Letters, Sept. 26

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/09/2023 (922 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

No more silence

Re: Parental rights not a new rallying cry (Editorial, Sept. 23); Misleading messages undermine education (Think Tank, Sept. 23); and Tories’ platform tilts precariously on ‘parental rights’ (Sept. 16)

Kudos to the Free Press for several excellent pieces in the past week on the so-called “parental rights” movement. All these did a great job of calling out this movement as a scam, since parents already have the “rights” they claim to be seeking. As Dan Lett perfectly described it, the whole thing is “hate masquerading as a motherhood issue.”

And while the editorial did a good job of showing the American, racist, homophobic, transphobic, anti-public education roots of these groups, it has been very disturbing to see how many Canadian politicians are heading down this road. After New Brunswick got the ball rolling, Saskatchewan doubled down and threatened to invoke the notwithstanding clause (you know you’re on the wrong side of history when you admit that your law is contrary to human rights legislation). And speaking of knowing you are wrong, the fact that Pierre Poilievre (yes, the same person whose Conservative Party just passed policies limiting gender-affirming health care for youth) instructed all caucus members to stay silent on the protests tells us all we need to know, since if many Conservative MPs really said what they were thinking, Canadians would recognize them for the transphobes they are.

It has also been disappointing to see so many non-politicians (including some who should know better) being attracted by these dog whistles. One such “neutral” viewpoint says “Well, both sides have valid points….” — completely false! One side wants to scapegoat and are actively anti-LGBTTQ+, while the rest of us want to actually allow kids to live their genuine lives.

The truly scary thing about somehow trying to be neutral (which is what so many are doing on this issue, sadly) is that it brings to mind Elie Wiesel’s famous quote “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

On Oct. 3, Manitobans have a chance to take sides. Are you going to support the oppressor and buy into the hateful, anti-LGBTTQ+ vision Heather Stefanson, Obby Khan, and the PCs are offering, or will we show empathy and stand up for the rights and dignity of all?

Robbie Scott

Winnipeg

 

Questions, needing answers

Re: Seven Oaks students absent amid ‘fear-mongering’ (Sept. 22)

How is it that one day after a cabal of prudish bigots used their lies to defame teachers, trans-students, and administrators, as well as to coerce parents in one school division alone to keep 1,000 children from school, yet during Thursday’s leader’s debate, neither the moderator, nor the three journalists, nor the other two party leaders chose to hold Stephenson to task for fueling these idiots with her parental rights policy? What is wrong with people?

If Manitoba ends up with a Florida-style “don’t say gay” bill, it will be due to people not speaking out against this poison.

Les Hanson

Winnipeg

 

Rally turnout encouraging

I attended the Trans Youth Support Rally at the Manitoba Legislature on Sunday, and I am a changed person as a result. Along with thousands of others, I witnessed love in action. I have never been so proud of Winnipeg.

I was not nearly as proud when I watched the news coverage of the parade and rally last Wednesday where the marchers, with their arms raised, shouted slogans demanding absolute parental rights. Parental rights are important.

Parental rights are an ideal to strive for if we lived in a perfect world where all parents were loving, kind, and accepting. Sadly, some trans youth live in families with transphobic parents. Demanding absolute parental rights puts the lives of these unfortunate youth in danger.

Suicide is already a leading cause of death among trans youth. Parents having absolute parental rights will increase the danger of trans youth suicide. People and political parties must know that demanding trans youth be outed to their parents can only increase this danger. Sending “prayers and condolences” to parents whose child is no longer with them will be of little comfort.

As I watched the news coverage of last Wednesday’s rally and parade, I kept thinking this-can-not-be-happening-in-my-Manitoba. It just cannot be happening. There was a silver lining in this dark cloud.

I could have sat at home and supported from the sidelines. I can no longer do this. I now want to actively support the 1987 Manitoba Human Rights Code.

The 1987 Manitoba Human rights Code gives grounds of protection for, among other things, “sexual orientation, gender identity, (and) gender expression.” This code must be upheld; I cannot allow hate to repeal it.

I am no longer someone who sits on the sidelines. I want to become an activist for this cause. I will be contacting the candidates in my riding BEFORE the Oct. 3 election. I can only vote for a candidate willing to work to maintain the 1987 Manitoba Human Rights Code.

Lastly, I want to congratulate the organizers of Sunday’s rally. It was a rally of peace, love, and respect. The citizens of Winnipeg showed their love and acceptance of trans youth by attending in the thousands. Love must triumph over hate.

Bruce Macdonald

Winnipeg

 

Health plan half-baked

On Thursday, Wab Kinew said that south Winnipeg “lost” its emergency room, and that he was going to fix that: not only to upgrade their urgent care facility (which he at first had said was not possible) but put “shovels in the ground” and build a fancy new emergency for them, now that somehow this suddenly had become possible. There are similar promises for north Winnipeg as well.

Kinew failed to note at the same time, however, that central Winnipeg, notably West Broadway, Wolseley, and River Heights, (just to mention a few constituency names) had also “lost” its emergency room (at Misericordia) in 1998, and then subsequently “lost” even its urgent care facility there in 2017. In that year, a majority of its 37,000 visits had been from residents of the Point Douglas area. The whole of the inner city had been affected by this “loss,” yet Kinew is not offering to fix this for the people of inner Winnipeg; in fact this loss in the inner city appears to be nowhere near Kinew’s radar.

Is that because largely these residents are either working class, or poor, indigent, homeless and otherwise disadvantaged, and so have become invisible to politicians like Kinew? Or is it because everybody knows that the inner city almost always votes NDP and so it is safe during elections for Kinew to ignore their needs?

Some people might be led to suspect the sincerity (or at least the transparency) of Kinew’s vision for rescuing health care in Manitoba. There are certainly blind spots, and a substantial lack of comprehension. In short, has been fully thought through?

T. Furmaniuk

Winnipeg

 

Hoping right choices are made

Re: 43 years of government abuse and intransigence (Think Tank, Sept. 25)

John Perrin’s excellent article is a cautionary tale about how human systems can and do fail us. All too often we see decisions that are made which reflect the fear of litigation, the protection of one’s turf and the total inability to take responsibility for mistakes made.

John concludes with the comment that hopefully “the current generation of provincial and civic leaders will… do the right thing.” Indeed!

Mac Horsburgh

Winnipeg