DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I received an angry, old-fashioned breakup letter from my boyfriend today with “What I should have sent you” printed on the envelope. It was a nasty followup to a kinder text message he sent me the day before with some of his regrets about the two of us and about himself.

This one listed all my faults — social, political, personal and sexual. I guess he had taken time to really dig around in his strange little mind. He’s definitely not short on cutting remarks.

I don’t know which of the two makes me madder. Should I respond to either?

— Shaking My Head, downtown Winnipeg

Canadians delivered some mixed messages when they aired their views on two hot-button farm issues in Angus Reid polls released this week.

They stood in solidarity with farmers on both fronts, but were decidedly contradictory on the concept of protecting domestic industries.

The pollster found 57 per cent of respondents favour reducing Canada’s tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles if it means securing a better deal for canola exports. Predictably, support for this approach was higher in the west than in the east and higher among rural respondents than urban.

Canada’s decision to place 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese EVs mimicked the actions taken by the U.S. and European Union and protected private and public investment into developing domestic EV manufacturing. In Canada’s case, falling into line with the U.S. policy up front lessened the likelihood of this country being a back door for these vehicles into the U.S. market.

Advice Guy lives somewhere around here. He’s older, tall and thin, with greying hair. He approaches the unwitting and stands too close. Advice Guy then does what Advice Guy does best: he dispenses pearls of wisdom and unasked-for thoughts. If he noticed something new about you or your property, or just experienced something that he feels would benefit you to know about, he’ll set upon you with anecdotes and pointers, oblivious to your availability, consent or need for them. In a lot of ways, I’m a bit envious. I love a good conversation, but am wary of endeavouring one with a stranger.

How freeing it must be, to move through the world with the assumption everyone is poised for friendship, that we are only a few pleasantries away from making one another’s lives better for the interaction. How glorious to have only positive assumptions about how we’ll be received, how luxurious to assume everyone has time for our thoughts and stories.

I thought of Advice Guy when reading a Canadian Press article this week headlined, The big meaning behind micro-relationships. Because despite 15 years of encounters with Advice Guy, I don’t know his real name.

Living in a neighbourhood with a low rate of car ownership and many homes and apartments lacking air conditioning means people are outside a lot — walking on sidewalks, waiting for buses, lounging in parks, smoking on porches and balconies. I should be a poster child for the kinds of relationships and encounters detailed in the article, but I’m not.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My boyfriend is a funny guy and has me in stitches all the time. But what doesn’t make me smile is the fact he has clumsy moves, sexually. When the sex doesn’t work out, things feel like they’re wearing pretty thin with him.

How do you teach a man things he should know already? I finally tried to teach him some moves I’d experienced with previous boyfriends, but he just looked at me with disgust and said, “Who taught you that?”

Do we even have a chance? I’m almost ready to give up on him, but he’s such a decent man, otherwise.

— Wearing Thin, downtown Winnipeg

When it comes to bail reform, Canada doesn’t need more slogans. What it needs is evidence.

Yet we continue to get the opposite.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre continued his “jail not bail” campaign this week, proposing to automatically deny bail to anyone convicted of three serious violent offences, if charged again.

Not only is that unconstitutional and would almost certainly be stricken down by the courts, would it even be effective? Would it make our streets safer? No one knows because we don’t have the data and research to answer that question.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I recently forgot my girlfriend’s birthday and went to the bar with my friends instead. She phoned me at 10 p.m. and told me I was dumped. So, I got a little drunker and went over at midnight to her parents’ house where she lives and started singing Happy Birthday to her out on the front lawn!

Her dad came out and told me, “Get lost and never come back!” and that he was calling the cops next. My two buddies and I took off fast.

Now my girlfriend won’t even pick up the phone. It was just a little mistake. I really do love her! It was a bit late, but I put a stuffed animal and a card on her lawn last night saying I loved her. What can I do next?

— Blew It For Good? South St. Vital

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My son has just announced to us he fell in love with a special guy this summer, and it’s serious. My wife called me at work — the minute after he left our house from telling her.

We had strongly suspected our son was not straight, but we hadn’t really thought about how we’d feel if he found a guy he was serious about. Apparently that time has arrived. Now what? We don’t have any experience with gay people in our family and we really don’t want to blow it by being unintentionally rude.

— Gay Son’s Parents, St. James

Dear Son’s Parents: Your best reaction is a simple statement like this to your son: “We love you and we’ll definitely support you and the person you discover is right for you, loves you and treats you well.”

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I knew my girlfriend was a private nudist in her tiny house, but I thought she’d drop that whole crazy thing when she moved in with me to my big place with a pool.

Apparently, she thought I’d come over to her way of thinking and imagined we’d both walk around naked and have hooks by the front door with kimonos to grab in a hurry. But, no — that’s not happening.

Instead, she’s nude all the time and peeks her face around the door to see who’s on the doorstep. If it’s one of her nudist friends, she just opens the door wide and lets them in.

I got a laugh out of it when she first moved in but at this point, there have been more than a few delivery people come to the door, or one of my friends, and then I hear, “Hold on! Gotta get dressed!” yelled out the door. She’s basically telling them she’s naked — I don’t find that cute or funny.