Letters, Aug. 9

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/08/2023 (1148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Maddening choices

Re: Deepwater port project seeks to revive century-old proposed trade route (Aug. 5)

I have to say my heart sank right into my shoes when I read the headline.

Not only is western Hudson Bay/James Bay home to the largest carbon sink in the world — the northern peatlands — it’s also home to endangered polar bears and beluga whales. In fact, the river estuaries on the west coast of the bay, including the Nelson, are a rich biodiverse area which serves as summertime feeding and breeding grounds for Canada’s largest population of Belugas — a species listed as endangered.

That’s part of the reason why a coalition of four Indigenous groups — Inuit, Cree, Dene and Metis — as well as scientists and environmental groups have identified 91,000 sq. kilometres of Western Hudson Bay and James Bay, which includes the Churchill, Seal and Nelson Rivers, as a key targeted protected area. And the federal government is funding their efforts.

Now Western conservative governments in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, want to ship bitumen — a much denser and stickier form of crude oil — and potash through one of the most ecologically sensitive and biodiverse marine environments in Manitoba? This in the midst of a global climate and biodiversity crisis?

The very idea is pure, unmitigated madness.

Erna Buffie

Winnipeg

 

Optimism not easy

As the provincial election season begins, I find myself wondering: will this be the time when Manitoba’s voters, polls, and then parties finally make it their top priority to take aggressive action against climate change?

Will these be the campaigns in which political parties make serious commitments to eliminate the shameful amounts of planet-killing greenhouse gases produced by our widespread use of natural gas for heating, by our determined use of fossil fuels for transportation, and by the continuation of our traditional agricultural practices?

Will Manitobans finally recognize that stopping climate change requires huge, but necessary, transformations by everyone, everywhere? Will they stop simply pointing fingers at other provinces and countries? Will they finally realize that, per capita, Manitoba is among the worst greenhouse-gas producers in the world (and even worse than much-vilified China)?

Will this finally be the election in which voters have the wisdom and courage to elect the leaders they truly need?

I’m certainly hopeful, but I struggle to be optimistic.

Calvin Brown

RM of St. Andrews

 

Trickle down no use

Now that we are facing a predictably cantankerous election, let’s try hard not to “cheer for our team” and look at the bigger picture that affects us all. The economy and the cost of living are important in our lives. More today, than for many decades.

Trickle-down economics has benefited the well-off and left average people struggling to get by. Wages aren’t rising but costs for basic needs are rising. Originally it was thought that tax breaks and other benefits for corporations and the wealthy would stimulate growth and somehow that trickles down to us. The wealthy are supposedly spending that money and thereby creating a greater demand for goods. What is happening is the wealthy pay handsomely for their “basic” needs and have lots left over to re-invest their money to make more money. The rest of us don’t.

Ronald Reagan is known for implementing this in the U.S. What it did was introduce a hierarchical system to the world where the wealthy make decisions for all of us, including government. It also resulted in a wider income gap with the poor staying poor and the wealthy becoming wealthier. The middle income folks, meanwhile, need an accountant not to slide further behind.

Money just doesn’t “trickle down.” This approach has been discredited but some parties kept this theory as a foundation of their economic platform. “Cut taxes and put it in your pocket.” Sound familiar to you? The U.S. is in shambles because of this “trickle-down” populism. Are we heading in that direction? I think we are.

As a result of trickle-down economics, many countries, including Canada, have experienced an increase in income inequality. The gap between the rich and poor has increased at a record speed. Currently 20 per cent of the wealthiest households control nearly 68 per cent of the total net worth in Canada. It’s 86 per cent in the U.S.! “Greedflation” is a way of saying increasing amounts of money is in the pockets of the wealthy and less money is in the pockets of the rest of us.

Beware of any party that touts lowering your taxes. It may appeal in the short term but your grocery bills and cost of housing won’t be covered by a tax cut over time. Please vote because it will make a difference in how Canada’s economy works for you.

Erika Kreis

Winnipeg

 

Conviction won’t be enough

Re: GOP can’t seem to beat the Trump card (Editorial, Aug. 5)

In your Aug. 5, 2023, editorial you state “Short of a criminal conviction that keeps him out of the race, Trump is and will likely remain the frontrunner for another run at the White House.”

Unfortunately, this is incorrect.

There is nothing to prevent Trump from staying in the race for the presidency if convicted.

Moreover, there is nothing to prevent him from becoming president should he win the race.

From CNN, Aug. 2:

“University of California, Los Angeles law professor Richard L. Hasen — one of the country’s leading experts on election law — said Trump still has a path to serving as president should he win re-election in 2024.

“The Constitution has very few requirements to serve as president, such as being at least 35 years of age. It does not bar anyone indicted, or convicted, or even serving jail time, from running as president and winning the presidency,” he said in an email to CNN.

And so it is very possible that America itself, and not just the GOP, won’t beat the Trump card.

Ross McLennan

Winnipeg

 

Patience the best path

Canadian publishers asked authorities to review Meta’s decision to block Canadian news content in protest over Canada’s law requiring online platforms to pay Canadian news publishers for access to their content. Experience suggests this storm will soon pass and this stunt by Meta will ultimately resolve itself without additional government action.

Recently, Meta took similar action against legislation in Australia requiring payments to Australian publishers. Eventually, Meta quietly negotiated licensing arrangements with those publishers, restoring access. It is reasonable to expect a similar result in Canada.

Blocking content is a grand public spectacle serving no one’s best interests, and the online platforms are acutely aware of this fact. By blocking access, they make a loud political statement, and perhaps marginally improve their negotiating position relative to the publishers. In the end, however, the platforms themselves do not want to be in the position of content-blocking in the long-term.

The best approach for Canadian authorities is to be patient and take no additional action. This lets the online platforms make their statement, but in the end payments will most likely be negotiated and access will be restored, a result that serves the interests of all parties involved.

Jeffrey Matsuura

Falls Church, Va.