Letters, June 7

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/06/2023 (1194 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Censure trustee, at least

Re: Trustee makes anti-trans remarks on social media (June 6)

As a parent with a child attending school within the Louis Riel school division, I would hope Francine Champagne be, at the very least, censured for her divisive and inflammatory rhetoric, which is hardly becoming of someone I see fit to act as a trustee on behalf of the best interests of students and parents alike.

If there truly exists a conspiracy with aims to indoctrinate our children, it is clearly emanating from the minority who seek to impose their morals and values upon the rest of us. There is nothing preventing the likes of Ms. Champagne from going about living their lives in accordance to their own beliefs and they are free to do so accordingly. Therein lies the contradiction of their reasoning: the so-called ‘freedom fighters’ are insistent the entirety of society be subjected to the rules and regulations they deem acceptable, whilst silencing the voices of the vast majority who wish to have little or nothing to do with them.

Freedom is defined by Merriam Webster as ‘the absence of necessity, coercion or constraint in choice of action.’ To Ms. Champagne I say, nothing is preventing you from exercising your choices, just leave the rest of us alone to make ours.

Dan Donahue

Winnipeg

Challenging P3 argument

Re: Drop the rhetoric: P3s work (Think Tank, May 31)

Upon further investigation, the evidence used by Lisa Mitchell to support their arguments for Public-Private-Partnerships (P3) based on the Irish experience of P3s, by O’Shea, Palcic and Reeves, is concerning. It finds:

a) that it is hard to conclusively determine Value for Money due to difficulty accessing P3 contracts despite making Freedom of Information Requests;

b) capitals cost for traditional public models are shown to be over the construction period only, whereas capital costs for P3 are spread over the 25-year contract period, therefore P3s appear to be less expensive when the Irish Office of the Comptroller and Auditor finds P3s are 13 to 19 per cent more expensive; and

c) P3s have allocated higher funding to cover maintenance and life-cycle costs.

There is no reason a public model could not build in adequate maintenance funding.

O’Shea, Palcic and Reeves also published “Comparing PPP with Traditional Procurement: The Case of Schools Procurement in Ireland” where they find the P3 model imposes rigid constraints and fails to deliver value for money in comparison to a public build. These authors query arguments by P3 proponents that P3s are faster: “Whether or not PPP leads to faster overall delivery of infrastructure projects depends on the trade-off between potentially faster construction times versus the possibility of longer tendering periods”.

This research used by the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships shows that P3s are significantly costlier, not any faster, and lack transparency to taxpayers. Manitobans should be extremely critical of the provincial government adopting the P3 model for schools and public infrastructure.

Molly McCracken

Manitoba director, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Winnipeg

Painful memories

June 6 marks the day when in London, Ont., two years ago, three generations of the Afzaal Family were killed: Yumnah, 15; Madiha, 44; Talat, 74; and Salman, 46.

The young son survived. This was a violent act of hate that encouraged the young driver to ram his truck into the family as they stood at the traffic light to cross the street. Why? Because they were Muslims, according to the police.

I was in London last year on the first anniversary of the killing — giving training to teachers and social workers on Islamophobia and its impact on Canadian Muslims. It was extremely triggering for me to recall all the hate and threats I have received over the years, but nothing came close to what the Afzaal family and their friends had to endure. My uncle called a few days after the tragedy from Europe to tell us that we were related to the grandmother — no wonder I thought when I first saw her photo, I had wondered how she resembled my paternal aunt. The grief was the same but just more personal

I thought if they come after me, fine, I am vocal against Islamophobia, but why this innocent family? What did this massacre achieve other than pain and anguish for Canadian Muslims, lifelong trauma for the young surviving child, and a blemish on the reputation of Canada that cannot be washed away by vigils and political statements?

I was hoping to organize a vigil or a walk in Winnipeg, but decided to remember them silently in prayer and with resolve to work harder to extinguish the fire of hate from the hearts of Canadians especially the youth who have been taught, socialized, and groomed to hate.

Canadians are familiar with hate, we established Canada by occupying Turtle Island with the force of hate through colonizing and dehumanizing the Indigenous peoples of this land.

The roots of this poisonous tree continue to produce poisonous fruits targeting one community after another through various times in Canadian history. We keep nurturing its roots with injustices, othering, demonizing, and indifference to the suffering of those who do not look, believe, or think like us.

Plucking one fruit at a time keeps the cycle going because the roots need nourishment and so we will continue to find new targets.

I am asked if this is the end of the bloodletting of Canadian Muslims. I was asked the same question after Quebec Mosque killing.

I could not say yes then, and I cannot say yes today!

Shahina Siddiqui

Winnipeg

Respect experiences of the elderly

Re: The age-old discrimination over old age (Think Tank, June 3)

I concur with the article written by Charles Adler highlighting ageism in the Saturday edition. His description of the fallout after a simple trip made by U.S. President Biden at the graduation of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs was very much an example of discrimination based on age alone.

When one flounders over a small loss of memory or a failure to achieve a goal, it is sometimes frustrating to assign a cause. Because society may look for easy answers, we may fall prey to blaming ageing as the cause.

I recall listening to my teenage students complain about being judged by their age alone and having their motives questioned. And they were right. They were being discriminated against solely on their youth.

As we age, we are also facing the stigma of how old we look. We are keenly aware that grey hair and wrinkles are not our friends. So some go to measures which disguise these changes in an attempt to weaken the dangers of ageism.

Joe Biden is carrying on a schedule which would be daunting to any aged individual. He does it with dignity and steady statesmanship, showing no signs of incompetence.

So the next time you see a ‘little old lady’ and call her cute please remember this. She has had many years of experiences, successes and failures and deserves the respect given to all who have tripped — often over nothing.

Eileen Gibson

Winnipeg