Letters, June 5

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/06/2023 (1208 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bikes won’t replace cars

Re: Better options, fewer cars (Letters, June 1)

I thought Ray Kohanik’s opinion piece (May 29) was well balanced and provides a lot of interesting information, including with regards to active transportation.

While on that subject, I have another question that letter writer Heidi Klaschka might want to answer regarding getting kids to sports/activities. How would a parent with a child or two enrolled in hockey (Canada’s national sport) manage to carry their equipment to an early morning practice on a bike and still get to work on time?

Or how about a hockey game in the evening when work ends at 4:30 p.m. (same time as sunset), it’s freezing and the wind is howling? I have been riding bicycles for over 70 years and thoroughly enjoy it, but when the snow starts to fall the fun disappears. Those who disagree are a in a very small minority.

Active transportation routes are great, so are golf courses and soccer fields. They all provide great summertime enjoyment and exercise. Realistically, as a year round mode of transportation in our climate, bicycles are a novelty and will never replace cars.

J D Marion

Winnipeg

Follow First Nations’ lead

Re: Courageous little girl’s story enrages First Nations community but, somehow, hope remains (June 2)

We could learn so much from First Nations people. Our society is entrenched in deadly infrastructures that seem so irrevocably rooted in history that we believe we cannot remove or live without them.

After an eight-year-old child was sexually assaulted by a Catholic priest who is now being investigated for what appears to be multiple violations, they are doing what every community that takes child abuse seriously would do if only we had the compassion and courage to stand up to evil.

The Free Press reports “Little Grand Rapids residents have had enough. After a community meeting Tuesday, members told Chief Oliver Owen to evict the church.”

“We don’t want the church here,” Owen announced to media.

Evict the church. Three simple words. Evict the arrogance. Evict the greedy money changers. Evict the molesters. Evict the evil. The Roman Catholic Church has expired its right to exist in our society.

It is time to bury this tragic landfill of horror.

Steve Oetting

Winnipeg

Stop fiddling, Ottawa

Re: O’Toole claims he was target of Chinese interference (May 31)

Politicians in Ottawa are forcing me to pull out hoary old cliches. They are fiddling while Rome burns. As usual. Opposition members are shocked to learn of misinformation and intimidation directed at MPs. Perhaps they should listen to the Uyghur community in Canada.

They aren’t dealing with possible threats but rather massive numbers of real arrests and “disappearances” in China. Most Canadians—myself included— already have few illusions about China and pretty much expect this behaviour.

Party leaders debate the “optics” of the recent investigation and call for a public inquiry. An inquiry which could never be fully public. It is unclear what magic solutions the opposition has in mind for Chinese or for that matter Russian bad actors. And if it hasn’t happened already, any day now they will start referring to this as a scandal. If so, it will join a number of other alleged “scandals” that were blown out of all proportion and monopolized media space.

Former governor general David Johnston is also being treated shabbily. I think that proponents of a redo will be hard-pressed to find a prominent Canadian replacement who hasn’t worked in the same law firm or had lunch with a Conservative or got a deal on a used car from an NDP member or is someone’s second cousin. Perhaps they could find a candidate in a monastery.

Canada is quite literally on fire this spring. Much of the leadership in Alberta and Ottawa are still happy to ignore that.

It would be a comfort to we voters if politicians would devote some time to other pressing issues, like our environment and climate change. There are bigger fish to fry. Burning issues, if you will forgive me.

Greg Petzold

Winnipeg

Sad times

Re: Do universities brainwash students? (Think Tank, May 31)

Thank you Scott Forbes. Thank you very much for speaking up and for highlighting both the nonsense and nefarious nature of voices which extol ignorance.

Years ago, a 14-year-old once asked me, when frustrated by friends celebrating their disengagement from school learning, “When did ignorance become something to strive for and to celebrate?”

Good question. A harbinger of times to come, perhaps.

I grew up in a rural change resistant conservative area, rife with blatant prejudice, overt negative judgement and the concomitant anger. I worked in a rural school of somewhat similar demographic in which books exploring the idea of evolution were removed. I’ve experienced my fair share of similar beliefs and behaviours here in Winnipeg and in the world around me, In fact, it seems, these propensities, especially fundamental resistance to change, can be found ipretty much any where.

Yet, in those times and places I always felt the idea of the benefits of learning were a self-evident truth, an axiom upon which my society was built.

To what degree I was naive and to what degree things have changed, I cannot say with certainty, but it does seem we have arrived at a time in which talking about the value of learning, learning institutions and of the pillars of philosoohy, epistemology, metaphysics, logic and ethics, is here.

Again, thank you to Scott Forbes.

Garrett Loeppky

Winnipeg

Who handles the money?

Re: Council to consider directing $1M to 24-7 shelters (May 30)

I was glad to read today that our city council, if approved, will be donating $ 1 million to various safe space initiatives.

We certainly need to help our most vulnerable so hopefully this infusion of money will get to the people that desperately need the help.

My question though is does someone actually coordinate all of these grants and for that matter any grants whether city or provincial using tax payers money so that there is no overlap of service and what services that are provided are targeted at the groups they are trying to help? And what is the criteria being used to measure success and how will the public know if the money has been well spent or not.

Mike Pigden

Winnipeg

Poor operations costly for animals

Re: Investing in the ongoing enhancement of animal care (Sponsored content, May 31)

Born and raised on a Manitoba farm, I appreciate the proper raising and care of swine. Pigs produced in a factory type situation however, live in conditions that are far removed from achieving “humane animal stewardship” status.

Bad ideas and poor operating principles are very costly for the animals, our environment and society.

John Fefchak

Virden