Letters, Oct. 16

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/10/2023 (923 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Neighbourhood blight

On Oct. 17, Winnipeg city council will vote to allow residential homes that have been operating as daily rental hotels in R1 residential-zoned neighbourhoods prior to Feb. 23, 2023 to continue to operate as hotels.

In my opinion, Mayor Scott Gillingham, supported by councillors Chambers, Rollins, Orliko, Gilroy, Browaty, Dobson, and Duncan have abandoned residents living in neighbourhoods with these daily rental hotels in favour of real estate speculators and investors.

Think about that: you bought or rented a home in an R1 residential area and now you have to live next door to a daily rental hotel.

Not one of these houses would have been approved to operate a daily rental business if they had applied to city council for approval and business licensing before they started operating these hotels.

Many of these houses were previously used as student or multi-person rooming houses. When the City of Winnipeg enforced bylaws to clamp down on rooming houses, these operators moved to the short-term rental model and found it more lucrative.

The council meeting on Tuesday will be presented with a report showing definite costs to the city of $750,000 or more, including costs for six more employees to enforce the bylaw, three more vehicles to be leased, software costs, etc.

Of course there is also estimated income from taxes, registration fees, etc.

The value of any revenue from accommodation taxes should factor in that most people using daily rental accommodations would be coming to Winnipeg anyway, renting a conventional hotel, and paying the accommodation tax and associated costs. It is not likely that anyone solely bases their decision to visit Winnipeg or not on whether a short-term rental in a residential area is available.

The city proposal estimates the number of daily rental hotels operating in the city at 900 houses. A search of online platforms, consultation with real estate investors and realtors, along with the personal experience I have with two of these hotels on my residential street leads me to suggest that the city is grossly under-estimating by a minimum of 50 per cent, and the true number of short-term rental units is currently closer to 2,000.

Mayor Gillingham has been looking to the federal government for $175 million to create affordable housing with the generation of approximately 600 housing units. On Tuesday, Mayor Gillingham will preside over a vote that will permanently take somewhere between $270 million to $540 million of residentially zoned real estate out of the rental pool (based on 900 to 1,800 existing daily rental hotels).

How does this add to community livability and safety for area residents? How does this protect the property values of existing homeowners? Is this a wise use of our tax dollars?

I’ve lived in Winnipeg my whole life and spent over 45 years in the real estate and finance industry. Never in my wildest dreams could I foresee a city council that would allow daily rental hotels to operate in the heart of residential neighborhoods.

Cities such as New York, with far more experience than Winnipeg with short-term rentals, are banning these, except in cases where the owner lives in the residential property and is present on site.

If you care about our home neighbourhoods remaining residential, then it’s time to let the mayor and council know that operating daily rental hotels in residential neighborhoods is not acceptable in Winnipeg.

The vote is Tuesday Oct. 17, so today is the day to let your voice be known.

Laurie Foster

Winnipeg

At what cost?

Palestinians have a right to a peaceful existence in their own state, but to achieve this, should Israeli women be raped and shot to death?

Should babies be pulled off their mothers breasts and taken to a hostile country? Should over 200 innocent young people at a dance festival be butchered to death? Should Israeli citizens have their throats slashed and bleed to death? Should vulnerable elderly in wheelchairs be kidnapped?

Should children be forced to watch while Hamas terrorists shoot and kill their parents in front of them? Should Israeli prisoners be paraded in front of cheering crowds in Gaza? Should the bodies of dead Israelis be defiled publicly to shouts of Allahu Akbar, God is great?

Hamas is nothing but a terrorist organization! They are perpetrators of the most disgusting, depraved and unimaginable war crimes. The entire world, including Palestinians, should condemn these acts of inhumanity, in the strongest terms possible.

The stated objective of Hamas is to destroy the Jewish people. How is it possible for Israel to negotiate peace with such a depraved and amoral entity?

To blame Israel for all of the problems in Gaza is extremely unfair. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Hamas took over Gaza in 2006 by force and then by an election. They have not allowed an election since then.

Hamas puts their violent objectives ahead of the needs of the Palestinian people. As long as Hamas rules there will never be peace in Gaza. They spend million upon millions of dollars to buy and produce missiles and other weapons. Millions are spent on the construction of multiple underground passages.

Gaza must have a government whose objective is peace with Israel. I am certain that Israel would then be happy to negotiate peace with the Palestinians.

Arthur Blank

Winnipeg

Hurtful echoes

While reading Joanne Vinet’s article acknowledging miscarriages and stillbirths (“Learning to listen,” Think Tank, Oct. 11), I was reminded of my own experiences.

The unthinking comments still hurt.

Kudos to this writer for taking her painful experiences and turning them into healing moments for others.

Jane Woelk, (retired chaplain)

Winnipeg

In proportion

Re: “Responding to terror,” Oct. 13

The Free Press editorial board is under fierce attack by pro-Israel groups for arguing that Israel’s “retaliation has to be proportional and has to be designed to directly target the attackers and Hamas — and not indiscriminately harm ordinary Palestinians.”

The rule of proportionality is a well-established principle in international humanitarian law.

Belligerents are required to use means that prevent the incidental loss of civilian life. That the Free Press is upholding this fundamental principle should not be controversial.

At the time of writing, Israel is amassing its troops on the border. A ground invasion inflicting mass civilian casualties and displacement looks almost inevitable.

To advocate for anything beyond a proportional response by Israel is to call for the collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza.

If Canada has any respect for international law, it should be working to prevent the looming prospect of such a grave humanitarian crisis. Calls for further bloodshed should be drowned out by demands for a negotiated peace that respects the human dignity of all parties.

Jason Toney

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East

Montreal