Dear editor,

There seems to be a theme among Letters to the Editor to counter the obvious sentiment among Canadians that there is a growing desire for change.

Canadians are proud of their country but any good nation should always be striving for more freedom, increased wealth, improved lifestyles for its citizens and confidence in the future.

This country is not trending in a positive direction. Our government is about to enact a bill to regulate the internet. This will make online content the most regulated of any industrialized nation.

Our economy is faltering with the OECD forecasting Canada will be the worst-performing advanced economy over both 2020-30 and 2030-60.

Statistics Canada has recently announced plunging birth rates which if continued, will make this country among least fertile countries on earth. Their belief is that this is mostly due to a growing affordability crisis that is notably ignored in letters and editorials.

Lastly, the government just announced a further $1 billion cut to our military. The military is already in disarray with continual underfunding as it is clear we will never meet the two per cent of GDP target as established by NATO. The ultimate insurance policy is your military and with the head of the Canadian Forces recently stating that he does not believe our forces can fulfil strategic objectives, the future of this essential establishment is bleak.

All these facts allude to a pessimistic sentiment among Canadians who are paying attention. Every country must look forward and look at ways to change and improve its plight. I urge all Canadians to embrace the inevitable change on the horizon.

Patrick Bateman,

Black Creek