Letters, Dec. 9

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/12/2020 (1818 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Where’s school evidence?

Day after day, I hear Dr. Brent Roussin repeat the same old saw — there is no evidence of transmission in Manitoba schools. Then I wait for a journalist to ask one simple question: where is the evidence that there isn’t transmission in the schools?

If public health isn’t conducting regular testing in the schools, they don’t know how many school cases we have, where the disease was contracted and whether transmission within the schools is occurring. Nor do they know how many of those potential school-related cases are then being carried to families and the broader society.

We’ve now been in code red lockdown almost a month, and Winnipeg’s test positivity rate hasn’t budged much from 14 per cent. Public-health officials keep claiming  schools aren’t a factor in that.

What’s really going on here? Are Roussin’s statements about school transmission based on evidence? If they are, he needs to present the evidence, clearly and simply. If there is no hard evidence, he and the Brian Pallister government need to explain the real reasons behind keeping schools open.

Hiding behind “scientific” blanket statements, or worse, manipulating data to prove what you want to prove, is wrong, especially if it’s in the service of political and economic interests.

Erna Buffie, Winnipeg

 

Prioritize remote locales

Re: Pallister strays into racism with vaccine comments (Dec. 7)

Premier Brian Pallister’s confusion about who is responsible to roll out vaccines to Indigenous peoples stems from our Constitution and the Indian Act, which say the federal government is responsible for Indigenous peoples while the province is responsible for health care. Rather than co-operate in making this conundrum work, premiers routinely disown the Indigenous peoples so they will not have to spend their budgets on them.

I have a different opinion on vaccine priorities: rather than focus on Indigenous peoples as part of the priority mix, the criterion should be remote location. We all know people living more than eight hours by road have limited access to emergency health care, and that means all of those communities should be on the list to get vaccines ahead of those of us living close to hospitals and delivery services that let us stay safe in our homes. Let those of us who can wait with minimal risk opt out of the second stage of vaccine rollout if the vaccine is needed for remote communities.

James Wingert, Winnipeg

 

Premier doing fine job

I feel I need to come to Brian Pallister’s defence. I am sick and tired of hearing he has the lowest ratings of any premier in Canada. Exactly what would you like him to do?

I personally think he is doing a fine job in trying to keep Manitobans safe from harm, which is exactly what the latest health directive is set up to do. So please follow the directives and stay home!

Luann Smythe, Winnipeg

 

Springs plan seems safe

Re: A God too small (Letters, Dec. 8)

We had months of Manitobans waiting in long lineups to get COVID-19 testing. Sometimes the wait was six hours long. People were urinating in back lanes and on private property. Dr. Brent Roussin and Premier Pallister didn’t say this was unacceptable.

Yet, a church wishes to have drive-in services with people staying in their vehicles for about 45-60 minutes, and this is deemed a superspreader phenomenon. Could someone explain how the virus spreads in this manner, without talking about hypothetical behaviour such as leaving the vehicles? How does a virus spread between people in closed vehicles in a church parking lot, and if it does, how does it not spread between people waiting in vehicles in the long COVID-19 testing site lineups?

I think Manitobans deserve a rational, scientific explanation of how this occurs, because the explanation we have been given does not make sense.

Ariel Lee, Winnipeg

 

While I am not a member of Springs Church on Lagimodiere Boulevard, I live in the vicinity. I was extremely impressed with how quickly Pastor Leon Fontaine addressed safe worship for what is likely the largest congregation in the province. How ingenious to provide a large screened service where the community could leave their homes in an attempt at normalcy while remaining in their vehicles, in the safety of their bubble. How can this possibly be seen as a breach of a public-health order?

Can someone tell me if the residents of Linden Woods are to be fined for putting out a display that brings joy to the spirit and brings community together during these challenging times? People are gathering and driving through in large numbers. And the police are assisting traffic but not fining anyone for public-health violations.

We need Linden Woods to feed our holiday spirit, and some need Springs Church parking lot services to feed their spirit. Are they really so different?

Billie Schibler, Winnipeg

 

Re: Clergy to scofflaw churches: repent (Dec. 7)

It was disappointing to hear pastors leading the fray to flaunt constitutional rights in the face of all Manitobans. Is this not the very nature of our humanity, squawking “I’m entitled to this!”

I get it. I feel the burn. In a day when so many of us are battling the anguish of being deprived of so much that constitutes life, freedom and identity, we are called to take the high road of self-sacrifice for the welfare of all.

Pastors, lead the way to higher ground. Let’s avoid the snare of entitlement that has plagued humanity from the beginning of time. I pray we can all humbly meet on the high road of love, honour, and responsibility, allowing us to get through this difficult time together.

Diane Dyck, Winnipeg

 

About holding worship services in spite of COVID-19 restrictions, is this a show of strong spiritual witness or a display of religious arrogance? Does this inspire people outside the faith, or irritate those we are trying to reach?

Alfredo Velasco, Winnipeg

 

Replace Hawks logo

Re: The league of gentlemen (Dec. 4)

What a wonderful article about the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League and its stalled celebrations of 50 years of existence. The fact that most of these players are playing for the pure joy of hockey, instead of chasing that elusive dream of a professional career, is what is most endearing to the general public that follows the sport.

The league is proud of its history, in particular the Charleswood Hawks, which has captured more than twice as many league championships as its nearest rivals. However, as long standing as the Hawks program is for excellence, integrity and sportsmanship, I am surprised it has utterly failed in one area: it continues to use an Indigenous warrior head as its logo.

Now is the time for the Charleswood Hawks to follow the example being set by sport teams around North America that have abandoned the use of Indigenous logos, nicknames and mascots.

Darren Klapak, Winnipeg

 

Get out the axe

Re: No Christmas trees, no Christmas trees … (Dec. 8)

Not actually true. For $8, you can pay the province and go and cut your own and make a nice day of it.

James Robert, Winnipeg