Letters, March 10

Sorry, not sorry

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox News, “They refuse to sell U.S. wine and spirits on their shelves.”

Are these people so out of touch with reality that they can make a statement like that and actually think Canada is in the wrong?

They have piled tariffs on our steel, aluminum, softwood lumber, automobiles and other products. Their actions have caused job losses in Canada, financial losses and general hardship to Canadians as a whole and they’re upset we’re not selling their alcohol?

Unbelievable. How can you even negotiate with people like that who have zero idea of what “fair” trade means?

It means both sides benefit.

It may be a small victory but it makes me smile to know not selling their liquor is bothering them. Good for us!

Ken McLean

Starbuck

Lost customers

On Saturday, March 7, my wife and I attended a fabulous concert by our world class Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

We used to take the bus to concerts after moving downtown a few years ago before the change to the transit system, as it was quite convenient and we didn’t have to bother with parking.

However, this time we carpooled with several other residents of our building, all previous transit users.

We all hold seasons tickets to the WSO, but won’t be taking transit to the concerts because there is no longer a direct route that links Main Street through to Portage Avenue.

The combination of worries about confrontations with people suffering meth psychosis, trying to navigate icy sidewalks and braving cold weather make downtown transfers unattractive to us seniors.

I feel the planners of the new system have disrespected and inconvenienced us loyal users to try and attract a new client base that I suspect will not happen.

Eric Hemmerling

Winnipeg

Not going far enough

Re: Government introduces wide array of proposed legislation, March 5

While I applaud the government’s move to eliminate the need for workplace sick notes, may I also suggest that the legislation also include the same consideration for students missing critical exams because of illness.

Students already on shoestring budgets do not need to pay $20 for a sick note or risk failing a course, and an already overwhelmed medical system does not need that useless time-waster from getting in the way of useful medical services.

Les Hanson

Winnipeg

Iran and state terror

In his op-ed A long western history of vilifying Iran, March 5, Alex Passey suggests that Iran is merely a “bit player” whose influence is overstated and whose involvement in proxy warfare is based on “flimsy” evidence.

Iran has spent decades sponsoring terrorism far beyond the Middle East.

The 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Centre in Buenos Aires — which killed 85 people — was not an ambiguous event. Multiple sources have confirmed that Iran directed the attack and that Hezbollah carried it out under Iran’s guidance.

Iran’s deep, organized support for armed proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen is well‑documented.

These are not incidental relationships or mere arms sales.

They are instruments of Tehran’s regional strategy, used to project power and destabilize neighbouring states.

Reasonable debate about Western policy is welcome. But dismissing Iran’s role in global terrorism as exaggerated ignores decades of documented evidence.

Iran is not a “bit player.”

It is one of the world’s most persistent state sponsors of terror.

Warren Zimmerman

Winnipeg

No to politics

If Connor McDavid played on an American team and then came home to help the Canadian Olympic team win a gold medal, we would all be pleased to see him honoured by the prime minister.

It’s no different for Connor Hellebuyck. Winnipeg should proud that he and his wife have chosen to live here, and leave political feelings out of it all.

Gladys Bellamy

Winnipeg

Iran and justice

Letter-writer Sahina Siddiqui (“Longing for peace,” March 4) writes that “we all want peace, but we cannot have peace till there is justice.”

I quite agree. That is precisely why the Iranian regime, the world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism, must go.

It is why the people of Iran, and here in the diaspora, have been the loudest voices thanking the U.S. and Israel for weakening the Iranian regime, because they know better than anyone the kind of oppression it inflicts on its own people.

The Iranian regime, since it took power 47 years ago, doesn’t just oppress its own people. It has funded and armed an array of Islamist terrorist proxies around the Middle East, from Hezbollah to Hamas, and openly calls for the annihilation of Israel.

Siddiqui is right — that peace requires justice. And in this case, fighting the murderous Iranian regime is an eminently just cause.

Donna Broslaw

Toronto

Bike lanes and roadways

For the past year, a grassroots coalition of local residents, seniors, pedestrians, and yes, cyclists, has consistently shown up at City Hall. We’ve taken time from our lives to embrace the delegation process at every step, driven by a single, urgent goal: to ensure this council doesn’t lose sight of the critical need for a safer Wellington Crescent.

That’s why it gave me pause to watch some of this council’s longest-serving members dismiss our citizen-led effort as the work of a “radical bike lobby.”

The derision in their tone, the casual dismissiveness, was disheartening.

The contrast in how members of this council treats different stakeholders is stark. Compare the reception given to this citizen-led movement for safer streets to those extended to paid lobbyists for the trucking or heavy construction industries. The very same council members greet them cordially. Then, after their five-minute delegation, they lob soft, “Are you aware…?”-style questions, giving these well-funded interests a platform to further their case.

I can’t help but wonder where we would be today if the Public Works committee had simply listened to the people of this neighbourhood and the public service from the start, and quickly installed temporary bike lanes. The same coalition of citizens would be applauding this council for being responsive and responsible.

Instead, we have a council leveraging every tool at its disposal to delay necessary safety improvements. The byproduct of this obstruction is a community of citizens now watching their every move and holding them accountable for it.

Ian McCausland

Winnipeg

The city of Winnipeg’s plan to establish bike lanes on Wellington Crescent east of Academy Road is necessary to make cycling safe along an important transportation artery.

I am, however, concerned that the city will over-build bike paths and overly restrict vehicle access.

Vehicles and bicycles can operate on city streets in a safe manner. The relatively new bike lanes alongside Berry Street are a good example of how separate bike access can be created without excessive construction costs or vehicle restrictions.

The Berry Street bike paths appear to have been built mostly on the existing boulevard, as narrow is it is. As positive a development as the Berry Street bike lanes is, a curb barrier would make conditions even safer.

If other streets, including Wellington Crescent, require more protection reducing vehicle speed limits to 40 km/h, or adding the occasional speed bump might help.

If it is deemed absolutely necessary to build a separate bike lane in an existing vehicle lane, then the city should consider doing so only on either the north or south curb lanes and have cyclists travelling in both directions sharing that lane.

Eliminating a lane of vehicle traffic in both east- and westbound lanes is unnecessary.

Jeff Delaney

Winnipeg