little or no effect on our daily lives.

It’s the difficult choices that should make us research the outcome prior to making decisions. You should try to gauge the results before stating your choice. Do I wear a mask? Should I get vaccinated? Do I need a booster shot?

I can’t find anywhere or at any time the public was forced to wear a mask or get vaccinated, booster shot included. It’s your choice. Good and bad choices have ramifications. If you decided not to mask or get vaccinated, you stood up for your rights. Unfortunately, the resulting consequences are not to your liking. But you did make a choice and good for you. It was just not the right choice.

MICHAEL PERREAULT

OTTAWA

(Nail it!)