Letters, Dec. 16

Must condemn attack

The recent attack on a Jewish holiday celebration at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach is an act of unspeakable evil that has shocked Australia and the world. The deliberate targeting of innocent men, women and children who gathered to celebrate the sacred festival of Hanukkah is not only a crime against the Jewish community, but an assault on humanity itself.

This was not random violence. It was a calculated act of terror driven by hatred and antisemitism. That such brutality could unfold in a place associated with joy, faith and togetherness makes the tragedy all the more devastating. A celebration meant to honour light, resilience and hope was instead marked by bloodshed and fear.

Just last year at this time, we were in Sydney with a group of friends. We experienced the city as welcoming, vibrant and deeply peaceful. Reflecting on that memory now, in light of what has occurred at Bondi Beach, is heartbreaking and deeply disturbing. It is difficult to comprehend how such a serene and beloved place could become the scene of such hatred and violence.

There must be no ambiguity in condemning this atrocity. Terrorism, antisemitism and hate-driven violence have no place in any society. They erode our shared values and threaten the fundamental right of every person to live, worship and gather without fear.

We mourn the lives lost and extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. We also honour the courage of first responders and all those who acted bravely under unimaginable circumstances.

The world condemns this barbaric killing of innocent people. May the memory of those lost be a blessing, and may justice, unity and compassion prevail.

Yog Rahi Gupta

Winnipeg

The people’s will

Re: Poilievre says Carney trying to manipulate his way to majority (Dec. 13)

It is difficult to comprehend the evolving state of political vitriol occurring in our country. Equally disquieting is sanctimonious, hypocritical statements from political leaders. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accuses Prime Minister Mark Carney of political manipulation and is also quoted in the article saying “we need the will of the Canadian people to be respected.”

Poilievre lost his constituency seat in our last general election. Was that not the will of the Canadian people?

Kathy Johnson

Winnipeg

A long ride

I try to be environmentally responsible, so over the summer I rode the new bus system in order to get downtown to the Exchange District but decided to test out the new “improved” transit system during the winter to attend a show.

Although my summertime journey was bearable, the winter one left me chilled to the bone.

In the past, I only had to take one bus to get to the concert hall station. Now I have to transfer at least once, if not twice, to get downtown. You have to wait for the second bus in the Osborne Station, which is inhabited by many pigeons in the summer and is freezing in the winter months as it acts like a wind tunnel. The bus shelter by city hall has no doors on it anymore and merely acts as a bit of a windbreak. The stop for the F6 bus closest to Osborne Station is wide open to the elements with nothing there except a construction site.

My journey home took close to an hour — including wait times standing at the bus stops.

I will no longer attempt to ride the bus in the winter unless I only have one bus to catch. Three bus stops have been removed in my neighbourhood causing people, many of them seniors, to walk further to catch a bus. How can these changes ever be deemed “improvements”?

Some people may have found benefits in service, but I venture to think that they are in the minority. Students taking the bus to university are late for classes as the scheduled full bus passes them by — forcing them to wait for the next bus.

The spine and feeder bus system does not work. How many people travel from St. Vital Shopping Centre to Garden City, or travel from Unicity via Grant all the way to Transcona?

The old system, although there were some issues requiring attention, routed many buses through the downtown areas allowing passengers to intersect with other buses to take them to other parts of town, largely along the Graham Avenue Corridor (which had many bus shelters).

There has been much talk of revitalizing the downtown, but cancelling many routes through this area obviously has the opposite effect.

I have two words to impart to the designer of this “spine and feeder” system: it sucks!

Alice French

Winnipeg

Dealing with the AI era

Re: Learning in an AI world (Dec. 12); Quest for viral soundbites drags question period into gutter (Dec. 13)

I really appreciated the articles on AI in education and the different perspectives that were shared. I read it right after Tom Brodbeck’s piece on decorum (or lack thereof) in the Manitoba legislature.

For those of us in the teaching field, especially in the humanities, part of the answer to the AI conundrum was apparent. We need to really lean into helping our students develop ethics, learn how to talk to each other, evaluate information and disagree in a civil way.

As Brodbeck suggests, the behaviour in the legislature reflects on society as a whole and is a threat to democracy. Regardless of the subject, education has a key role to play in improving civil discourse — and we have to figure it out quickly.

Gordon Fritzsche

Winnipeg

Ideological shift

If I were a Liberal, I would think twice before celebrating the floor-crossing of two Conservatives into their caucus.

What this signals very clearly is that the Liberals have moved far enough from centre-right to far-right on key issues (military spending, resource extraction and climate policy, border security and surveillance, foreign policy) that they’ve effectively become a safe space for weak-kneed conservatives that have a distaste for vulgar rhetoric but still want to gut spending on anything that benefits everyday, working and poor Canadians.

The Liberals have become the CPC-Lite, and this will all but ensure an even further slide into far-right radicalism within the Conservative movement and harden their already rabid base.

Under the leadership of a former banker, Prime Minister Mark Carney, there is very little discernible difference between these parties — which are, in real terms, the only viable parties at the federal level for the time being — and this is bad news all around for Canadian “democracy.”

This is nothing for Liberals to pat themselves on the back for, and certainly nothing for average Canadians to celebrate.

Evan Marnoch

Winnipeg

Stories and histories

Re: Making sure the whole story is told (Think Tank, Dec. 10)

The recent decision by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to include an exhibit about the Nakba (the forcible expulsion of over half the non-Jewish population of British mandated Palestine in 1947-48) has elicited both support and condemnation from within Jewish circles in Canada. Supporters say the Nakba is a historic injustice that deserves a place in a museum dedicated to human rights, while those condemning this decision decry the exhibit will be biased.

While Sam Azoory does not dispute the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes (by Zionist militias), he puts the blame on Arab states bordering Israel — interesting indeed. I wonder how he would explain the ongoing displacement and slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as Lebanese and Syrians by the Israeli military and armed settler gangs.

There is no issue in the CMHR creating an exhibit of his personal (and his family’s) experience in the Middle East. However, it would be deceiving to suggest that this would somehow ensure that the “whole story” is told.

Rubin Kantorovich

Winnipeg