Letters: Unveiling this week’s new addition to the dictionary — to ‘Eby’ - National Post

Copy URL Facebook Linked In X (Twitter) Loading account options Sign In Manage Account Close account menu Sign Out BC NDP leader David Eby delivers his concession speech after conceding defeat to the Conservative Party of B.C., in Vancouver on Oct. 24, 2026. (Jason Payne / Postmedia / PNG) By National Post October 30, 2026 at 2:27 p.m. Last Updated: November 1, 2026 at 9:23 a.m. ‘A new word for our lexicon’ Re: A warning from B.C. — don’t pull an Eby — Adam Pankratz, Oct. 25

There were remarkable features of each of the three main party leaders’ speeches following B.C.’s provincial election this week.

Lorne Doerkson’s victory speech was remarkable in its celebratory exuberance as his B.C. Conservative party was elected to govern for the first time in almost a century.

Emily Lowan spoke with overbearing doom and gloom after her B.C. Green party was held to only two seats. She was a media darling at Victoria and Vancouver television stations during campaign interviews, with some reporters treating her like a favourite niece. But her rather mean-spirited post-results speech exposed her as a political neophyte.

The man who suffered the most of course was the B.C. NDP’s David Eby, yet he was rather gracious in conceding. His wife’s facial expressions were also quite remarkable. I believe the word “relief” was written all over the doctor’s countenance as she hurriedly led her defeated husband off the stage. (She would not be a good poker player.)

Eby’s exit from the political arena does not mean we’ve heard the last of him, but it does bring a new word into our lexicon. As with other notorious people, his surname will become a verb. “Eby” will now refer to how to commit political suicide by calling an unnecessary snap election.

Re: Freeland’s book reveals Chrétien’s power play, crying in cabinet and Trudeau’s lecture about using the word ‘crazy’ — Catherine Lévesque, Oct. 15; and Cringeworthy ‘kiss and tell’ — Letters to the editor, Oct. 25

Apart from making money, I am unclear as to why former deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland would write this book. Doesn’t she want Canadians to forget that she was an integral part of the Trudeau government? Does she want us to believe that she did not agree with her boss’s approach to politics?

Freeland will always be seen as a big supporter of Justin Trudeau. She will be remembered for her comments advising parents to deal with the rising cost of living by cancelling their Disney+ subscriptions, to deal with the rising cost of fuel (caused in no small part by the Liberals’ carbon tax) by taking the subway, and for her mean comments about Conservatives at the time of the 2024 St. Paul’s riding byelection in Toronto (they were “cold and cruel and small”). She will also be remembered for speaking to Canadians in a slow and deliberate manner as if we were all in Grade 2 and were not yet comfortable with the English language.

Trudeau did not treat Freeland very well prior to her resignation. But this book will not be of interest to Canadians who did not vote for Trudeau. We all knew what he was like. The book should be of more interest to those who did vote for Trudeau. It will give them a better picture of what they actually voted for.

Re: Carney says Canada is holding the Palestinian Authority ‘to account’ on elections commitment — Jordan Gowling, Oct. 21

So Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has announced that he will delay an election, in spite of his “promise” to Prime Minister Mark Carney that he would do so in return for Carney recognizing the non-existent state of Palestine. Quelle surprise!

Abbas is now in the 22nd year of his four-year term as president, an astounding feat by any measure, dodging and weaving among various European and American leaders, several of whom have extracted the same election promise from him at one time or another. Whatever possessed Carney to think he would succeed where other, more powerful and experienced leaders have failed?

So now Carney and his compatriots “deeply regret” Abbas’s decision and Carney says he is “certainly holding (the Palestinian Authority) to account”? And just how does he plan to do that? In the past three years the Liberal government has sent $600 million of taxpayer money to the Palestinians with little oversight.

With food insecurity and food bank use in Canada at record highs, will Carney skim another $100 million or more for the PA, money that will somehow find its way into the pockets of Abbas or buy arms with which to murder Israelis?

If Prime Minister Carney is serious about “holding the PA to account,” which I somehow doubt, a good start would be to stop the gravy train until there is serious evidence of compliance.

Re: Trump jokingly says Canada can keep hockey and O Canada in his latest ’51st state’ offer — National Post staff, Oct. 20

Last week, President Donald Trump announced his “fraud denouncing” program, offering rewards to the citizens of the United States to become his secret police. Denounce a traitor, get money. The White House said whistleblowers who submit a tip regarding suspected fraud connected to the U.S. government, and which leads to a conviction or a significant enforcement action, would be eligible to receive up to US$30,000. Trump said payments would amount to a 1.0 per cent commission on the amount of fraud the tip helps uncover.

In cases where more than one person claims credit for the tip, the president said he would personally deal with each case. “I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions.” Just give him the names, and he will do the rest.

Anyone with a knowledge of history may have been reminded of France 1789. As the ideas of the Enlightenment spread, a group known as the Jacobins seized power, arresting the king. They condemned the nobility to death, and threatened anyone who opposed them with death. But they ran into a problem — they were, indeed, being opposed; not everyone agreed with their methods. So they invited the common people to become informants. Anyone could accuse a person of not supporting the Jacobins, and those so denounced would be arrested and tried as an enemy of the state. And still there were problems — too many of the accused were being found not guilty. So the Jacobins did what they had to do. They got rid of the trials, the defences. Anyone who was accused of being opposed was deemed to be guilty, on the basis of the accusation alone, and executed. And soon people in France were settling disputes small and large with their neighbours by accusing them of being enemies of the state.

The Reign of Terror, as it is known, was a deliberate move by the Jacobins, who believed it to be justified. They, in turn, found themselves later having their heads separated from their bodies by the guillotine, as the population could no longer ignore the horrors.

So far in the past few weeks Trump has encouraged Americans to spy on each other, sold out Ukraine, plotted to divide the world into three with Russia and China, announced that he likes anyone who likes him, however awful, resurrected his annexation plans for Canada, upped his game on insulting America’s long-time allies, encouraged and celebrated violence against people who oppose him, and repeated awful tropes about dark-skinned immigrants, especially Somalis. The remaining question — how low can he possibly go before Nov. 3?

Re: Is Trump’s desertion of Ukraine betrayal, stupidity or avarice? — Fr. Raymond J. de Souza, Oct. 18

Ukraine is going through a rough patch due to the diesel deal struck between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — a manoeuvre that amounts, in effect, to a betrayal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Despite this, Ukrainians must neither despair nor give up, for their country will surely regain the upper hand and defeat its age-old enemy, Russia — just as Afghanistan defeated the U.S.S.R. in 1989, thereby precipitating its collapse.

And what will happen then? Russia will find itself alone to nurse its gaping wounds, not to mention the reparations it will have to pay Ukraine for a long time to come. For its part, Ukraine will be able to count on its western allies to get back on its feet and rebuild quickly. Ultimately, its economy will prosper as never before.

Hundreds of thousands of Russians killed or wounded — all for nothing. What a waste! The Russian people will long resent their leaders for dragging them into this absurd war that has impoverished them.

Once Russia is defeated, Ukraine will be able to make its triumphant entry into NATO and the European Union. That is the future taking shape. And Donald Trump will be nothing more than a bad dream.

Re: Fifteen days, fifteen identity-based criminal sentences — Tristin Hopper, Oct. 26

I hope the Post will continue regularly publishing details of identity-based sentencing. Sentences should be based on the offence committed and not on the person or circumstances of the perpetrator. In a democracy, everyone should be treated as equal — no discounts. To do otherwise is to let loose undisciplined people likely to commit further offences. An obvious example is shortening sentences for illegal aliens, which seems to be the current fashion. Illegal actions by illegal aliens provide a handy opportunity to get rid of undesirable individuals. Regular publication of details might lead politicians to understand that the current practice has to be stopped.

Re: Ontario regulator ponders severe restrictions on ‘safer supply’ — Adam Zivo, Oct. 7; and Curtail ‘safer supply’ — Letters to the editor, Oct. 25

Adam Zivo raises an important concern about indefinite safer-supply prescribing and the need to move people toward recovery-oriented treatment. But changing prescribing guidelines alone will not accomplish that.

If supervised, time-limited prescribing is intended to provide a pathway toward recovery, then where are the people who have actually travelled that path?

People receiving safer supply should have direct access to individuals who have experienced addiction, achieved recovery, and understand the challenges of rebuilding a life. These individuals could be available in physicians’ offices, pharmacies, or other appropriate settings.

Imagine someone sitting across from a person struggling with addiction and saying, “I’ve been where you are. I know what you’re going through. Recovery is possible, and if you’re interested, I can help you find a way.”

We continually hear that we must meet people where they are. But meeting them where they are should not mean leaving them there.

Recovery cannot be forced. But the opportunity to discover recovery should never be overlooked.

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