Letters, July 9

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/07/2024 (489 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City deep in the hole

Re: Can’t fill potholes fast enough (July 6)

Which much-needed public works projects could we postpone to catch up on pothole filling?

Which pools could we decommission to save some cash?

Which bridges should we close and never reopen?

Which city-owned buildings could we give to community groups in order to reduce our infrastructure deficit?

How many vacant and derelict properties could we seize and give away in order to avoid having to pay for demolition?

How many vacant city jobs could we simply not fill?

And one more question: do these sound like the musings of a city in good financial health?

Every year, we’re forced to make more and more tough decisions. There’s no plan in sight for how to turn this ship around. Every year we grow, yet life for residents gets a little worse. Why is that?

Like most cities across North America, we fell for a growth Ponzi scheme. We’ve built our city in a way that cannot pay for itself, and we continue to double down on this approach through debt-fuelled road widenings and mega-projects. That’s the real story, one that Winnipeggers deserve to know and understand.

Emma Durand-Wood

Winnipeg

Kudos for apology

Re: An apology for the past, a pledge to do better (July 5)

I was incredibly impressed with Tom Brodbeck’s article in the July 5 edition of the Free Press where he apologized for views he had held and expressed in articles written 10 years ago for a different newspaper. This article was just one long expose of former views of his which he now realized were radically incomplete or incorrect. And he apologized fully and didn’t offer any lame excuses or outs of any sort.

He took full responsibility for what he had said and he presented the new radically different perspectives which he had now. I have read many of his articles in the last five years and I know that he has completely changed his perspective on almost all aspects of the Indigenous experience in Canada. Bravo Tom.

David Letkemann

Winnipeg

Tom Brodbeck deserves a lot of credit for publicly discussing his evolving relationship with Indigenous people. It takes a certain amount of character to publicly take ownership of your past wrongdoings, apologize for them and to commit to doing better going forward.

Over time he has learned more about colonization, residential schools, the ’60s Scoop and more. His views have evolved to the point they are at today and he commits to learning more in the future. When someone is prepared to tell the unvarnished truth about their past, apologize for it and promise to work harder towards reconciliation, that’s a good thing.

Ernie Gilroy

Winnipeg

Simple solutions

Re: Public asked to weigh in on deadly Trans-Canada intersection (July 5)

The article suggests the government is looking for public input regarding reducing the risk at the site of the horrific loss of lives just one year ago.

With no need for extensive expensive study and not a years time, let’s just use some good old common sense. Add to that , my 32-year career reviewing losses like this that forms the basis of my opinion which i would like to offer.

There is no fix, as driver error and inattention will always be factors, so what needs to done is to force safety. The only way to do this, short of an overpass , which is not warranted by volume, is to make the traffic slow down and complete a manoeuvre, like making stopping mandatory, getting drivers to think about what is transpiring and make whatever decision they need to happen at slow speeds , like from a stop. Traffic circles work, I have been through the one at Highway 2 and 3 at Oak bluff many times and seen no difficulty with it, but they take up considerable space are a long build and will causes issues for semis.

However, nothing works as well as stop lights controlling traffic, making the driver bring his vehicle under control and down to a very reasonable speed which even gives drivers time to correct for a small mistake. The success of lights is evident elsewhere along No. 1 and other roads. With installing lights there is no other cost than the structures themselves, no road redesign or build and no added maintenance. You already have the north-south lights and just need to add the east-west ones plus the yellow warning light indicating change.

Lets make this a priority, dedicate the staff and get it done within weeks, not another year.

Time will tell, but I see nothing but success with this change.

John Zaplitny

Carman

Sympathy for Harris

I never thought I would be writing a letter in support of U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris, but I am. Please excuse the whirring noise, it’s my conservative father spinning in his grave.

President Joe Biden is suffering from some degree of cognitive deficiency. We don’t know the extent as Biden refuses to undergo an independent medical evaluation. This is the precise reason why a vice-president exists. She or he takes over when the president cannot perform his duties for medical reasons or tragedies such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963.

I understand Harris is annoyed as names of possible alternatives focus on Democratic governors who happen to be white and predominantly male. If Harris is ignored, she would have every right to shout: “What am I doing with this office in Washington?”

Harris is Black and female, two absolutely vital sectors if the Democrats hope to win in November. Also, these factors hint that she may be sensitive to structural barriers facing these two demographics.

The Democratic Party should be making better use of Harris. Instead, I am afraid she is drumming her fingers with frustration. I don’t blame her.

Kurt Clyde

Winnipeg

A look at hunting rights

Re: Minister approves northern moose, elk hunt (June 27)

Manitoba Natural Resources Minister Jamie Moses is entirely correct in closely examining the issuing of recreational moose and elk licences hat would apply to Manitoba’s unoccupied Crown lands.

The 1930 natural resources transfer agreement requires the minister provide Indigenous people in Manitoba with the first opportunity to harvest game that may exist upon the province’s unoccupied Crown lands. If after this allocation there remains a supply of game in excess of the needs of Indigenous people, the minister may allocate this surplus to licensed Manitoban hunters. If after this allocation there remains a surplus of game, the minister may allocate this surplus to recreational hunters from other provinces.

If after all these allocations there still remains as surplus of game, the minister may allocate this surplus to foreign recreational hunters. It is the minister’s responsibility to provide proof that surpluses of elk and moose exist.

Chris Heald, senior policy adviser for the Manitoba Wildlife Federation has chosen to ignore the terms of the 1930 agreement by claiming Indigenous hunters don’t have “exclusive priority” to the province’s game populations which exist on unoccupied Crown land. The MWF then proceeds to declare it will “take any steps necessary to defend our outdoor heritage and legally enshrined right to hunt in this province.”

These words would indicate that the MWF is planning to go to court to challenge the constitutionality of the Indigenous hunting rights guaranteed under the terms of the 1930 agreements. Good luck with that.

Fred Tait

Rossendale