Letters, May 18

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/05/2024 (852 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Theft, past and present

Re: Rules are rules (Letters, May 17)

Please be advised that I do not condone theft of any kind.

Grand Chief Cathy Merrick understands the history of the land theft by Europeans in North America. The Europeans laid claim to a whole continent of North America by the flimsy excuse that they had “discovered” this new land.

At least the aboriginals in Manitoba have a leader that will stand up for her race of people and defend them regardless of the “rules” as set up by European immigrants.

Aboriginals in Canada had been victimized duped, swindled, fooled, deceived and hoodwinked by Europeans throughout their history as taught in their schools. The Indian Treaties were a sham according to the studies that I read. They stole a whole continent of North America.

Hungry and deceived and desperate people who were historically wronged will do anything to survive.

Ralph Paul

Winnipeg

Use what we have

Re: For-profit provider says there’s ‘implied consent’ to drug use by youth in care (May 16); A teardown isn’t the solution (Think Tank, May 8)

This article reports that foster care provider Spirit Rising House was shut down by the government in February. The organization says that the provincial government “ripped 34 youth from their homes and put 130 support professionals out of work.”

They claim that these youth were not placed into safety as promised by the government of Manitoba, and that those as young as 14 and 15 have been placed into independent living with little support. They say that established schooling has not been continued, addiction and mental-health needs have not been addressed, and some have even gone missing.

In the article on May 8 about public housing at Centre Village, William Hanuschak said this: “The problems that developed with this project were not related to the building design, but rather with the occupants in it and their lifestyle, as well as how this project was managed.”

Centre Village was designed to encourage a sense of community and belonging for the immigrant community. With some modest alterations, the existing facility would be ideal for a community of young adults leaving the child welfare system.

Centre Village has 25 units of one to four bedrooms built around an empty outdoor court. Let’s add gates to this complex and build a large common room in the courtyard. One of the apartments in the complex will be occupied 24-7 by support staff for the residents. By using the existing facility, this plan will save millions of dollars that can be used to provide the supports that are needed by youth aging out of care.

Rich North

Winnipeg

Pools should be maintained

Re: What does our city value? (Think Tank, May 17)

Thanks to Erna Buffie for her article. It does look for all the world like the city’s administration is trying to create another doughnut city in the North American style by neglecting older working-class neighbourhoods in favour of flashy new suburban developments. This needs to change.

Locally accessible public pools are a valuable recreational asset and a place for kids to learn to swim. They should be maintained for as long as they have a clientele to enjoy them. And if pools are too expensive to maintain, then how does it make sense to build more of them in suburban spaces? The cost would be so much less to simply scatter half a dozen splash pads around Waverley West and call it a day.

Long live Happyland Pool!

John Morrison

Winnipeg

Tobacco trouble

Re: Phase out, not pay out (Think Tank, May 15)

In their article authors Callard, Douglas and Hagen urge the provincial governments to use their lawsuits against big tobacco companies to phase out the sale of legal tobacco products in Canada, instead of taking billions of dollars in payouts from them.

But if their efforts succeeded, the only beneficiaries would be organized crime.

Police estimate that as many as 175 criminal organizations are involved in the sale of contraband cigarettes in Canada. Presently, it is estimated that illegal sales of contraband cigarettes account for a significant portion of all tobacco sales in B.C., Ontario, Newfoundland and Quebec. In B.C., a carton of legally sold cigarettes sells for around $180, while a carton of black market cigarettes costs $45 to $50.

Some small business owners say they are losing as much as $200,000 a year in sales compared to a few years ago, and a conservative estimate pegs the loss of government taxes at $2 billion a year. If legal tobacco sales were outlawed in Canada, 100 per cent of tobacco sales would be controlled by criminals, and the “vicious cycle of addiction, disease and health-care costs” will not end. The big tobacco companies presently have $12 billion set aside to cover all provincial and private claims against them.

How much do they think organized crime might have set aside to pay for the harm their products have caused?

Bill Parkes

Winnipeg

Sanitation solutions

Having recently visited Grand Forks, N.D., with my family, I noticed and even used a very innovative and practical solution to help reduce the spreading of germs and disease in a fast food restaurant. It could have been the result of COVID-19.

It was the invention of a heavy duty metal “foot/boot gripper” attached to the right side bottom corner of a men’s restroom door that allowed a person to exit the restroom by opening the door with their foot without touching the door handle with their hands.

That’s a practical and terrific idea. The women’s restroom also had one.

Robert J. Moskal

Winnipeg

Last word in safety

I was driving through the newly built interchange on the West Portage la Prairie bypass yesterday, and once again was dismayed at the poor signage and lack of speed reduction at the original rail crossing bridge.

It is a diagonal jolt that violently twists your vehicle and an unprepared driver could easily lose control. As I came off the bridge I was shocked to see a B-train semi-trailer that had obviously come apart from impacting this road hazard. The rear trailer was nosed into the right hand shoulder, the truck and front trailer stopped on the opposite side. It was a situation that could easily have led to a fatality.

When I phoned Manitoba Infrastructure in Portage, I might just as well have been talking to the janitor for all the concern expressed. The person I spoke to told me that they had seen the accident and had told the contractor there would be an incident and somebody would get hurt. When I asked who I should call about the road hazard, he actually asked why I thought the highways department had any responsibility and that they were only in charge of maintenance.

I’ve worked in construction for 35 years, and the thing that is constantly drilled into every worker is that safety is everyone’s job.

As a parallel, any time I’ve phoned Manitoba Hydro with a safety concern, the response has been immediate and proactive. The fact Manitoba Infrastructure has no one in charge of safety is an egregious failure of policy.

The fact they have no clear mechanism to report serious road hazards is startling in this day and age.

The most dangerous thing most Manitobans do each day is drive on our highways. It’s time Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor and the department she oversees adopt a culture of safety, where everyone participates.

After all, our roadways are just as much part of the safety network of the province as are fire, ambulance and police services.

Yours:

A.G. McIlraith

Dugald