Have your say:

Fence at Selkirk centre

Re: Psychiatrists condemn decision (June 5). Maybe I'm heartless. Perhaps I'm uniformed. However, I prefer to think of myself as common sense. And as an 18-year-old, common sense, to me, speaks loud and clear that public safety should always come first. After committing an act as grotesque and unthinkable as Vince Li did, the public's safety is at play, and therefore he should be under tight security and supervision for the rest of his life. Attorney General Andrew Swan's decision to veto the review board's decision was just -- despite calls of outrage from those out-of-touch with the general public.

RILEY WHITELOCK

Killarney

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By calling for a fence around Selkirk Mental Health Centre, our provincial government is taking a single situation and tarring all persons living with mental illness with the same discriminatory brush.

In my 26 years of nursing in psychiatry -- a career spent primarily aiding those with schizophrenia -- I have been saddened to see a continual push to return to more restrictive practices even in the face of improved treatments and outcomes. Rather than provide funding for increased staff, we lock hospital unit doors or call for fences or other barriers to be erected. Recovery is more possible today than ever before. Yet we are so quick to discriminate against all those living with mental illness, instead of treating each individual according to their particular situation and needs. It is this kind of thing that prevents adequate early detection and prevention, as who would want to admit to mental health issues in this sort of social climate?

Instead of using our anger to make prisoners of all those needing assistance for mental health issues, let's work to create a society and legal/social/health care systems that adequately support and walk with people in the journey to recovery.

WILMA SCHROEDER

Manitoba Schizophrenia Society

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Yay, Free Press! Thank you so much for your articles on Vince Li June 4. It was refreshing to read about it from the viewpoint of journalists who obviously have some sort of understanding of mental illness. It is disappointing, but not surprising that the same cannot be said for our provincial government.

CAIT LANDIN

Winnipeg

Dogs among us

Re: The leashed and the loose (May 29) about the Kilcona Off-Leash Dog Park. For the last 10 years, the city had enabled the dog-walkers to use the park freely without incident, so this park is primarily known as an off-leash park. Our dog club is working in conjunction with the city and animal services to try to educate the dog-walkers on compliance with the bylaws. Our club has also been working with the city to erect new signage and animal services will be doing regular blitzes of the park for enforcement purposes.

We have recently gotten our off-leash area expanded due to the large increase in the volume of dog-walkers, and the map that one letter writer referred to is incorrect. We anticipate the updated map will be erected in the near future.

Most of the dog-walkers are responsible, tax-paying citizens who care about the park and support it as a multi-use space, so please don't paint us all with the same brush.

MAUREEN HEIDE

Kilcona Dog Park Club Winnipeg

Win battle, lose war

Regarding some letters printed on June 3, what the Middle East needs now more than ever is fair and accurate media coverage. These letter writers rewrote claims as facts, claims which have recently been disproved. We can never express enough sympathy and sadness at the loss of life on the Mava Marmara ship, but we still must try to put aside our emotions and look at this situation -- did these so-called 'activists' die because they were attempting to smuggle in weapons? Did they die because they attacked an Israeli army and threatened to become martyrs? Sadly, the answer to those questions is yes. They were not peace activists, nor did they truly want to bring humanitarian aid to the Middle East.

They came to capture the media attention. They won this battle but they lost the war.

VICKY TOBIANAH

Richmond Hill, Ont.

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My mother-in-law, an Israeli citizen, is unfortunately very ill with cancer. She is being cared for in a top-notch medical facility, Ichilov Hospital, in Tel Aviv. My husband flew to Israel to help her through this difficult time. Imagine his surprise to discover that among the patients in her ward is a young woman from Gaza. Not only has this woman been allowed into Israel and is being treated by the top specialists in the country free of charge, but her mother and father have also been allowed into Israel from Gaza to be by her side throughout her ordeal. This is the true definition of humanitarian aid. This woman was not injured in a military conflict. Israel does not owe her or her parents anything. However, in the true spirit of humanity, Israel quietly provides medical care for many cases such as these for Gaza citizens without seeking any recognition from the world.

What would be the point? The world would just accuse Israel of either fabricating the information or being self-serving.

BELLE MILLO

Canadian Institute for the Study of Antisemitism

Winnipeg

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Like many critics of Israeli foreign policy, letter writer Bruce Clark (Tolerate crimes, June 5) implies that if the country would merely end its illegal occupation of the West Bank, most of the Middle East's problems would be solved. But wasn't the same argument used regarding the earlier occupations of southern Lebanon and Gaza? Just return those territories and peace and prosperity would be all but guaranteed. Except someone forgot to tell this to extremist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, who promptly used these lands after the Israeli withdrawal to launch missiles and conduct raids into Israel itself.

As for those protesting the Gaza blockade, why aren't they directing some of their energies against Egypt, which has closed its borders to the Palestinians for almost all the period since 2007. The facts are that it also considers Hamas a dangerous terrorist group and a source of instability. Hamas has resolutely stated it has no intentions of making any peace agreements with Israel regardless of concessions and its chief aim is the destruction of that nation. So why would anyone expect Israel to even attempt to deal with such an entity?

EDWARD KATZ

Winnipeg

Parking solutions

I have noted letter writer Ed Wuschke's comments to the effect that, as a disabled permit holder, he finds it difficult to access the On Street Pay Stations when he wishes to park on downtown streets (Unwelcome in downtown, May 31). I suspect that some folks are not aware that we have a number of ways to purchase on-street parking that don't require use of the pay stations, including:

1. Pre-purchase parking coupons available in our Parking Store, they can be ordered by phone, snail mail, email, or walk-in.

2. Use of our third-party service Verrus to park anywhere in the downtown using a personal cellphone.

3. Monthly permits that can be pre-purchased for the meter zones; this appeals to many frequent users of the system.

All of these methods have been available for a couple of years and are fully explained at www.theparkingstore.winnipeg.ca.

DAVID HILL

Winnipeg Parking Authority

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 8, 2010 A11