Letters, Aug. 19

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/08/2023 (1008 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Training essential

Re: Stress rehearsal (Aug. 12)

I was interested in reading your article about Winnipeg Airports’ training to help handicapped passengers.

I’ve had various experiences. I need a wheelchair for any long distance (knee problem), but otherwise, use a walking stick. At Winnipeg airport I now borrow an airport wheelchair, pushed by my daughter, as she takes me through security. There, she stops, I check through the arch and my daughter leaves.

At the other side, a staff member arrives and takes me to my gate. There, another staff member pushes me down to the plane ahead of the other passengers.

That is all excellent. Now, my own helper can get a permit to take me to the departure gate which is better still.

However, I’ve also had bad experiences. Once I left Victoria airport via Air Canada and I was on my own. I walked to the desk with the help of my walking stick. When I asked for a wheelchair I was greeted by the male clerk with, “Why do you want a wheelchair?”

I explained, so he pointed to a row of wheelchairs and said something might come and push me to the exit!

That was very bad policy. I never used AC again when I lived in B.C.

After that I used WestJet, whose staff were always very helpful.

Staff certainly need training, so I hope they all get it.

Thank you for your letters section, I always find it interesting.

Joan H. Brown

Winnipeg

 

System needs change

Re: Bring back political joy (Think Tank, Aug. 15)

The article Bring back political joy was quite interesting, pleasantly hopeful, but I think slightly naive for a person of Mr. Wiens’s standing.

Some years ago I read a similar op-ed article that explained how parliamentary structure and rules were written around the notion that individuals would stand for election (similar to Athens description). Immediately, once in place, controlling individuals recognized that they could gain “control” by forming a bloc or “party” without even having a majority but simply by being the dominant presence. Apparently our parliamentary rules simply state that “the member who is most likely to have the confidence of the House of Commons shall be the Prime Minister.”

This applies to the provinces as well. The design of the U.S. Congress was similarly written with the intention of individual representation. It may appear to work on a local scale such as a city council, although I am certain informal cliques and blocs thrive there too. Since in our current system’s elected members arrive on the job with bloc or clique alliances that obviously “trump” notional national or provincial loyalty, there needs to be some form of change to the system that lets majority opinion among the citizens prevail over the bloc/clique interests.

At a minimum, I think that blocs should have to publicly report annual independently audited donor statements, with the exception that small (say less than $100) donation totals from individual citizens need only be reported in summation. This would preserve a reasonable expectation of individual privacy for a citizen.

Organizations, corporations, etc who make donations should be found committing an offence if masking political donations through third parties in the interest of letting citizens judge the root influences, aims and preferences of each party.

Some of the recent discussions proposing representation on total party votes would address some of these concerns but will never go ahead in the current system, or come to think of it, nor will the above donation reporting.

C’est la vie.

Garth Innes

Gimli

 

Chance to change course

Of late there has been a number of letters criticizing the provincial Conservatives for dropping the building codes to Energy Efficiency Tier 1, the lowest tier. I believe that it was a totally inappropriate move as well.

But, the Conservatives never cared about you when they passed it, and they definitely don’t care about the letters to the editor now. People have to stop venting and take action.

We have an election coming soon, so ask the candidates and the leaders of the NDP and Liberals if they will immediately change the building codes up to a Tier 3 or preferably a Tier 4 if they win the election. Then vote for that party or candidate.

The election gives us all a chance to correct the bad mistakes of the past government.

Paul Schick

Winnipeg

 

Canada must do its part

Canada is rightfully expected by the non-developed world to make the first meaningful moves on decarbonization; after all, our fossil-fuel products, notably bitumen, have done some of the most polluting thus environmental damage.

Many people are fleeing global-warming-related extreme weather events and/or chronic crop failures in the southern hemisphere, widely believed by climate scientists to be related to the northern hemisphere’s chronic fossil-fuel burning, beginning with the Industrial Revolution.

Obstacles to climate progress were formidable pre-pandemic, and COVID-19 added to them.

Also problematic were/are the very large populace being too tired and worried about feeding and housing themselves or their family while on insufficient income to worry about the environment — however much it’s much needed.

Frank Sterle

White Rock, B.C.

 

Lessons from the past

Since February of 2022, when Russia attacked Ukraine, many articles have appeared in the Free Press about the invasion, the destruction of cities, the mass killings and the displacement of Ukrainian refugees. I appreciate the Free Press’s involvement, keeping up the public informed pertaining to the war.

These days it seems that in order to have the world pay attention to causes, one must resort to terrorism, to bombing and killing of innocent people.

Eighty four years ago on Aug. 23, 1939 an agreement was signed between Stalin and Hitler that came to be known as the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. This agreement claimed lives, as the case in Ukraine now.

What happened then, it seems like similar factors are occurring now.

The plan was not only to seize foreign territories, the major intent was to destroy the national states of Eastern Europe and the Baltic nations: the map of Europe changed, as it is changing now. Then, the entire eastern part of Europe was redrawn by two aggressors. On Aug. 23, 1939, Russia and Nazi Germany capped years of co-operation by dividing the territory of Poland and the Baltic States such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania between them. This Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact allowed the invasion of Poland, first by Germany on Sept. 1, 1939 and soon after by Russia on Sept. 17, 1939.

This pact gave the Russians acquisition of the Baltic States, the eastern territories of Poland, southern Finland, Moldova and northern Romania and Ukraine. During the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of religion were non-existent. These basic human rights which we as Canadians take for granted were violated by Russia.

Each year on Aug. 23, people in eastern Europe reflect and show their solidarity for peace and freedom, and a strong bond of unity, under the banner of NATO. This day in August is remembered by Europeans because of the partition of Europe, the loss of precious freedoms and those who become victims — as the case in Ukraine because they stood in defense of their beliefs — history is repeating itself. Aug. 23, 1939 is called Black Ribbon Day.

Peter John Manastyrsky

Winnipeg