Letters, Feb. 22

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/02/2021 (1743 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Francophones enraged

Re: City considers selling former St. Boniface city hall, fire hall to advocacy group (Feb. 12)

The news that the former St. Boniface City Hall would be sold to Manitoba Possible came as a shock to many members of the francophone community. The Civic Campus site still represents an important historical and practical asset to our people. Many of the tenants currently occupying the buildings play a vital role on the francophone cultural scene.

The issue is not that Manitoba Possible, a respectable organization entrusted with a noble mandate, is being considered to be the next owner of valuable city property. The issue is that the City of Winnipeg unilaterally decided to forget about the value this property holds for the francophone community.

It would be like selling the Parliament Buildings to the Americans because they needed a bigger embassy. It doesn’t make sense.

Not only is this situation enraging a community that already feels disenfranchised, but other Winnipeggers don’t have the opportunity to properly understand all sides of this story. In fact, the Free Press story on Feb. 12 makes no mention of the effect this kind of sale could have on the francophone community.

How are Winnipeggers supposed to empathize with us, as I’m sure they would, without knowing the context in which this kind of nonchalant move takes place?

Mathieu Labossiere, Winnipeg

 

A better way to vaccinate

The province of Manitoba has provided us with a COVID-19 vaccine queue calculator where I can see how many are ahead of me in the line to get vaccinated, but no means to tell when and where I should show up when it’s my turn. Add to this the ambiguity of where vaccination sites are being established, and things seem to be less than ideal.

Why can’t every Manitoban who is interested in being vaccinated register their intent with the province, giving enough personal information for health-care professionals to decide when and where we should show up for our shot? Why are Manitobans being left to figure out how to navigate access to this critical public-health service?

Mike Stainton, Elie

 

City needs parks department

Re: Urban forest deserves multi-layered support (Opinion, Feb. 19)

Erna Buffie offers a convincing case for civic investment in Winnipeg’s urban forest infrastructure. She correctly points to the fact we won’t have an urban canopy if we cannot replace the trees we are losing to disease.

The reduced commitment to trees by the city is in part explained by the 1997 decision to restructure civic government that saw the elimination of the former parks and recreation department. One half of its functions were wedged into the public works department; the recreation side of the former department was sent to the community services department.

The result of this decision was predictable: in any debate for scarce funds within public works, roads and so-called “hard infrastructure” needs to trump green-space items such as tree maintenance and planting.

Winnipeg is the only large city in the country without a dedicated parks department, and we have the results to show for it.

Paul Moist, Winnipeg

 

Teachers before prisoners

Re: More Manitobans added to vaccination list (Feb. 17)

I don’t understand why teachers are not considered an essential service when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccines.

They have multiple bubbles entering their doors each school day. Their workloads have more than doubled, since they have to physically and digitally teach children.

It’s thanks to teachers and child-care providers that people such as our nurses, doctors, paramedics and firefighters can go to work.

Why do people who break our laws and are housed with taxpayers’ money get their vaccines ahead of teachers who are working with our most valuable resource, our children and grandchildren?

Debbie Penner, Altona

 

Handguns enjoyable hobby

Re: Bill would allow municipalities to ban handguns (Feb. 16)

The popular perception is that by banning legal handguns, gun violence will decrease. Has anyone investigated the number of legally-owned guns actually involved in crime? When you consider the criminal background check, letters of reference and the rules for owning and transporting a handgun legally, it seems a lot more likely criminals are breaking the law. They either import or buy illegal guns.

Banning handguns in major cities in the U.S. has had no impact on crime there.

I shoot as a hobby that I enjoy. Sure, nobody needs a handgun, but nobody needs a stamp collection, either.

Yes, a gun can be dangerous in the wrong hands but, in my hands, it’s safe.

Greg Matthew, Winnipeg

 

An idea to help homeless

Re: A perfect storm for homelessness (Feb. 18)

As a bus driver working downtown, I see first-hand the extent of homelessness in our city.

A large number of these people are younger and should be able to pursue employment to improve their lives; however, we can all agree no one is going to employ someone who has no residence.

The following is my vision to address homelessness in Winnipeg, based on an initial investment of $2 million and a yearly investment of $1 million:

Acquire 50 camper trailers, with propane removed for safety. Lease a large warehouse. Place the trailers within this building and connect each camper to water, sewer and electrical power. If the warehouse has an office area, or a cafeteria area, it could be used as a community kitchen or for educational purposes. Upkeep of the facility could create employment for some members.

If someone from the street now has housing with access to their own washroom, shower and sleeping area, they will have security and worth, allowing them to move forward in the pursuit of employment.

Paul Peters, Winnipeg

 

Faith in faithful restored

Re: Leaders sign declaration to protect LGBTTQ+ (Feb. 16)

I had originally written to the Free Press to express thanks for its profile of Rod Giesbrecht, the pastor of Tabor Baptist Church in Transcona who has chosen to serve his God by picking up and recycling litter while he walks.

Giesbrecht models the highest commitment to putting faith into action. I offered that if more religious denominations focused on the care and preservation of our Earth as part of their mandate to promote faith-based activity, they might attract far more members.

I also said that many good people have grown cynical because they see religiosity promoted at the expense of faith, in the form of dogmatic prescriptions about how we “should” live our lives. So while our planet faces unprecedented challenges to its sustainability, some churches consume precious time moralizing about issues such as human sexual diversity, access to assisted dying and the right to assemble for services despite the perils of COVID-19.

Days later, John Longhurst wrote a Free Press article about religious leaders who have signed a petition that eloquently expresses regret for the longstanding mistreatment of members of the LGBTTQ+ community. So part of my original rant is no longer valid, and I am left with renewed optimism about the potential of diverse faith-based organizations to prioritize ethical ideals over dogmatic debates.

Many thanks to the Free Press for balancing coverage of current dystopian challenges with inspirational stories of people who honour the common good.

Linda Chernenkoff, Grande Pointe