Letters, Oct. 12

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/10/2023 (728 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Penny wise, pound foolish

I am writing in response to the article in the Oct. 6 edition by Joyanne Pursaga headlined Shelter in from the cold, for now.

I am a member of the board of directors for St. Boniface Street Links (SBSL). While I appreciate the duty of the city’s CAO and executive at large is to maximize the value taxpayers get from every civic property, there is no better value to the taxpayer than allowing SBSL to operate their outreach program year round.

Leaving any moral imperative to act on the issue of homelessness commonly associated with civil society aside for a moment, we should consider rationally the costs associated with not acting on the issue.

What many people don’t fully understand is that homelessness is a problem that actually costs more money to leave unabated than it does to fix. Independent studies into the problem of homelessness in Winnipeg estimate that costs to other city service and property amount to approximately $45,500 per person. This cost is incurred in relation to EMS, hospital visits, police, and incarceration, not to mention the related social detriments to the health of the homeless and our society as a whole.

During the past 29 months, SBSL has housed more than 600 homeless individuals. In my view, this is excellent value for taxpayer dollars.

The model used by SBSL involves engaging homeless people who attend the shelter with wraparound supports and doing what is required to get them more permanent housing. It’s a program that has had proven results and it’s something this city should be supporting.

I do not understand why Dec. 1 is the date the city has indicated that the space will be available. It’s desperately needed now. Waiting until Dec. 1 will leave many homeless in Winnipeg literally out in the cold.

Chris Gamby

Winnipeg

Time to act

With reference to an article on Sept. 9, Budget freeze puts wheelchair program in critical position.

It is upsetting to read about budget cuts to the wheelchair repair program to the level described in the article. Human rights are championed as needing to be on the same level for everyone, but that is not the case.

Timely repair of accessibility vans, whether publicly or privately owned needs to be available also. A three-year wait for a new wheelchair, once approved for any age, should be unacceptable to us all.

The article ends with a quote from Wab Kinew, “I’ll commit right now that an NDP government will fund these wheelchair repair technician jobs.”

I read this week that our premier-elect created an advisory committee. Does it include a person familiar with accessibility issues?

Margaret Wilcock

Winnipeg

Stand by …

Re: “I’m not going to apologize”,  Oct. 7.

I don’t know Marni Larkin, the co-chair of the PC’s 2023 re-election campaign, but I suspect that she spends a lot of time watching U.S. television.

“No, I’m not going to apologize,” — that sounds like Donald Trump.

The “Stand Firm” ad screamed at us that money trumps morals (a Trump trait) and that the two Indigenous women police believe were deposited in a landfill can continue to languish there.

“Stand firm” is a take-0ff of Trump’s statement: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”

Fortunately, Manitobans aren’t fools and they rejected all the sleazy ads.

So Ms. Larkin, please stand by to enjoy the swearing in of an NDP government.

Barry Elkin

Winnipeg

Not good enough

Re: Oakview Place staffing in line with provincial standards of care: WRHA

While the claim by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority may be true, the issue is that the provincial standards are inadequate for the task at hand.

My siblings and I take turns going to our mother’s personal care home each night to help her get ready for bed.

Part of the reason we do this is because the aides on staff are overwhelmed trying to care for all the residents. Their call alerts are constantly buzzing and we can hear residents calling for help throughout the evening.

The aides do their best to answer the calls but when you have four aides caring for 50 people, it is easy to see how not all can be served in a timely fashion. Plus we are talking about residents with all manner of physical and mental challenges.

Mr. Kinew, forget cutting gas taxes, freezing Hydro rates and opening more ER’s. Your first priority should be to amending these provincial “sub-standards” and providing more dollars in order to allow our elderly to have a dignified life.

And please do it soon as this is an issue that will only get worse.

Rene Vincent

Winnipeg

The WRHA said that the staffing levels at the troubled Oakview Place nursing home were at the right levels.

Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that what works on paper does not work in reality.

Perhaps the administration of WRHA should get up from their computers and go out into the real world.

I’m speaking from personal experiences.

Rochelle Litvack

Winnipeg

Time for change

This was not such a historic election mandate.

After assessing the total votes (only 55 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot) and votes for each party from Elections Manitoba data, it appears that only 25 per cent of eligible Manitobans voted for the NDP.

This means that about 75 per cent of eligible Manitobans did not vote for the NDP.

First, I am very concerned about voter apathy and would hope that Manitobans take this responsibility more seriously, because it is our future that is shaped by election results.

Every vote matters.

Second, I suppose that election platforms like “Vote like your life depends on it” and “Fighting for (insert topic here)” did not resonate with nearly half of Manitobans because they stayed away from the polls.

Looking forward, all parties need to reassess their positions to ensure they take care and lead all of us.

Tim Kist

Winnipeg

Tired of war

I am tired of war — war in Israel/Palestine, war in Ukraine, war in many other places.

I am tired of hearing political leaders wax eloquent about unwavering support for one side without any recognition that there have been causal and provocative actions on the other side contributing to the conflict.

I am tired of all the lies and cover-ups that are on display when wars break out.

I am tired of seeing billions of dollars spent to wage war. I am tired of witnessing destruction of life, property and environment because of war.

I am tired of seeing so many needy causes that go unsupported as we yield to the greedy demands of the military, industrial, political and media complex destroying our planet.

More specifically, I am already tired as in this most recent conflict, hearing our federal and even provincial leaders giving unwavering support for Israel without a whisper of recognition that oppressing people for decades in occupied territory is illegal by international laws.

But in my tiredness I will continue to oppose all wars and will again wear a white poppy: to commemorate all victims of war, to mourn the environmental devastation it causes, to reject war as a tool for social change, to call for dialogue and peaceful conflict resolution and to show my commitment to building a better future.

Ernie Wiens

La Salle