Letters, Sept. 23

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/09/2023 (934 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thoughts on debate

Re: Leaders square off in last major debate (Sept. 22)

Watching and listening to the recent political forums, featuring the three major party leaders in Manitoba, still does not help me come to an educated decision as to who to vote for.

NDP leader Wab Kinew, with a rather questionable character background, speaks volumes about fixing health care, searching the dumps for possible missing persons … both requiring enormous amounts of money.

Reopening ERs sounds great, however, there are no staff to hire into these positions. Searching the dumps, while certainly heart-breaking circumstances, is a Band-Aid solution to much bigger problems.

Bringing in Doer and Axworthy before the election is a bonus as they bring a feeling of wisdom and experience. Will that advisory role continue after the election?

No one but Dougald Lamont has addressed the plight of mental illness, homelessness and addictions. Our health-care system sorely lacks any frontline treatment for our citizens in these situations. Lamont is the only one who wants to fix these problems that affect all of us indirectly in our day-to-day lives. From increased prices, store and restaurant owners forced to raise due to brazen theft, stress on our emergency departments, to fear of being caught unexpectedly during some form of major crime, from stolen auto chases to auto theft and break-in damages.

Heather Stefanson had been a major player during the Pallister leadership that brought our health-care system down to its knees.

Severely reducing nurses in the frontline care ratio has created a huge gap in patient care.

Being well aware the baby boomers are reaching an age requiring increased health care needs such as joint replacements, age-related cardiovascular diagnoses, and cataract surgeries to the increased need of age-related mental and physical support and help in the community, the PC government chose to ignore the input from nurses and physicians regarding our aging population.

Now Stefanson appeals to our heartstrings by promising to fix what’s broken. Again, there are no staff to hire into these promised projects. What took years to break will take many more years to fix.

The dollar signs keep increasing as she promises what she simply cannot deliver. Huge sums spent on fixing the acute nursing shortage, trips to the Philippines resulting in a handful of hires. What about the many internationally trained nurses, who have recently immigrated to Canada and are unable to work as a nurse due to licensing restrictions? Although they do make excellent health-care aids, this group could be given the training required to bring them up to Manitoba standards much quicker and cheaper.

Finally, for all the three leaders, while trying to “out promise” each other, can they really deliver on all these promises?

Perhaps that’s why Dougald Lamont hasn’t been competing by out-promising, rather he is being more realistic and cautious. I respect that!

Karen Zurba

Winnipeg

During an election campaign, every political party and their leader boldly proclaims we will fix (whatever the hell that means) health care. For the past three months, most notably from the NDP who have made it their campaign focal point, I have heard/read their grandiose ideas put forth to the public with the greatest of confidence, dare I say smugness.

Perhaps the NDP has a resident wizard on staff who will conjure up 400 doctors/specialists, 200 paramedics, 300 nurses, and 100 homecare workers with a flick of his wand. Presto, health care fixed.

Every election for the past 30 years, you hear the same crap from all political parties, especially from the opposition shouting from the treetops that we have a million and one new ideas that will fix health care, yet when each party’s time in government is done, health care is in worse shape than when they took over. In four years, it will be the same story.

I for one will no longer naively fall for their snake oil, and the decision on who I vote for will be based on what is pledged for issues such as homelessness, crime, the economy/deficit, education, the climate, everything but healthcare.

Note to everyone: no government will ever come close to fixing health care No politician has the skill set to head up an $8-billion enterprise.

I would have more respect for a political party if their health-care campaign promise was. “We promise to leave health care alone, to ensure it won’t get worse.”

Ricky Watts

Winnipeg

 

Kids have rights

Re: Parental rights drive puts LGBTTQ+ students in harm’s way, trans Liberal MLA candidate warns (Sept. 21)

After reading Maggie Macintosh’s article about Trevor Kirczenow’s experience as a trans youth who would have feared what could have been had he experienced today’s climate of fearmongering, I was surprised (not surprised) to read that the parents’ rights Premier Stefanson has been pushing (without details of the extra rights) is the public’s homework to figure out.

As someone who works in a school setting, I would like to help you with that.

Schools are always looking for members to join their parent advisory committees. It is every parent’s right to join and have their voices heard. And for you, Premier Stefanson, please read up on the articles of the United Nation declaration of the rights of the child. Parents do not own their children. Children have the right to absolute autonomy of oneself to decide for themselves, and to be protected from abuse and harm.

We are a city that is home to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Mrs . Stephenson, you are willing to fail our children’s safety. Enough!

Gisele Bedard

Beausejour

 

Seniors need vax coverage

A new vaccine for those over 60 is now recommended to protect the elderly against respiratory syncytial virus. Currently, the province does not cover the $200 cost of this RSV vaccine to the very people that they recommend to include this new vaccine in preparation for the coming of the respiratory virus season.

It is covered for those over 60 in Ontario, so somehow that province feels it is a priority. I wonder just how much a week in hospital costs for each patient who needs to be hospitalized because of serious infection as a result of not receiving the vaccine.

I am getting fed up with the litany of excuses that the government seems to have for once again letting down seniors. We seem to be invisible to our current government. We are told time and time again that our health-care system has an obligation to look after our senior population. They have a right to be treated with dignity and respect. Words are cheap and mean nothing if there is never follow-up.

Many seniors are on a fixed income, some are frail, and many live below the poverty line, and have no allowance for an additional expense of $200 that they did not include in their budget. Do they buy groceries? Do they pay their rent? Where is the dignity in all that?

Many of our senior population have and remain on long lists for cataract surgery, along with hip and knee replacements. Many have waited for one or two years, living with pain. Where is the caring and dignity in that?

It is time for the government to get their act together and start treating their seniors as a priority. The indicator for a progressive society that is truly human, is how they treat the weakest among us — the disabled, the young, the elderly and the mentally ill.

Manitoba still has the opportunity to step up and make the RSV vaccine available to our elderly population.

We are tired of being invisible.

Nicole Stimpson-Brown

Winnipeg