Letters, Nov. 20

Watch out for ticks

Re: A tick with a new kind of health concern (Editorial, Nov. 19)

To answer your question: Are lone star ticks in Manitoba now? I say yes, they are. I’ve seen one with my own eyes.

About five or six years ago, after working in my garden on a farmyard between Brunkhild and Sperling, I found a tick lodged in my belly button. I removed it with tweezers and noticed a white dot on its back. I searched the internet and identified it as a lone star tick.

Government experts confirmed the identity of the tick and came out to my farm to drag white sheets all around, but did not find any more ticks, probably because it was in July, late in the tick season.

I worried a lot about potentially developing a meat allergy or other tick-borne illnesses, but was relieved and felt very fortunate when I remained healthy.

My advice to Manitobans: Tuck in your pants and check yourself for ticks thoroughly after you return home from the glorious outdoors.

Katharina Stieffenhofer

Winnipeg

Manitoba comes together

Premier Wab Kinew honoured his commitment to raise the Palestinian flag after the prime minister officially recognized the Palestinian state. Thank you to the premier for also bringing Palestinian children to Manitoba for medical treatment, an example for the rest of Canada to follow.

On Saturday, I had the honour of witnessing humanity at its best with my grandchildren. A young boy, Sufian, whose family is originally from Pakistan, raised the flag with determined energy and amid the calls — Long live Palestine! and God is great, rose from the hundreds of Indigenous, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and the Palestinian diaspora. A mix of tears, smiles, and hugs followed.

Speakers represented the diversity of Manitoba, from Treaty recognition to recitation of the Qur’an and interfaith prayers.

For me, it was a day of reflection and thanksgiving. I chose Winnipeg as my home more than four decades ago, when I visited my sister from New York. She lived in Brandon and drove me to Winnipeg to her “big” city. I told my husband this is where we will bring up our family — this city has a soul.

Over the years, I have personally experienced the warmth, support, and genuine care from Manitobans, especially Winnipeggers, as I have faced challenges in my path to speak up for human rights and justice. I am very grateful and humbled by this genuine love and respect from every sector of society. I wish we could transport this ‘”soul” to the rest of the world.

Nov. 15, 2025, will go down in history as a day when multiple generations witnessed the soul of Winnipeg shining through. The rising of the sun and fluttering of the flag in the Winnipeg’s cool breeze, made us shiver, tears rolled down remembering the innocent lives lost, the cruelty of hate and the ugly face of inhumanity.

However, this sliver of hope also made us smile, knowing that in Manitoba, humanity is alive!

My heartfelt gratitude and prayers for the hundreds of Manitobans who have been marching for more than two years, calling for justice, humanitarian aid, medical and food supplies for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

May the Creator bless and protect the young champions of justice and human rights.

A city with a human rights museum, built on sacred land of the Indigenous, where the two rivers meet — we cannot despair!

Shahina Siddiqui

Winnipeg

Constructive criticism

I wanted to commend the Free Press for running two excellent book reviews this last Saturday, both in a negative vein. Donald Benham’s review of the essay anthology The Keystone Province includes a wonderful list of all the missed opportunities in what looks like an unusually soporific academic book.

Then Gene Walz’s review of the latest Michael Connelly legal drama lays out how a “hasty, contrived, preachy,” agenda derails what should be an enjoyable, mildly stimulating page-turner.

Publishers and writers have a tendency to think of book reviews as a long-form press release, but of course they should really be about informing readers and making a judgment on whether a book is worth someone’s time. Negative reviews are essential to a healthy book culture. Thank you for keeping faith with readers!

Maurice Mierau

Winnipeg

Sentences too short, parole too easy

Re: Lamb case an injustice then, an injustice now (Nov. 15)

Niigaan Sinclair’s article accurately points out the tragic and all-too-frequent results of our soft justice system. As he notes, Shawn Lamb was given far too light a sentence for someone who “…was a brutal person with a long history of violence.”

And then things were made worse by the early parole given to Lamb based on factors which have zero relevance to public safety.

With all the focus on bail reform, it seems we are missing an even more important facet of the equation. We need to substantially increase the sentences handed out to convicted violent offenders, and remove the various excuses built into our so-called justice system. These excuses result in sentences which are too short, and parole which is too easily granted. The victims of these repeated violent offenders are no less injured or dead, irrespective of the excuses the criminals use to get out of prison quickly.

Yes, this approach might require building more prisons and courtrooms, and hiring more prosecutors and judges. I imagine most law-abiding citizens would have no concern with that use of their taxpayer dollars — versus dumping money down the bottomless pit of social programs for criminals, which have done little to stem the rising tide of violent crime over the past few decades since they were introduced.

Steve Teller

Winnipeg

Providing incentives

Re: Doctor retention needs focus in year ahead (Think Tank, Nov. 18)

Dr. Nichelle Desilets is to be commended for raising all valid critical points regarding physician retention in Manitoba. She missed, however, one key factor needed for retention.

One essential part of the cure is offering financial incentives for new graduates. She states 40 per cent of new graduates are leaving Manitoba ( about 40-50 per year). I doubt that’s due to burnout, since they haven’t been part of the system long enough yet.

When I graduated physiotherapy in 1991, half of our class left Manitoba and many went to the U.S. There were American recruiters here offering physiotherapists, doctors and other health-care professionals large monetary incentives to sign with health-care companies. This still occurs and it works.

So what can be done? There are some government strategies in place but it’s clearly not enough. There must be more attractive monetary incentives. A contract should be offered that stipulates remaining here for five years in order to reap a financial reward (if someone stays five years, chances are their roots will grow to stay long-term). Provide even greater incentives for rural health-care students that return to their communities.

I’ve heard the comment that this approach is against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is not true. If the contract is voluntary and informed there is no issue. If the government restricted the ability of a student to leave Manitoba without an opportunity of repayment then that is unconstitutional.

There are successful examples of this solution already in Manitoba history. My father was offered $2,000 to remain in Manitoba to teach in the public system for two years in 1966. He then taught here for 35 years.

As part of their efforts, Doctors Manitoba must add this model of financial incentives to the prescription for retention of physicians in Manitoba.

Kelly Milan

Winnipeg