Letters, Oct. 8

A call for digital revolution

Re: MPI on new path after Project Nova debacle (Oct. 6)

Computer scientist Melvin Conway once stated, “Any organization that designs a system (defined broadly) will produce a design whose structure is a copy of the organization’s communication structure.”

This is seen clearly in the Manitoba government’s online service. The Manitoba government has a “Data MB” portal to view government data sets, but data about vehicle collisions is only accessible from Manitoba Public Insurance’s Manitoba Collision Dashboard. If you need to find information on a Manitoba surgeon, that information is on Shared Health’s website, but if you need surgical wait times, that’s on the main government website.

Manitoba’s digital services are organized based on what part of the government oversees the data, not by what would make most sense to a user. These websites also all have inconsistent designs, user experiences, login procedures and accessibility tools.

The U.K. government faced this same issue back in 2011, operating nearly 2,000 websites. To combat this, it launched a new Government Digital Service (GDS), tasked with creating a single website for central government operations. That website, GOV.UK, was launched within a year and won design awards in 2013. The U.K. is now a leader in operating digital government services thanks to GDS. These efforts saved millions on website hosting and reduced phone calls, all while improving services and leading to a more transparent government.

When Martha Lane Fox proposed the idea of GDS to the UK government, she titled her proposal “Revolution not Evolution.” GDS was not just responsible for building a website, it rethought the way governments should produce digital services, writing standards for security, user feedback, accessibility, testing and more. Importantly, GDS was given budgetary control of new government services, and could refuse those which didn’t comply with the standards.

With MPI announcing it is slowing down its already long overdue modernization, and core digital government services a disorganized mess, Manitoba is getting nowhere fast when it comes to digital services. We need a revolution, not slow, incremental, evolution.

Christian Le Breton, Headingley

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Dancing in the dark

Re: “Grin and bear it” (Letters, Oct. 7)

I, too, have worked shifts, very similar to this letter writer, and I accepted this as a condition of employment. I had a choice, but children have had no choice in this change (to permanent daylight time).

I also live in a community with few sidewalks. I pass children walking on the streets, cycling without lights or reflectors and now riding electric scooters, also without lights, when it’s dark. What will happen to them as drivers try to pass them in the dark?

I see parents racing to get their children to school on time and in my neighbourhood there are three schools in close proximity. With this change, there is a potential for an increase in traffic, as parents weigh the dangers of their children getting to school on their own before sunrise. School buses and vehicles galore.

So much for a healthy lifestyle.

Lee Mencik, Winnipeg

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AI outracing governance

Re: AI governance: Canada’s next structural test (Think Tank, Oct. 7)

Anne Thompson is right: AI is not merely technical — it is about structure, obligation and responsibility. Canada needs governance that moves faster than AI development. Where is (minister of artificial intelligence and digital evolution) Evan Solomon?

Perhaps the ostrich in the editorial cartoon represents more than one person; it represents anyone in government, politics and media who keeps their head in the sand while AI races ahead. Let’s hope Canada looks up and builds the guardrails before the axe falls.

Wayne C. Wagner, Winnipeg

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Better to embrace criticism

Re: Keeping the lights on (Oct. 5)

Yogi Berra once said, “It’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future.”

Planning for Manitoba’s energy future is no doubt a fiendishly hard job. Forecasting energy supply and demand requires assumptions not only about current technologies, but also about trends in wind and solar production, battery storage, efficiency alternatives, fuel costs, electric-vehicle adoption rates and computing power needs, to give a short list. There are also consequential choices on the value assigned to the future in terms of discount rates and the impact of externalities.

Yes, (we) need to have some sympathy for Manitoba Hydro’s planners — it will always be hard to get it right. To arrive at the best possible solutions, Manitoba Hydro should encourage its external critics. Hal Turner, Hydo’s (interim) CEO, seems to be falling into a defensive trap when he writes, “(c)ritics, who are not responsible for the reliability of your energy system, have questioned our planning, often by pointing to examples from other systems.”

Perhaps it would have been better to say, “Great, customers and citizens are questioning our planning; they care enough to try to make our solutions better.”

We have a Public Utilities Board process to test Hydro forecasts and rate-setting. But not every interested citizen has standing or time or resources to participate in that way. The Free Press does us all a service by featuring different views of Manitoba’s energy future.

Ian Gillies, Winnipeg

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A bold prediction

Re: Broadening prediction-market gambling a bad idea (Editorial, Oct. 3)

I predict prediction-market gambling will come to pass because it is too alluring as a new revenue stream for governments.

Gambling is a proven, highly destructive social blight. But, as we continue to lower the ethical bar for acceptable societal behaviours and activities it comes as no surprise. I would go further and say that governments should not even be directly involved in gambling because of its predatory nature. Regulate it, yes. Participate in it, no.

If you want to gamble, that is your prerogative. I just don’t think governments should be luring constituents into such an addictive trap. There are so many other ways governments can raise money, but that’s for another time. And no, I am not going to “invest” in my prediction at the beginning, even if I could.

Glenn S. Hansen, Winnipeg

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Death penalty pitfalls

Re: Botched execution revives death penalty debate (Think Tank, Oct. 6)

Every once in a while we hear of innocent people being condemned to life in prison for many years, often decades. Once their cases have been reviewed and their innocence confirmed, they are given compensation, often in the millions of dollars.

What would happen if an innocent person were condemned to death and the execution was successful? As a Canadian, I am very glad our country does not have the death penalty, and I do hope our neighbour to the south starts to rethink this penalty.

Judy Herscovitch, Winnipeg