Letters, Oct. 26

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/10/2022 (1257 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Housing irony

Re: Former Shriners hospital being flattened (Oct. 25)

On a bike ride the other day, I came across the scene of destruction at the former Rehab Centre for Children. A bulldozer perched on the rubble of the former nurses’ residence, pulling down yet another building that sat abandoned for years.

Along Wellington Crescent are similar empty former mansions awaiting bulldozers and developers.

In order for me to approach that scene of destruction I rode over the Maryland Bridge, where you can see a huge encampment of unhoused Winnipeggers.

People needing housing, empty buildings being torn down. The irony. The tragedy.

Barb Janes

Winnipeg

Budgets and benefits

Re: Questioning PST plan (Letters, Oct. 22)

Letter writer Randie Kushner takes Dan Lett to task for apparently omitting pertinent information in his assessment of Glen Murray’s PST plan. Yet, in that letter, Kushner does the exact same thing.

Kushner states a PST increase would disproportionately hurt low-income earners. Interestingly, this statement is often trotted out by high-income earners, as a smoke screen for their opposition to any type of PST increase. What Kushner, and others, often omit is that there are items that are zero-rated or exempt from PST. Because of these exemptions, the impact on low-income earners is much less than the impact on high-income earners.

Kushner also suggests it would be unfair for non-residents of Winnipeg to subsidize Winnipeg. Yet, is the opposite situation acceptable? How many residents of La Salle, St. Adolphe, West St. Paul and Headingley commute to, and use the services of, Winnipeg on a daily basis? It would be very easy to reallocate this revenue to Manitoba cities and towns on the basis of population.

While I do agree the province agreeing to this is unlikely at best, arguments for or against this proposal should be grounded in fact.

Brian Gilchrist

Winnipeg

Lobbying for Loney

Re: One stagnant city (Oct. 21)

Melissa Martin’s article bemoaning the stagnation in Winnipeg’s civic politics really struck a chord with us. But we feel one very big difference in our impressions of the current civic elections.

We believe that unlike every other mayoral candidate, Shaun Loney stands out for his “thinking outside the box” approach. His platform is based on creative, systemic changes to the way we’ve done business relative to so many of the important issues facing our city. Not only does he have constructive ideas, but he has spent the time to develop concrete financial plans to back his ideas.

He has a proven track record of taking his ideas and turning them into successful operations that are providing jobs, getting important work done and generating income at the same time as addressing pressing climate-change issues. One only has to take the time to check out his platform to understand that his approach is the farthest thing from “stagnant.”

Vicki Burns and John Gosselin

Winnipeg

Credit deserved for experience

Re: A new roadmap for adult education (Oct. 21)

Jim Silver has long been a strong advocate for adult education in Manitoba, and his latest op-ed does a masterful job of laying out clear, constructive and achievable objectives for how the province can aim to better the supports we give to mature students.

Another step we could take, in addition to those noted by Silver, includes giving mature students credit for life experience, both familial and professional in nature. Many adult learners are single mothers, for example, who have spent years raising a family, navigating complex systems and balancing a multitude of demands. They emerge out of this experiences with an immense degree of intelligence and resiliency. We should refine the system in such a way that allows for that wisdom and experience to be credited, when appropriately demonstrated in an academic setting through the support of teachers.

We should not expect a 25-year-old looking to invest back in their education to follow the same guidelines as a 15-year-old. Their life experiences are incredibly valuable, and by recognizing them, we not only make education more relevant for the pupil — increasing their likelihood of enrollment and graduation — but help to fast-track their path to a diploma and move forward on their journeys.

Kudos to Jim Silver for recognizing the ways in which we can help this important group of citizens as key to our mutual success.

Ben Carr

Winnipeg

PCs playing a waiting game

Re: Kirkfield Park a challenge for Tories (Oct. 17)

I live in the Kirkfield Park provincial constituency. My kids go to school here and we are proud of our community. I believe this is the second time that a PC MLA has quit during a term: Eric Stefanson in 2000 and now Scott Fielding in 2022. I am beyond discouraged that we have been without MLA representation in our riding for almost six months.

Your story suggests the Progressive Conservatives’ preferred choice may be current Winnipeg mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham. If so, suddenly things are making more sense. The PCs are waiting for a candidate to lose the civic election to strategically pluck them into the role of candidate for the Kirkfield Park byelection. This might be what’s best for the PCs — but is it best for the people of our riding?

No. This shows a total lack of respect for our community. Voters in my community don’t have a voice at the Manitoba legislature. Meanwhile, nurses working at the Grace Hospital, three blocks from my house, are announcing an “S.O.S.” Where has our elected, committed representation been? This is ridiculous.

The PCs are playing strategic waiting games. We don’t need a political play that serves the party sometime down the road. We need someone who is right for Kirkfield Park and our community, and we needed them months ago. This is not a good look.

Jacqueline Wood

Winnipeg

Code leaves you cold

Can we as a society please stop with all the QR-code madness? That is, where businesses and organizations force customers or patrons to scan these codes in their own electronic devices in order to access content that was previously available in a printed format?

I was quite dismayed last night to learn the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra had started doing this for their concert programs this season, and I have also seen it used in some restaurants for their menus, as well as some other businesses for other types of information. The WSO, in an email to patrons, said the change was in order to “reduce (its) carbon footprint” and some restaurants have used the excuse of making menus safer, although we know full well that COVID-19 is not passed through reading materials.

Instead of these high-sounding purposes, the forced use of one’s own devices in order to access information feels to me like cost-cutting, a reduction of service and an offloading of more tasks onto the customer. The WSO says, “You may print your program at home.” Thanks for that; will you pay for my ink? The new direction makes me feel disengaged, when formerly I enjoyed reading about performances in WSO’s well-written and informative programs. Wouldn’t a better “harm reduction” strategy be to encourage people to use the digital formats, but still access the paper format? Why the sudden change? Not everyone has a smartphone or a computer.

Lastly, scanning QR codes into a smartphone carries with it all sorts of information security risks that are well documented, which I don’t care to expose myself to at all. Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and other organizations and businesses, please reconsider.

Conrad Padilla

Winnipeg