Letters, Oct. 28

Opinion

New mayor elected

Re: Gillingham triumphs (Oct. 26)

Congratulations on your victory, Mr. Gillingham. Thank God — and the Winnipeg voters — that you won and not the disaster looking for (another) place to happen.

Good management is exactly what this city needs.

Gilles Roch

Winnipeg

Low voter turnout a bad sign

Disgusting. The citizens from the voters’ list who didn’t vote should have a penalty put on their provincial income taxes. Make it high enough to get their attention.

I’m sure the non-voters will become vocal when their property taxes go up 3.5 per cent for each of the next four years. A little late to complain.

Dorothy Fife

Winnipeg

Scott Gillingham was elected mayor of Winnipeg with 27.5 per cent of votes, which means 72.5 per cent of Winnipeggers did not vote for him!

Amarjit Singh

Winnipeg

Re: Voters got it right with Gillingham (Oct. 26)

I do take exception to Tom Brodbeck’s assertion that voters got it right with the election of Scott Gillingham to the mayor’s chair under the assumption most had come to accept his platform as something they were prepared to accept.

A 27.5 per cent share of the vote, according to my math, indicates almost 75 per cent of voters weren’t prepared to hand him the keys to the office, and, any way you slice it, that doesn’t sound like a resounding endorsement to me.

Which brings up the elephant in the room: the first-past-the-post election methodology belongs in the dust bin.

I have little doubt this election result would look rather different with a ranked ballot, one that would offer up a much clearer picture as to where voters’ priorities actually stand. Looking at the election’s results, it’s hard to discern much of anything other than the fact a worn-out approach to an election has yielded a victory for a candidate garnering barely one-quarter of the ballots cast. This archaic system does us a collective disservice, and we deserve much better.

That said, I do sincerely wish Gillingham success in taking on one of the most thankless and challenging jobs imaginable.

Dan Donahue

Winnipeg

City reaps what it sows

The oxymoronic political nature of this city is now firmly established as a conservatively rooted socialist redoubt. Its voters remain supportive of worn faces with policy directives born of the left, electors who choose the perceived safety of perpetually subsidized government maintenance over the rewards of productive invention.

Economic renewal is a foreign concept. As a well understood Winnipeg metaphor, why build new roads when poorly repaired potholes is the accepted norm? Where is the vision? Where is the drive? Where is the Prairie spirit of intrepid determination that built this city? Gone is its reputation as a commercial hub, replaced by the stigma of being Canada’s crime capital.

Sadly, Winnipeg reaps what it sows, which apparently means more of the same. With only one new face at city hall, there is little promise of social or commercial revival. What once brought people into the downtown core now makes them shun it out of fear. Gone is downtown shopping with its taxable base, replaced by the spectre of financially draining cultural shrines. But hey, we’ve always got the Bombers, Jets and Jeannie’s cakes as diversions from having to witness our children leaving for greener pastures.

It is indeed the dry cold that freezes the potential for renewal and growth. One all too welcome when the only available option is further decay.

Graham R. Mann

Winnipeg

Homeowners struggling

Re: Mortgage renewal in an era of Bank of Canada rate hikes (Oct. 27)

Inflationary times call for drastic action. If the price of food goes up, we change our shopping habits; if the price of gas goes up, we change our driving habits; if the price of clothing goes up, we make do with what we’ve got. But how do young families control the largest expenditure of every household — their mortgage payment?

The article states, that according to Ratesdotca, homeowners will likely see an increase of approximately 18 per cent in monthly payment at renewal. That means that a $1,000-per-month mortgage payment is going to grow to $1,180. The extra $180 is after-tax dollars, so the actual income to support the increase is around $250. That $250 translates into a 25 per cent increase to the mortgage payment.

Seems like the Bank of Canada medicine, which is supposed to help us with inflation, is actually doing the most damage to household incomes.

Wally Barton

Winnipeg

One word: plastics

As I walk around the grocery, I notice something about the packaging: most things are in plastic.

In the fresh vegetable section, I see mushrooms in plastic containers, peppers wrapped in plastic, salads bagged in plastic bags, and various fruits packaged in clamshells. The number of plastic containers rivals the amount of fruit and vegetables.

In the cold drink and dairy section there are countless plastic containers for juice, milk, sour cream, yogurt and cottage cheese.

In the soft drink/water aisle, there are plastic bottles of soft drinks and water. It’s much the same in the condiment aisle.

Then I’m off to the checkout and I feel good because I brought my reusable eco-friendly bags. It’s ironic that I have a reusable bag to cart home all the plastic that I just bought.

We’re constantly told that we, the consumers, can make a difference by recycling everything we can, and I endeavour to do that. But it seems all I am is just a conduit to transfer all the plastic I bought to the recycling facility, but ultimately to the landfill.

I learned just a few days ago that only nine per cent of the plastic used in Canada is being recycled, (five per cent in the U.S.), and that’s after years of the government lauding our fantastic recycling industry. They’re not being upfront with us!

There’s a WRAP (waste reduction and prevention) levy that’s supposed to finance “expenditures incurred in the collection, transportation, storage, processing and disposal of the waste for the purposes of waste reduction and prevention programs.” It appears, based on the abysmal recycling numbers for recycling, that the levy is the cheaper option for industry compared to actually developing recyclable containers.

We’re led to believe cardboard bread tags, decreased use of straws and no plastic bags is going to make a big difference. But industry just keeps on producing tons and tons of plastic packaging. We, as consumers, are only responsible for a fraction of the waste produced; as I said, we’re just the conduit to the landfill.

What is happening to all the money that has been earmarked to enhance the recycling industry? Why isn’t the government targeting industry instead of wasting money on PSAs to the consumer? Why isn’t the government policing and punishing industry for not complying? If the WRAP levy is supposed to be a deterrent, it’s not working!

Also, according to the Waste Reduction and Prevention Act, the government is supposed to provide to us a WRAP Strategy Report that includes a statement of specific goals relating to waste reduction and prevention, a plan setting out the means of achieving these goals, and a report on waste reduction and prevention activities in the province. I’ve not seen any of these.

We as consumers are well aware of the problems and we’re trying, but we have no choice when we shop. We’re not the problem!

Rick Gallant

Winnipeg