Letters, April 20

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2023 (1186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Quality of politicians in decline

Re: Politicians leave questions unanswered, democracy eroded (April 18)

Tom Brodbeck contrasts the days when politicians routinely faced reporters to answer their questions and be accountable for their actions under Gary Filmon and Gary Doer governments, with the present downward trend of avoiding reporters’ questions and accountability, and instead hiding behind vague and uninformative responses written by their communications staff.

Hiding and refusing to answer questions on important issues of the day erodes democracy, laments Brodbeck. Perhaps a reason for this erosion may be that many politicians simply lack the skills and capabilities of doing their job, and so having others respond is preferable to being found out.

While the complexity of present day issues have escalated, the quality of the politicians elected to handle those issues has sadly diminished. To be accountable, is to be vulnerable, and that is the last thing any present day politician wants to exhibit.

Keith Addison

Winnipeg

Visions of an electric future

Re: Manitoba’s future is electric (April 18)

Scott Forbes asks in his opinion piece “if our electric utility has a vision for an electric future?” The answer is “Yes.”

As our world, our country and our province decarbonizes and moves to a cleaner energy future, we know Manitoba Hydro needs to be ready. That’s why we’ve developed a long-term strategic plan for our utility — Strategy 2040. Strategy 2040 is our vision for continuing to provide Manitobans with reliable, affordable energy as we all navigate the challenges created by the energy transition.

One of the first steps in Strategy 2040 saw Manitoba Hydro embark on our first Integrated Resource Planning process to help us better understand how the future may unfold and plan for making sure our electricity and natural gas systems meet the needs of Manitoba today and in the future. This process includes conversations with our customers and interested parties to understand their evolving electricity and natural gas needs.

I invite your readers to visit hydro.mb.ca to learn more about Strategy 2040 and our Integrated Resource Plan, including future opportunities to participate.

Hal Turner, Vice-President,

Asset Planning & Delivery

Manitoba Hydro

Winnipeg

Plenty of information without CBC

Re: The CBC gets federal cash — but so do its MP critics (April 18)

Your editorial fails to address some important matters relating to the CBC.

The CBC was created in November 1936 as a radio service. The population of Canada in that year was approximately 10,950,000.

The government of the day recognized that Canada was a vast country with a small population. Both the Liberal and Conservative parties supported the creation of the CBC as it was apparent that without a national voice Canada might well be swamped by American culture.

The world of 2023 is vastly different. If anything we suffer from too much information, not a lack thereof. I have a standard cable package, an iPad and an iPhone. I have access to PBS News Hour, BBC World Report, approximately eight American news broadcasts as well as CTV and Global news. I also have a number of apps which provide news information.

I would have to stay up 24 hours a day to consume all the news information available to me.

In brief, what is the problem that CBC is addressing in 2023?

The fact that the CBC provides a left wing analysis is no great tragedy. An intelligent person can sift out the propaganda from the kernel of hard information. The fact remains, however, that the CBC is no longer relevant in a world drowning in news broadcasts and analysis.

The CBC has become the sacred cow of the Canadian left, and that portion of our population doesn’t want to lose its megaphone.

Kurt Clyde

Winnipeg

In defence of CBC

CBC rightfully decided to “pause” their Twitter account after being labelled state media after an opposition party head contacted a billionaire who owns Twitter to get a warning label put on their media outlet.

Wow, so after all the complaining about Trudeau having rich connections and conflicts of interest, the fake media, and interference, the head of the Opposition party Pierre Poilievre has contacts with billionaire social media giants in the U.S.? And can request warning labels on media outlets that he chooses if he deems them unfriendly to him?

Want to check out foreign interference and collusion with foreign entities for political purposes? Look no further than Poilievre and Elon Musk.

Debra McCormack

Winnipeg

Look for doctors in province

Re: Manitoba seeks recruiter for 150 family physicians (April 17)

Manitoba wishes to recruit 150 doctors. We could start by recruiting the many doctors living right here in the province.

Many came to Canada having qualified based on a points system that rewards education. But when they arrive they must essentially start from scratch if they wish to practise in their chosen profession. I know family members and friends who work alongside surgeons, dentists, and researchers who must settle for entry-level jobs in their field.

We are sitting on a gold mine of skills and experience. Are we creative enough to mine this precious resource?

Paulo Borges

Winnipeg

Kudos to hospital staff

Recently I was the beneficiary of surgical stay at St. Boniface Hospital.

I attended with apprehension and trepidation, based on the adverse publicity showered on Winnipeg’s health-care system.

To my very pleasant surprise, I encountered the opposite.

From the get-go, I was treated with the utmost respect, concern and assistance. All the hospital staff were polite, efficient and incredibly accommodating. In particular, I was impressed by their positive attitude. This applied to everyone I encountered; from the cleaning staff, the orderlies, nurse assistants and the nurses and of course the surgical staff. Their individual positive attitude made it clear to me they were proud to be able to work at St. Boniface hospital. Actually, quite inspiring.

It was evident to me that kind of attitude can only be generated by exceptional management leadership.

I was truly blessed.

W. Al Redekopp

Winnipeg

Space key source of knowledge

Re: “Sheer luna-cy” (Letters, April 17)

Discard space exploration’s visionary nature if you must. Dismiss progress as myth and denounce science as false religion. What you cannot deny is that humanity needs accurate facts in order to function and survive. In a complex, opaque, changing, and often inimical universe, discovering new facts helps us to collectively escape disaster.

Space exploration is a source of facts impossible to come by terrestrially. Farmers like to know about the weather. Space weather, which can be as dangerous to our technological civilization as droughts or floods can be to crops, is also worth knowing about. So is how to grow artificial retinas in zero-g, how to deflect incoming asteroids, and how to mine helium-3 on the moon.

The universe is full of unknown facts and we don’t know which we will need when, and which we won’t, and we won’t find them unless we look. What better way to ensure that the world remains locked into “violence, anarchy, and revolution” than to remain as ignorant and myopic as possible?

Gregory Unger

Cooks Creek, Man.