Letters, July 3

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/07/2023 (1172 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Keep study academic

Re: Combating denialism (Editorial, June 23)

It is more than alarming that the Free Press would contemplate supporting any law which outlaws the denial of the horrors of Canada’s residential school system. Such a law would change the study of that part of Canadian history from an academic discipline into a quasi-religious exercise. In the place of rigorous examination of a diversity of documents and new information, one would be left with a recitation of dogma.

Any future investigation as to the nature of the anomalies recently discovered by ground-penetrating radar at the sites of former residential schools would risk placing the investigators in legal peril.

The advancement of human knowledge has always required the questioning of accepted wisdom. If the current state of understanding is defined as immutable truth, and its questioning disallowed, then we turn from being a society of thinkers into a society of believers.

It is precisely this freedom to question the accepted dogma of the 19th century which allowed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to perform its work in the first place. Stifling this freedom is anathema in an open society.

Francis Newman

Winnipeg

Seniors must be cared for

Re: Care home funding major issue (Letters, June 29)

Thank you Brenda Wedlake for bringing attention to the fact that the province is failing its senior citizens by underfunding its long-term care facilities.

As seniors become an ever larger percentage of the population it is incumbent on our government to take the necessary steps to assure they get proper care once they can no longer live on their own.

I have yet to see any information from any of Manitoba’s provincial political parties that would indicate that looking out for seniors is on their radar screen as a priority issue.

The best way to thank our seniors for all of the hard work they put into making our province a good place to live is to make sure they are looked after properly in their old age.

Cal Paul

Winnipeg

Naloxone program is for lay responders

Re: Naloxone shortage uncovers nagging problems (June 14)

In his June 14 column, Dan Lett began by saying, “there is always a story behind every big news story.” The story in question being the shortage of naloxone, based on the testimony of those of us working on the ground — as workers, as peers, as friends and family — to keep people from dying needlessly. We have been struggling to get access to a consistent and ample supply of naloxone, also known by its brand name Narcan, a drug that is inexpensive, safe, and effective at reversing opioid toxicity.

The “nagging problem” the column implied, if not outright argued, was that lay responders on the ground are not waiting long enough between doses of naloxone (hence the shortage). Aside from offering no evidence that this is the case, it pits first responders against lay responders in the community. It also ignores the context in which people are responding to drug toxicity.

Imagine if you drank a beer or two, expecting a standard five per cent alcohol volume and instead, the beer was 15 per cent alcohol and also contained fentanyl (a synthetic opioid) and benzodiazepines (a class of tranquilizer). Beer drinkers don’t have to worry about this, because they have access to a safe, regulated supply at any liquor, beer store or bar. People should not have to die because they take drugs no matter how frequently. People who use regulated drugs like alcohol have access to a safe supply. People who use unregulated drugs do not.

Health-care workers have reported drug poisonings require multiple doses of naloxone to reverse — and that’s in a fully equipped medical setting. The local and national trends show that the drugs are increasingly potent. The term “overdose” isn’t really appropriate for what’s happening, because in most cases people are using drugs in quantities that previously would not have led to harm. You can’t eyeball a substance if you don’t know what is in it.

As Lett writes, it’s true that ambulances are not called in half the cases of reported drug poisonings. This is often because people who use drugs have had their trust broken by health-care providers in the past. This is not a failure of the lay responder, it is a failure of the health-care system. A system that does not have the capacity to respond in a timely manner to every drug poisoning in Winnipeg, let alone in rural communities. Enter lay responders.

The responsibility for responding to drug poisoning has become a part of community care, a way to show up for the people that we love. We owe a lot of life giving breath to lay responders, who are often first on scene. People who have always welcomed any and all training on how to use naloxone. Training where, in fact, we tell people that when in doubt, give naloxone. But they can’t give it if they don’t have access.

The Provincial Naloxone Program is designed for lay responders. That’s the whole point. Regular people are reversing drug poisonings every day. They shouldn’t have to. And they shouldn’t have to fight for life-saving drugs. We should have governments that recognize this public health crisis for what it is, and take decisive action to put a stop to these wholly preventable deaths.

Margaret Bryans, RN BN

Winnipeg

Massage therapists need oversight

Re: Better regulation needed (Letters, June 28)

I agree with Pamela Gregoire’s views regarding the current state of the massage therapists’ profession and the need for an unbiased regulatory body.

The timeline to establish this regulatory body will be lengthy so I have a suggestion that might help in the interim. Make it mandatory that all clients coming into a massage therapist’s place of business be made aware that if they have been touched or propositioned inappropriately they should report such incidents immediately to the police and the “association.”

Whatever associations the therapists belong to could advertise these recommendations together as a way to protect clients as well as assure the public that their safety is a priority for the associations. Signage should be placed in the place of business in a spot that clients entering would be aware of and hopefully read. Therapists could also verbally support the written message.

A client not being given any such message upon entering could then rightfully wonder whether that therapist deserves their business and to what end they are not being made aware.

Gary McGimpsey

Winnipeg

Libraries little without librarians

Re: Tories, NDP trade barbs as province announces $260M for school projects (June 29)

The Tories’ plan to fund new school libraries is, on the surface, admirable. However, a room full of books and resources is useless without a teacher-librarian and library technician to maintain the collection and support students in making the most of the information available.

Many schools have had to eliminate these positions in recent years due to the limited budgets provided by this government.

It is not just things that contribute to the educational development of our youth. It is the human connection that is required to link students to the information they need to succeed.

Pat Lewicki

Winnipeg