Have your say

Plainly preposterous

Re: Firehall expansion remains mystery (Oct. 18). From what I know about governments, they thrive on the three Ps of policy, procedure and paperwork.

So I find it fishy that no one in the City of Winnipeg bureaucracy can currently answer the question as to who authorized the expansion of Firehall 11. Surely, it would only take an hour or so for someone to procure, in the back of a filing cabinet, the pertinent parchment giving permission to proceed. Why the penchant for procrastination? Are we to expect some prestidigitation?

PETER INGRAM

Winnipeg

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Forgive my sarcasm, but how Stonehenge was built is a mystery; how a firehall got expanded isn't. It's a question. Mayor Katz has said that only three people could have authorized the expansion of said firehall: Sheegl, Douglas or Friesen.

So sit the three down in a room and find out who authorized it. Then have a news conference and tell us how it happened. We (and council) don't need to wait for a report. That's yet another example of mayoral obfuscation.

DAVE FERGUSON

Winnipeg

Looking for germs

Re: Handwashing non-compliance irks authorities (Oct. 17). The information in this hand-washing audit is misleading. I am a physician, and although my hand-washing practice is at close to 100 per cent, because of the way the audit was designed, it would have been recorded at close to zero per cent.

I was working in the emergency department on a day they were auditing the department's hand-washing. The person auditing was in the hallway of the department. As it is my standard practice, I went into a room and closed the door, took my patient history, washed my hands, examined the patient, washed my hands again and left.

When I came out, I asked how the person auditing knew if I had washed my hands. Her response was that she can only mark what she sees and, therefore, according to the audit, I did not wash my hands. In my opinion this audit was significantly flawed due to either audit design or audit-personnel training.

Dr. NORMAN SILVER

Winnipeg Children's Hospital

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It is beyond comprehension that, of all people, medical personnel are not hand-washing properly, if at all. But not only are the germs on the hands. There was a study a while back about the pathogens found on ties, rings, and ID tags worn by hospital personnel.

What I have noticed during my commutes is that many medical staff wear their scrubs on the bus to and from work. What is picked up at home, on the walk to the bus, and on the bus or in the car? Has this ever been studied?

In the countries I have visited in Europe, people do not wear their work clothing while commuting. They change into their work clothing at work (the ones who wear work-specific clothing).

How about another study on what is on and in the scrubs worn by staff? Any policy on that?

ORYSIA TRACZ

Winnipeg

Measure of comfort

Re: Analyzing the risks (Letters, Oct. 13). I'm wounded that Vic Toews has dropped prospectors out of the Tory triad. In fact, I take a rifle with me always when I'm in the bush prospecting. I've never needed to use it in 30 years. It's for just in case and brings me a measure of comfort.

If ever I get lost I can always fire three shots into the air, which is what letter writer Ron Charach should be doing just about now.

KEN KLYNE

Bissett

Contrasting attitudes

What a contrast regarding First Nations people in your Oct. 16 edition. Back to back, we have the stories Nelson trashes Canada in Iran and Insuring solid futures.

The first article shows the ever-contentious Terry Nelson and deposed chief Dennis Pache in Iran, the most dangerous and despised country on the planet, whining about Canada, a well-respected democracy with a social-justice and human-rights record second to none.

The second article, on the other hand, is a glowing report about First Nations partnering with other like firms to provide needed services to aboriginal communities. The question that comes to mind is, which one of these two stories will benefit First Nations communities?

TERRY MEINDL

Teulon

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Let's not be too hasty in condemning former Manitoba First Nation chiefs Dennis Pashe and Terry Nelson for having attacked Canada on Iranian state-run television (Nelson trashes Canada in Iran, Oct. 16). With current diplomatic contact between Canada and Iran now limited, and few formal opportunities for interaction, both men ventured into the lion's den armed only with outrage, bile and reproof.

Self-styled spokesman Nelson proceeded to declaim Canada as the putative enemy while he simultaneously sought solidarity with OPEC over natural resource ownership, an unabashed appeal for Iran's friendship.

This suggests a less overt, more pragmatic purpose for the trip. If, as philosopher and military tactician Sun Tzu claimed, war is the art of deception, there may be no better way of gathering intelligence on a pariah state than to appear to be the friend of one's enemy.

It may eventually be revealed that both Nelson and Pashe were far more than the perfidious agitators they seem, and, contrary to the image they've cultivated in the press, of much greater benefit to this country than their vociferous and intemperate remarks would lead us to believe.

MARK RASH

Winnipeg

Cementing a definition

A City of Winnipeg advertisement on Page A7 of your Oct. 17 edition says that Grassie Boulevard is closed to transform it "from a rural asphalt road to a two-lane cement curb and gutter roadway."

Surely the design is for a concrete roadway. Cement is a major component in concrete, but no more than flour is a major component in cake.

REED WINSTONE

Winnipeg

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 19, 2012 A12