Letters, Sept. 9

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This article was published 09/09/2022 (1351 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Demand change for Jordyn

Re: Mom charged with misleading police in fatal drunk driving crash (Aug. 9)

Frustrated judge hands drunk driver 51-month term (Sept. 1)

My anger rages as I read about an innocent, beautiful woman, Jordyn Reimer, who was acting as a designated driver when she was killed by a pickup truck driven by a man now charged with impaired driving.

You see, Jordyn was my daughter’s best friend, which means she was like a daughter to me. She spent a lot of time with us and I still can’t believe we will no longer see her or hear her beautiful voice. I am writing this for Jordyn.

I don’t believe the laws in Manitoba speak out for Jordyn or others who have lost their life to people who choose to drive impaired. The laws are there to protect the accused, including publication bans so the public can’t be outraged and provide an opinion about the accused person.

When will the laws get so strict that people fear the consequences of driving under the influence? Why isn’t the legal limit for drinking and driving zero, instead of the current .08? Wouldn’t a legal limit of zero give the message that you cannot drive if you have engaged in any drugs or alcohol?

What would it take to have the judicial system start handing out stricter sentences for driving under the influence or getting in the car with someone under the influence?

The Free Press on Sept. 1 reported on another case in which a man driving under the influence killed an innocent man. He initially claimed he was asleep in the back seat and wasn’t driving. In the face of indisputable evidence, he changed his plea to guilty and only received a 51-month term.

The judge in this case said his sentence is an attempt to deter others. Are you kidding me? How is this justice for the man’s two young daughters and his entire family?

Winnipeg police and Crown prosecutors can only do their jobs within the confines of our judicial system. The public needs to express outrage and demand tougher laws regarding driving under the influence.

Let’s work to ensure we are not reading about the loss of another loved one. It could be your loved one.

Heather Tabin

Winnipeg

Motkaluk’s escape telling

Re: Candidates’ clash boils over at forum (Sept. 7)

It isn’t much of a surprise mayoral candidate Jenny Motkaluk walked out of Wednesday’s all-candidates forum. No one could ask her questions about the platform she just released the day of the forum, a platform full of more holes than Swiss cheese.

More to the point, if Motkaluk can’t take the heat from someone like Don Woodstock, one wonders how she would handle being mayor. If she can’t take questions about her family and possible conflicts of interest, has she heard of how people are treated in politics, especially women?

Will Jones

Winnipeg

Home care ‘not guaranteed’

Re: Winnipeg man with quadriplegia angry with unreliable home care (Sept. 7)

Thanks to reporter Kevin Rollason for this story. My 93-year-old mother is experiencing the same hit-or-miss care. One of the several times I was contacted by home care and told she was not going to be seen and I would have to make arrangements, the caller informed me that “this is not a guaranteed service and you need to have alternate plans in place.”

Basically, what they’re saying is don’t count on us, especially on weekends.

Home care for loved ones means family is on call 24-7 because home care can fail at any time. My mother is fortunate to have plenty of family support but, as your article shows, many do not.

Please keep shining a light on this tragedy for the elderly and infirm.

Ernie Nuytten

Winnipeg

Patrick Dram’s tragic story and the neglect and indignities he has suffered due to failures in the home-care system are nothing new.

I cared for my wife who had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease for 10 years up until 2008. As I still worked, I relied heavily on home care.

Most of the time, everything was good, but when I moved to a different area of Winnipeg the care Lynne received became abysmal. I wrote letters to the minister and received the same smarm the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is now spewing regarding the “service” it provides.

These are the same folks who recently declared that they were going to adjust hospital discharge criteria so seniors could age in place rather than in a hospital or personal-care home. As columnist Dan Lett indicated in a recent article on that issue, this is “nothing but a cheap card trick.”

Tom Pearson

Winnipeg

Ukraine dispatches valued

Re: Resolve takes root among rubble (Sept. 8)

Thank you, Melissa Martin, for travelling to Kyiv to share with us the stories of the courage and humanity of the people of Ukraine.

They have not been cowed or beaten by the actions of a despicable and dangerous man. And they never will be. I am grateful for their courage and the example they set for us all.

Bill Martin

Gimli

More than one type of ‘good child’

Re: Parents must back educators (Letters, Sept. 7)

Letter writers John Frostiak and Rene Vincent stress the importance of consequences for negative behaviour and say parents should support, instead of criticize, educators disciplining their children

The opinions of both are valid, but they miss the larger point. The purpose of an education is not to teach students to obey, but to think, assess options, take responsibility and make choices.

Yes, some of those choices will be judged as inappropriate and some will carry negative consequences. A student may make the choice that the negative consequence is worth it. Society has room for more than one type of “good child.”

Parents need to suspend judgment, understand the entire situation and then respond, not reflexively react.

Lynn Silver

Winnipeg

Carman proud of Paul Hiebert

Re: No shortage of neat things to see in Carman (Sept. 3)

I enjoyed Gord Mackintosh’s tribute to Carman, a town I lived in for four years and grew to love. He captured the friendliness and community spirit accurately.

I know space is always an issue with articles, but I wish he had found room to mention another of Carman’s famous residents. University of Manitoba chemist Paul Hiebert was also a humourist, penning the Canadian classic Sarah Binks, which was turned into a play at Stratford. After retiring from the U of M, Hiebert continued to pen books in his little cottage on the banks of the Boyne River.

Rosalie Tennison

Winnipeg