In the final days of 2025, readers of the Toronto Sun have voiced strong opinions on pressing national issues, from the tension between housing development and agricultural land to corporate pricing and environmental policy failures.
Building Up, Not Out: A Reader's Plea on Housing and Farmland
A letter published on December 30, 2025, takes direct aim at Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's views on tackling inflation and housing. The reader, Michele Rae, expresses a primary concern that Poilievre's emphasis on Canada's vast land for building directly conflicts with the need to preserve valuable farmland for the nation's "breadbasket."
Rae argues for intensification over urban sprawl, suggesting that the solution lies in optimizing existing space. The letter proposes specific incentives to develop on large, underutilized plots like mall parking lots and other open areas within cities. Furthermore, Rae advocates for the elimination of taxes on all essential goods and services, including all food items and basic living necessities, as a measure to alleviate financial pressure on Canadians.
Calls for Forensic Audit of Major Grocery Chains
Another reader, Wayne Pajunen, shifts focus to the soaring cost of groceries. Pajunen labels the industry's behavior as "merciless," accusing it of transitioning from pandemic-induced inflation to outright "greedflation." The letter cites a stark financial contrast: the top three grocery chains and other major grocers saw their total net income skyrocket to nearly $6 billion in 2022, up from an average of $1.8 billion annually in the five years preceding the pandemic and $2.4 billion in 2019.
Based on these figures, Pajunen issues a direct call to action for the government to perform a forensic audit of Canada's chain grocers. The goal would be to determine if post-pandemic price gouging occurred, with the demand that any proven excess profits be returned to Canadians in the form of rebates.
Blasting the 'Useless and Embarrassing' Single-Use Plastic Ban
From Brampton, reader Jari Doman delivers a scathing critique of the federal Liberal government's single-use plastics policy. Doman calls it a "prime example" of a policy that is both "useless and embarrassing," arguing it has failed in its core environmental mission while imposing real costs.
The letter contends that the ban, intended to reduce plastic waste in lakes, has instead created hardship for the food industry and led to higher consumer prices without any measurable benefit to the environment. Doman highlights the perceived absurdity that manufacturers can still produce these items but must ship them out of Canada, questioning the logic of a policy that only "protects" the environment within national borders. The letter concludes by linking this policy to a broader decline in the standard of living, blaming the Liberals for the damage done "in the name of environment."
These letters, published on December 29, 2025, and featured in the December 30 edition, offer a raw snapshot of public sentiment on key economic and environmental policies, reflecting the diverse and often frustrated voices of Canadian citizens.
