Have your say

A clear violation

Re: Métis hunting rights recognized (Sept. 29). The agreement between the province and the Manitoba Métis Federation to allow the Métis population to hunt and fish without a licence is in clear violation of the Mikisew Cree First Nation Supreme Court decision. This states that a duty to consult First Nations is triggered if treaty rights and responsibilities are adversely affected.

The number of persons self-identifying as Métis with questionable ancestry who will now hunt without regulation will certainly result in a reduction of animal populations. This would cause the government to enact the justification principle set out in Sparrow vs. the Queen to infringe upon the treaty right and responsibility to hunt and fish.

This agreement will adversely affect treaty Indians' responsibility and rights to protect habitat in order for the continued existence of a healthy animal population. Our First Nations clanship and kinship structures will attest to this fact, where the duty is to have an ongoing experiential, protective relationship with specific animals.

First Nations have been hunting and fishing on these lands long before Canada was even Canada. If you want a clear example of what MMF president David Chartrand says about laws being "more restrictive than provincial laws," look at what happened to the buffalo in the northern Great Plains. As history shows, the Métis participated in this near extermination. Laws should not be based on historical revisionism, to which Premier Greg Selinger is now pandering.

CRAIG FONTAINE

Pine Falls

A stranger responds

Re: Stranger saved the day (Random Acts of Kindness, Sept 20). I am the woman Jason Carter is looking for. I helped him when he fell off his bike.

I am so happy that he is thanking me. I am so glad that he is OK. It's so sad that so many people kept driving by without any concern.

I didn't have a cellphone to call 911 and had a hard time to get someone to stop. People were even honking at my car to get out of the way.

Wake up, people. This could be you or your loved one. Next time, think how you would be grateful if it were you.

WENDY TRONRUD

Winnipeg

Rating presidents

Leon Rooke writes (A happy marriage, Letters, Sept. 29) that his late wife, Constance, "was the best president the University of Winnipeg ever had, until malevolent influences went to work on your sorrowful, wonderful city."

The U of W has had six presidents since its creation in 1967. As university secretary for 19 years, I reported directly to four of them (Robin Farquhar, Marsha Hanen, Rooke and Lloyd Axworthy) and knew one other (Harry Duckworth) quite well. Unfortunately, I did not have the privilege of knowing Wilf Lockhart.

I would argue strenuously with Rooke's characterization of his wife as the "best president"; my view would be the exact opposite of his.

I also disagree totally with his reference to malevolent influences. The dedicated volunteers who served on the board of regents during her tenure were anything but malevolent; they had only the best interests of the university at heart.

ROGER KINGSLEY

Winnipeg

Chilling exegesis

Re: CBC's place in 'public space' (Sept. 21). Ian Morrison's exegesis on the advisability -- nay, necessity -- of state broadcasting is chilling. It's not the purview of the sterile, confining and corrupting state to acculturate the civil society.

That billion-dollar boondoggle, the social democratic CBC, has been the fount of left-lib indoctrination in the country since 1935. The government is now crawling all over us.

Predictably, Morrison provides "democracy" as the invocation of the People's Network's mandate. The founding fathers of the U.S. republic rightly considered democracy the tyranny of the majority (or "mob rule" as Jefferson described it).

They wisely set up a constitutional republic in an effort to restrain this enslaving principle and preserve precious liberties.

FRANCIS TRUEMAN

Winnipeg

Thinking positively

I would like to compliment the designers of the planters with the palms that lined the medians of Portage Avenue this summer.

They were beautifully done and provided changing colour throughout the summer months. It would be nice to see the city take inspiration from them and expand this attention to esthetics into other areas next year.

JOAN ANDERSON

Winnipeg

Here are some things that lift my spirits on my way to work down Main Street:

-- Sunlight shining through trees and flower beds at St. John's Park.

-- The gleaming windows of Cosmopolitan Florists, washed every single day. And the flower planters hanging from the rooftop.

-- The murals and hand-painted signs of Red Road Lodge. The knowledge that this is a home for those who need this place. That someone brought a dream to life.

These places speak to me of creativity and care. I do not know about the politics of funding or the spirit behind beauty, but do know that Main Street is better because of them.

BEV PLETT

Winnipeg

Blatantly racist

I am appalled by the Oct. 1 comic strip Sherman's Lagoon, which makes a blatantly racist reference to new immigrants as "invasive species."

Chinese-born Canadians and immigrants from other countries work very hard and contribute to the success of Canada.

In this day of global economy, I cannot believe there are still closed-minded individuals who need to be reminded that their ancestors were also considered "invasive species" to this land.

LUIGI TANG

Winnipeg

Chintzy tipper

Re: Eating on taxpayers' tab (Oct. 1). The only problem that I have with Mayor Sam Katz's tab at Hu's restaurant is the embarrassing tip that he left in June 2008: $6.45 on a bill of $208.28.

What was the problem? Service, food, or both?

KAT THOMPSON

Winnipeg

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