Letters, Jan. 19

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/01/2024 (978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Stress test

With the recent talk about Winnipeg Transit, some bus riders might be worried that the service will become too good and reliable to test their mettle. Fortunately, they need not be concerned, at least if my experiences this week are any indication.

Bus riders have seen how Transit authorities have removed the some or all of the walls on most shelters to keep the homeless from camping there while simultaneously allowing passengers the opportunity to test their resistance to frostbite.

Meanwhile, drivers have apparently received instructions to make the system as unreliable as possible, likely to test the passengers’ patience. The driver of my bus on Monday and Tuesday this week made only a feeble effort, arriving a mere ten minutes late. Wednesday’s driver was more ambitious, as she arrived 25 minutes after the appointed time.

I can’t wait to see what tests come next for us!

Susan Huebert

Winnipeg

Performance review

I don’t own, nor could I afford an EV if I desired one, but I am curious and would like to hear from all those EV enthusiasts on their performance in this recent cold snap that all of North America has been experiencing.

Nothing unusual, as this weather is normal for this country at this time of year. The reason I ask is I have been reading that many people in the U.S. have been experiencing problems such as declining performance, weaker battery life, increased charging time and long lineups at charging stations. I have read or heard nothing about any impact on the weather in regards to its ability on performance from those who own one in Winnipeg. Is what I have been hearing from reports out of the U.S. just an anomaly or is it a reality? Are EVs just a sometimes-working vehicle? A fair-weather vehicle? Are EV buyers denying the credibility of science, logic and reason when it comes to our climate and EV performance?

I know they are when it involves saving the planet as lithium and cobalt mining are open pit environmental disasters, most countries mining these minerals are abusers of human rights and most of the electricity produced to recharge them in the world is produced by coal-burning plants.

Kim Trethart

Winnipeg

Professionalism and integrity

Re: IIU hands shooting investigation to Alberta agency (Jan. 11)

It’s shocking and hard to process. Why can’t our Winnipeg police prevent deaths when confronted with an agitated person, a person in a mental health crisis?

Given the information by the media we are told that 19-year-old Mr. Opaso was shot and killed by the police because he had a knife, there was no indication that Mr. Opaso attacked police. There is always detailed information on proper protocal within the Independent Investigation Unit (IIU). The Jan. 11 article in the Free Press indicates “There are no concerns over the professionalism and integrity of the work done by IIU investigators.” Should this professionalism and integrity also apply to the WPS? Mr. Opaso was known to the WPS. He had a history, this is important to know beforehand.

On Dec. 31, 2023, WPS responded to a 911 call about a man (Mr. Opaso) who was possibly armed and acting erratically. So does this sound like someone in a mental health crisis? I would say so. This deadly incident marked the second time in less than a week that the police shot and killed a suspect.

In December 2021 the Alternative Response to Citizens in Crisis (ARCC) program was launched. ARCC is a co-response model to address 911 calls that require additional supports for people experiencing a mental health crisis. A mental health clinician(s) and a police officer(s) will be dispatched.

There is a glowing report on the ARCC project (Shared Health Nov 29/21) that makes one feel very hopeful for positive results. Was this support offered to Mr. Opaso? Again, no detail on what was offered, just another file off to the IIU.

City News reported an incident where the WPS attended to an agitated person on Jan. 3. The police fired a foam bullet and taser, then took the person to hospital.

So why wasn’t a foam bullet and/or taser used on Mr. Opaso if needed?

Mr. Opaso, only 19 years old, moved to Canada to better himself. He studied, had two jobs and had to send money home to his family. It’s easy to understand the stress he was under. Our system has to change not only with the WPS but with foreign students who perhaps need to be aware of expectations and needs before becoming a foreign student.

Sharon Kletke

Winnipeg

Clear communication

Re: The benefits of getting rid of grading (Think Tank, Jan. 13)

I agree that that too much emphasis can be put on grading, especially when it becomes about who is doing better than someone else. However, there does have to be some clearly defined way by which student learning is determined and then clearly communicated to students and parents/caregivers.

The problem with the opinion as presented by Ken Clark is that it lacks specifics about how this would be done in the absence of some form of traditional marking and grading: “Reporting to parents would indicate where along the paths the student is, and next steps for learning.” To abandon traditional marking and grading requires specifics about what it will be replaced with. In this case, the devil truly is in the details.

This, by the way, is especially important when it comes to struggling learners. They, more than any other student (and their teachers and parents/caregivers), need to know in specific terms what they are and are not learning.

Gerald Farthing

Winnipeg

Cut costs the public

Re: Keep the gas tax savings going (Think tank, Jan. 16)

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation appears blind to the fiscal and environmental realities facing the Manitoba government with their position on the gas tax cut for motorists.

This tax cut comes at the expense of the public purse and the pressing need for improved health care and public infrastructure. Since the NDP announced the gas tax cut, the Manitoba deficit has quadrupled from $369 million to $1.6 billion dollars. Manitoba is currently borrowing to backfill this revenue and give massive tax breaks, which mainly benefit middle and upper-income people, and do little to help low and moderate income people.

The revenue from the gas tax — and more revenue — is needed to bring down the deficit and fund important programs that would address the affordability crisis affecting those living paycheque to paycheque, things like access to health care and child care, eliminating school fees, renewing the 50/50 funding agreement for transit etc.

What’s more, Manitoba inflation rates have come down to 1.7 per cent as per December, before the gas tax cut was even introduced, so the NDP politically has a reason to end this anti-environmental populist policy commitment.

Molly McCracken

Director, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives — Manitoba office

Winnipeg