Letters, Oct. 11

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/10/2022 (1333 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ex-nurse flees ‘toxic culture’

Re: System places little value on disabled lives (Opinion, Oct. 6)

I appreciated columnist Shannon Sampert’s effort to highlight the bitterness of Sathya Kovac’s untimely choice to pursue a medically assisted death because the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s home “care” program let her down. Sadly, Sathya is not the first and won’t be the last person who felt this was their only option due to the lack of compassion from the WRHA.

What was equally heartbreaking was the WRHA’s response to this story. No apology, no offer to meet with this family and learn from this situation, no willingness to improve the way they provide health care to Manitobans who depend on them for a little empathy and kindness at the end of life — the reason most of us go into nursing. The region’s response was so typical: make excuses, blame the patient, completely fail to willingly listen and use this to be a learning and responsive system.

Sathya deserved better. My mom deserved better. The elderly parents of numerous friends deserve better. All of you as Manitobans deserve better.

After more than 30 years working as a registered nurse, I chose to retire from nursing and leave Manitoba. The toxic culture in Manitoba’s health care is so ingrained, it has become the norm.

Other jurisdictions are choosing health-care systems such as Accountable Communities for Health, which places patients, families and employees at the heart of what they do. WRHA’s inability to be introspective and have the will to listen and learn means it is doomed to continue to fail you.

Manitobans, you are about to elect new municipal governments and, fortunately, a new provincial government next year. Vote for people with the courage to acknowledge that regionalization is a failed experiment that needs to go the way of the dodo bird.

Get rid of the toxic tone at the top and start over with a fresh vision to provide the very best care for all Manitobans. Someday, you or your family member will need care, and you deserve so much better than what you’re currently getting for your tax dollars.

Colleen Bytheway

Yellowknife, N.W.T.

Ukraine escalation feared

Re: Don’t promote Ukraine vote (Letters, Sept. 30)

Letter writer Michael Boss’s dismissmal of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine is an excellent example of policies that will only prolong the civil war. He can argue until doomsday about Ukrainian sovereignty; whether it is 31 or 200 years old, it will do nothing to settle the issues in the eastern region. Nationalism is one major cause of the war, and will only lead to further escalation.

His comment concerning the Holodomor forces a disturbing conclusion. Assuming it’s true the Russian-speaking population in the eastern region is occupying the homes of Holodomor victims, one can only conclude that he is suggesting they have no right to be there, and thus should be removed from the area. His solution would be met, predictably, with an escalation of the conflict.

Paul Robertson

Beausejour

Digitizing archives not solution

Re: Digitize some archival material (Letters, Sept 28)

In response to Tom Nesmith’s argument that the city’s archives need a proper facility, Mike Reid proposed most of the municipal archival records could be digitized, thus allowing for the physical records to be destroyed and eliminating the need for their storage. However, in a video on the City of Winnipeg website, a senior archivist notes it would take about 100 years for two full-time staff to digitize the current municipal records, and these digitized records would themselves require about one million gigabytes of storage.

Further, digitization is only for increased access. The physical records are never destroyed.

This is not to bash Reid in particular, as his beliefs are unfortunately very common. The fallacy of these beliefs, though, underscores the very necessity of professionally trained archival staff in a dedicated building in order to preserve our city’s records for generations to come.

Mary Horodyski

Winnipeg

Numerous letter writers have noted the deplorable state of Winnipeg’s archives. In 2013, because of the leaky roof of the William Street Library, the entire collection was moved temporarily to 50 Myrtle St. (who knows where that is?), into a building without the necessary heat and humidity controls, which was open only by appointment.

It is unconscionable that this has been allowed to continue for nine years. As a past president of the Manitoba Historical Society, I believe a new home for the City of Winnipeg Archives is particularly important as the city prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

The public deserves to hear where candidates stand on this issue. Those who are hoping to be elected but have no respect for our past should not have responsibility for our future.

What do those running for civic offices have to say?

Margaret A. Carter

Winnipeg

Don’t reinstate pesticide bill

Re: Animal welfare groups ask province to withdraw pesticide bill (Oct. 7)

I am in complete agreement with the animal welfare groups asking the provincial government not to reinstate the use of cosmetic pesticides, not only for the sake of our beloved animals but for our precious children as well. The Manitoba College of Family Physicians, Manitoba Health Coalition, Manitoba Lung Association and the Manitoba Public Health Association are among the organizations speaking out against the use of cosmetic pesticides.

The College of Family Physicians of Canada published a review of a number of types of cancer and pesticide exposure in 2007. Most studies on non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia showed positive associations with pesticide exposure. Many studies showed positive associations between pesticide exposure and solid tumours. The most consistent associations were found for brain and prostate cancer.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, two in five Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime and one in four will die from cancer. Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada. My question to the government: why would we want to increase those odds?

Surely, we value the health of humans and animals more than the appearance of our lawns and gardens. Ideas about what constitutes a beautiful yard are changing, and the appearance of a completely weed-free lawn is no longer considered the most desirable. Our concept of what is considered a weed is culturally related. In some other countries, dandelions are considered beautiful and are used in salads, for medicinal purposes and in general for their bright colour.

Vicki Burns

Winnipeg

Farming insight appreciated

Re: Food giants throw support behind regenerative farming (Opinion, Sept. 30)

This article touches on the complexity of a food production ecosystem that relies on the individual decisions of tens of thousands of producers, each making thoughtful decisions based on their personal circumstances.

Columnist Laura Rance provides such a great window into a culture I simply do not know. It points to a disconnect between passionate climate activists desperate to mitigate atmospheric carbon by promoting the curtailment of fertilizer use and the farmer who is trying to “read what their patch of land is telling them.”

I am curious to know what efforts are being made to align these communities. They are not competitors.

Jeffrey M. Frank

Winnipeg