Have your say

Keeping Hydro honest

Kudos to the Free Press for the great June 28 editorial, Hydro inquiry required.

Although the construction of new dams in northern Manitoba hasn't caught the public's attention the same way politicians receiving free Jets tickets did, it is arguably one of the most important issues facing our province.

If Hydro spends $22.5 billion on new dams, but U.S. buyers aren't there to buy the power, guess who gets stuck with the bill? Here's a hint: you.

For that reason, it is crucial for taxpayers to speak out and demand a public review of Hydro's capital plan. Some politicians may be comfortable with taking on such a risky plan with taxpayers' money, but are taxpayers comfortable with such risk? A review would put all the details on the table and help the public decide.

COLIN CRAIG

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Winnipeg

Part of the problem

Native chiefs are clamouring for a public inquiry into the deaths of so many murdered and missing young women. In my opinion, the chiefs are part of the problem.

They receive large salaries and government grants, but the money is not going to the people who desperately need it. It is time for reserves to go and the people assimilate into their closest community.

Reserves are often isolated and rife with alcohol, drugs, sexual abuse, and dependency on the welfare system. Many young people are not getting enough education.

Shawn Lamb may be a despicable person but he is also a victim of reserve life. A public inquiry would not prove anything. It is up to the chiefs to accept responsibility for their people. Casinos and smoke shops are not the solution. Their people deserve a better way of life in this modern age.

BOB TAYLOR

Winnipeg

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Public inquiry seems to be the battle cry of the community. Why not march to demand that the millions found for an inquiry be diverted to providing services which, by their very lack of, created the problems in the first place?

More social workers in the field to save children like Phoenix Sinclair and more programs and services to keep vulnerable young women off the streets seems a better use of our limited resources.

PATRICIA BAZINET

Winnipeg

Invaluable program

On June 20 my husband and I attended the ash service held annually at Brookside Cemetery. It was a very moving ceremony to honour the 39 people who donated their bodies to the anatomy department of the University of Manitoba.

This very personal decision should be considered, because the program is invaluable to medical students. By having experienced such a commitment, we support the program. We need to give this decision some thought. It really is an unselfish act.

JENNIFER LAWSON

Miami

Taking aim at stats

Re: Gunning down stats (June 29). Letter writer Tom McCauley rinses American gun fatality statistics by omitting the number of firearms deaths due to suicides. While in some states there are more deaths caused by car crashes than by firearms, this is not true of states with the most laxity around firearms, including, for example, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Indiana, Nevada, Oregon and Virginia.

There are many ways to serve up and process these statistics, but any way you cut it, automobiles are a great deal more useful to daily human life than firearms.

RON CHARACH

Toronto

Envy of the world

Re: Winnipeg man acquitted of criminal charges despite admitting to fatal crash (June 28). So Queen's Bench Justice Morris Kaufman gives the benefit of the doubt to a driver who admitted to causing an accident, killing an innocent party and leaving the scene? His reason -- the destruction he caused was too much for his sensibilities. Hence, he is deemed innocent.

This is a perfect example why our judicial system is the envy of all criminals around the world.

JERZY BIBIK

Winnipeg

Empathetic care

On June 19, I suddenly found myself the subject of what was to become an anaphylactic attack. My eyes became swollen and my throat began to close.

My friend who was with me immediately took me to the urgent care at the Misericordia Health Centre. I signed in at 2 p.m. and related my symptoms to the triage nurse.

By 2:20 I was in a room being given oxygen, had an IV in my arm and was being administered medicine to address my symptoms.

Every staff person, nurse and doctor who attended to me was empathetic, understanding and attentive. Someone checked on me every few minutes until I was discharged.

I was instructed to contact my general practitioner the next day for followup. This I did. Not only was the response from his office very quick, but it was the doctor himself who called to see how I was faring. He said he would prescribe the appropriate medication at once.

There are so many complaints about our medical system and its shortcomings that I wanted to report an occurrence of the system responding quickly, effectively and with compassion.

I would like to thank all those staff members at Misericordia who were on duty that afternoon for the quality of care they afforded me.

ALEX BOYES

Winnipeg

A reliable laugh

Re: True north: Beer ain't free (June 29). Since I read the Free Press every morning, I typically find myself riled up about something or other -- whether it's the wasteful use of our tax dollars, some horror surrounding the abuse of a child or, more recently, the unjust attack on a brilliant judge.

Yet among all this mire lies a bright, shiny spot that reliably lightens my day. Thank you, Doug Speirs, for adding some much-needed humour to this newspaper and for reliably making us laugh.

LAURA McARTHUR

Winnipeg

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 3, 2012 A10