Letters, Jan. 26

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/01/2024 (975 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Babysitting duty

Re: Frustrated fire crews required to ‘babysit’ impaired drivers for police (Jan. 23)

Regarding the story about firefighters having to “babysit” drunk drivers until police can attend did not mention one possible solution.

What about calling on the Winnipeg Auxiliary Cadets to provide custodial duty in these cases? They are police officer in training, are they not?

Michael Dowling

Winnipeg

A firefighter is quoted as stating that crews are forced to “babysit” suspected impaired drivers until police arrive, which may take hours. The lengthy time spent having to hang around until police arrive prevents them from responding to other calls and/or emergencies and are a waste of taxpayer’s money and emergency services.

The firefighter states that calls are given a higher priority “resulting in a swifter police response — if an assault occurs or if there is a danger, such as the driver having a weapon.”

If a 3,000-pound vehicle in the hands of a drunk driver is not a weapon, I don’t know what is.

Two words: Jordyn Reimer.

Carol Kemp

Winnipeg

Could the cadets babysit the impaired drivers instead of the fire crews? Give them the authority to transfer them to the jails.

Brenda Boss

Winnipeg

Good grade for Samyn

Re: We’re listening to — and learning from — our readers (Jan. 25)

Paul Samyn just earned an A+ from this former creative communications instructor for his forthright editorial in the Thursday, Jan. 25 edition of the Free Press.

In a world in which far too many exacerbate division and combativeness, fuelled by the ill-informed opinion, biased drivel and manufactured nonsense that permeates the tabloid press and the internet, I applaud Paul’s balanced approach to bringing us the news of the day. Too bad other journalists/commentators and the “social media influencers” don’t have a similar style book.

Rene Jamieson

Winnipeg

Speak for the trees

Re: Councillor wants city to branch out, consider protecting trees with historic designation (Jan. 22)

Three cheers for Coun. Matt Allard and his efforts to protect the trees of Winnipeg. I fully understand that it sometimes necessary to remove diseased, dying and unsafe trees but to mow trees down for development when we have acres of bare land is ridiculous.

We have oak trees that are 150 years old or older that get removed for development or simply because people don’t like them. I had a neighbor who had a 125 year old oak tree cut down because she didn’t like the leaves in the fall and then moved three months later. Trees should be given the same protection as historical buildings and not be allowed to be destroyed because someone doesn’t like them.

The developers of the Lemay Forest were lamenting the fact that they had proposed a Lamborghini of plan that saved 33 per cent of the trees and people were against it. That’s because people want 100 per cent of the trees saved and for the developers to leave and find a unforested piece of land. To quote Joni Mitchell “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”

These trees need to be protected.

Ken McLean

Starbuck

As a member group of the Riel Parks And Rivers Coalition (RPARC) we wholeheartedly support Coun. Allard’s new motion which aims to better protect some cottonwood groves in his St. Boniface ward by adding them to the city’s list of historical resources. Coun. Allard says, “The historic designation holds a lot of weight…”

Another member of our coalition from OURS Winnipeg, Pam Lucenkiw, also mentioned that “They have a heritage that benefited people for (many) years.”

So may RPARC ask Coun. Allard: why not save the riparian forest along the Seine River corridor by designating the oaks as heritage trees? Much more than the giant cottonwoods for shade, the oaks were used for building the first habitations at Red River (such as the St. Boniface Museum) and they were extensively used in the building of the iconic Red River carts along with furniture, fences etc. and were the wood of choice for heating homes.

Georges Beaudry

Dominion City

Staffing method not good for system

Re: Manitoba not alone in leaning on private agency nurses (Jan. 24)

I read the article with interest. I observe that the two examples cited, of the use of private agency nurses, are both in provinces that are or were recently under the control of conservative governments.

Provincial governments play a definitive role in how health care is administered across this country. While many of the basic needs of people are covered across the country, there appears to be a patchwork of care when details are considered. In my opinion, this is exacerbated when the provincial governments in charge seem to strangle the funds available to the public health-care system forcing the use of private agencies by our hospitals to meet their responsibilities.

The use of these for-profit agencies has to increase the staffing expenditures. It has always seemed to me that the conservative provincial governments have always been a reluctant participant in our health-care system. What better way to privatize parts of it than by cutting funding to our public system and forcing the use of private agencies? While this may be congruent with their ideals, it does not serve the public well.

In Manitoba, our incoming provincial government seems to have been left a poison pill by the outgoing government. I wish the Kinew government success in the hard work required to repair this damage. I also wonder about the benefits provided to the employees of the private agencies, compared to the nurses working in the public sector.

Ultimately, I feel that this “Uber” style of staffing will not bode well for our system.

Kumar Satish Sharma

Winnipeg

Fix what we have

I read and hear so much about the housing crisis, the need to build more homes, the changes to zoning to make room for more duplexes, and I wonder what the real priority is. In every Winnipeg neighborhood are empty apartment blocks, derelict houses, sketchy rooming houses, beautiful listed buildings left to atrophy, and I wonder if the priority to ‘build affordable housing’ has something more to do with business rather than actually housing people.

Happy tenants make happy communities. It’s murder out there for a reason. Folks live in squalor. Landlords and agencies can’t find incentive to improve living conditions. Meanwhile the city is filled with glaringly empty spaces. The Boyd building comes to mind. An apartment block on Morley and Osborne comes to mind. How many properties are empty? How many are in gross need of improvement? What is the priority again?

I would love to see you reporting on the need to repair and develop what we already have.

Benjamin Darvill

Winnipeg

Name check

Re: Bombers’ home to be renamed Princess Auto Stadium (Jan. 22)

I had suggested some time ago that an appropriate name for our downtown arena would be Terry Fox Memorial Coliseum in perpetuity. Any takers?

Bill Allan

Winnipeg