Letters, March 23

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/03/2023 (931 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The buck stops somewhere

Re: Minister blames Shared Health after nurses in sex-assault unit quit (March 22)

A couple of things jumped out at me in this article. Was Health Minister Audrey Gordon looking in a mirror when she said, “I expect resolution and nothing less from our health system leaders”?

She is the leader — just because it is getting closer to the election, she shouldn’t try and deflect the blame for the state our health system is in.

Secondly, the program manager is based out of Alberta; does anybody else think this might have something to do with these great nurses quitting? If they could not see their supervisor to complain about what is happening in the department, they would have felt neglected and abandoned.

It is too late to give this group of leaders more time to figure this out. When you go to the ballot box, remember how badly they have managed our health-care system.

Will Franklin

Winnipeg

Reading the headline story about Health Minister Audrey Gordon blaming staff at Shared Health for the failure of the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) program reminded me of an old saying: “It is a poor musician who blames their instrument.”

I have some advice for Minister Gordon: if you can’t hold a tune, perhaps it is time to quit the band and take up a new hobby. It appears you are really poor at this one.

Steve Oetting

Winnipeg

Eyes on autumn

Re: It is a right, not luxury: NDP promises free birth control ahead of provincial election (March 19)

Wonderful news that the NDP is pledging to provide all birth control free of charge to Manitobans. This is a significant step forward in allowing women control of their own bodies and is a necessary for equality. It is another barrier broken.

Women who protect themselves from pregnancies are women who are taking control of their own destinies. All women deserve respect and reproductive freedom. The ability to access high-quality, safe reproductive health options and choices means more women can look forward to a self-directed future.

As a member of the founding board of Women’s Health Clinic I am particularly happy that at last the clinic will be able to use the monies donated to provide free birth control to increase its capacity in another of its critical programs. It’s a win-win all around.

Women have needed this for a long time; the faster we can get rid of the current government, the faster we will be able to adopt good policies like this one.

Linda Taylor

Winnipeg

The NDP’s Wab Kinew announces the party pledges free birth control if elected. He will have to come up with something better for most Manitobans if the party wants to win the fall election in this province.

Seriously, Mr. Kinew: the very least thing most Manitobans are concerned with is birth control. In a province of seniors, you can come up with something better.

Irene Neroda

Winnipeg

Too little, too late

Re: Bill 33 snares harm reduction in red tape (March 21)

Mental Health and Community Wellness Minister Janice Morley-Lecomte’s statement, “Groups such as Sunshine House, which has operated a mobile overdose prevention… would need to apply for a licence or be shut down” says it all for me as to how out of touch the PCs are to the reality of what is happening in our communities.

If she had said, “We would like to work with and learn from Sunshine House about the overdose prevention work they have been doing so they can obtain a licence,” that, for me, would show sincerity and commitment.

In my past career, I visited Sunshine House a number of times and I saw what a welcoming place it is, where they meet and help people where they are at in their lives. They greeted everyone that came in warmly and in a caring manner. I could see the people were comfortable there and felt at ease. It is a warm, safe haven.

From Morley-Lecomte’s comment, it is evident that she never has visited Sunshine House to talk with them to understand the work they are doing.

This appears to be just another Progressive Conservative “before-an-election” statement that they think sounds good but in reality sounds like a long roadblock to getting these sites in place. Too little, too late, too burdensome.

Catherine Roberts

Winnipeg

People power

Re: MPI hiring driving instructor for expensive new Nova (March 20)

Okay, so, MPI’s Project Nova will “allow” customers to make collision claims, process licence renewals and receive other basic services online (if MPI pays a consultant enough to figure out how to achieve this).

Well, don’t we all enjoy such online experiences? We do not.

Having a real human being with whom we are “allowed” to discuss our consumer transactions — and issues that sometimes flow from them — has become a rare luxury. Corporations are self-serving when they hide behind a computer program while experiencing perpetually “higher-than-normal call volumes.”

How about just training suitable people and filling the positions that consumers may access for prompt service?

Vic Mikolayenko

Winnipeg

Seniors need advocate

Re: $4.5-M boost for seniors programs, including emergency response kits (March 17)

This funding is a welcome step in supporting seniors in Manitoba. The importance of including their needs in health and social planning is increasing.

Most older adults, not being frail, don’t need institutional care. However, “kinless” seniors with no available family need an advocate, a spokesperson to ensure their basic care needs are being met.

The most terrifying part of aging is being forced by disability into institutional living without a sympathetic person to ensure good care. Neglect can have devastating results, from infections, or dehydration, or even loneliness.

Competent caregiving for older adults — wherever they live —is an essential type of work, a specialized part of nursing, rehabilitation therapy and personal support work.

Yet Manitoba has neither a central agency listing people adequately qualified to provide care for vulnerable seniors, nor even a designated, non-partisan senior’s advocate.

J.A.Paterson

Winnipeg

Times change

In Trudeau puts rapporteur in no-win situation (March 20), the editorial states, “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has shown a remarkable capacity for making bad situations worse.”

Is this the same person that was featured consistently on most pages of your newspaper during his first run as leader of the Loyal Opposition to unseat the Conservative government of Stephen Harper?

Is this the same “Our View” staff that ran articles almost daily expressing views criticizing every possible thing or movement the Harper government did that could be improved by its defeat?

Thomas Spence

Winnipeg

Food for thought

Thanks to Laura Rance for her refreshing column Much to learn from pre-European farming on the Prairies (March 18). Emphasizing that Indigenous farming practices “embraced resilience as a measure of their wealth” instead of pure productivity spoke volumes to me.

I am not a farmer, but I often read her column. Her straightforward reporting style is always welcome as well.

Barbara Coombs

Winnipeg