Letters, Oct. 18

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/10/2023 (946 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

E-bikes’ future

Re: Cities must adapt to new bike tech (Editorial, Oct. 17)

Just recently, while walking on the sidewalk downtown on Portage Avenue, an e-bike rider came up from behind me on the sidewalk at very high speed with no sound or warning and wove in and out of pedestrians on the sidewalk and crosswalk.

Several days later, while seated at a window in a restaurant on Portage Avenue across from one of the University of Winnipeg campus buildings, I watched as an e-scooter rider move at high speed in the middle of a traffic lane with big motor vehicles in front and behind. The e-scooter rider had no helmet or protective gear.

The tiny wheels of the e-scooter contrasted frighteningly with the roughness of the roadway.

So it seems that when it comes to e-bikes and e-scooters, some riders lack good judgment and need regulations and enforcement.

Maybe third-party injuries and damage, along with civil lawsuits, will be part of the future of e-bikes and e-scooters.

Holly Bertram

Winnipeg

The fight goes on

Re: “Obscene accusations” (Letters, Oct. 17)

Brad McKay’s letter was outstanding! It took me back to my high school days at Neepawa Area Collegiate Institute.

Margaret Laurence books were “not allowed” for study in our curriculum.

I always heard gossipy negative talk about Margaret. My grandma babysat her once and described her as having “big eyes and being quite odd”. I wonder if that is how she would have described my little daughters?

It wasn’t until I moved away and The Margaret Laurence Home Committee purchased Margaret’s grandfathers house, where she lived from 1935 to 1944, that I realized students of Neepawa Area Collegiate were deprived of studying Margaret Laurence books because of a small group of men who didn’t have a clue about literature!

The Margaret Laurence House became a world renowned museum where groups of visitors from as far away as Japan, would come to the museum and the cemetery to see the stone angel.

I do not have facts, only information from townspeople that Margaret’s books were not allowed in the school because, “she swore, she smoked, she left her husband.”

I wonder how the school division worked back then? Probably all men and the decision was cut and dried with no public chance to dispute the decision.

Today, we do have those public forums to challenge school board decisions, but to what end? We are dealing with extremists who you cannot have meaningful dialogue with.

There are so many other ways teachers can connect with their students, helping them in all areas of their life struggles, without having to reach for a book in the school library.

Is the fight worth it?

Adele McMurray

Portage la Prairie

Every little bit helps

Re: Reconsidering cuts to gas tax (Think Tank, Oct. 17)

Marianne Cerilli states in her article that eliminating the provincial gas tax will save a driver $1,300 per year if that driver spends $100 per week ($5,200) on gas.

In her calculation the gas tax works out to 25 per cent of the cost of gas, when in reality the 14 cent per litre tax works out to only nine per cent of the cost per litre at today’s prices.

This would be a savings of approximately $468 over the course of a year, or $234 for the six months that the tax cut would be in effect. Not a huge savings for middle or high income earners, but for the many Manitoba seniors on a fixed income or those earning modest incomes, it can make a difference.

Bill Parkes

Winnipeg

I completely agree with Marianne Cerelli’s piece arguing that the NDP should not revoke gas taxes.

Paying some of the potential $300 million-per-year in lost revenue towards bus passes for those living at or below the poverty line in Manitoba would significantly help with their day-to-day living costs. Increased ridership on city buses would indirectly subsidize public transit, which is, post COVID, starving for revenue. It would have a minor impact on fossil fuel vehicle drivers who would pay 14 cents a litre less on their fuel.

Our family drives an electric vehicle and revoking the gas tax has the added detriment of subsidizing fossil fuel vehicles over EVs.

Jake Giesbrecht

Winnipeg

Computers not just for the young

Re: Polling station staff contradict Elections Manitoba claim they were adequately trained (Oct. 17)

There was a comment made by a woman who said most people available to work during an election period are retirees and believes most are not that computer savvy and would benefit from greater hands-on training.

I find that comment insulting to older adults and shows another example of ageism. People, regardless of age, learn in different ways. Some are audio learners, some are visual learners and some use a combination of the two.

I am an older adult who uses a computer and a smartphone. I volunteer for an organization where I use a computer for some of the administrative tasks I perform. I am comfortable with the programs I use and I ask questions when needed.

I want to suggest a review of how people are trained and ensure they have the skills and confidence to perform their tasks when working at the polls.

Cindy Kelly

Winnipeg

Assessment is subjective

Re: Reimagining student assessment (Think Tank, Oct. 16)

This column takes me back to the research for my master of education thesis which focused on “authentic assessment.”

Consider these two examples: “Today, one of the frequent criticisms made of our high school graduates is, ‘Why, they can’t even spell!’” Another: “I listened to a dean of a college of liberal arts in one of our well-known universities address a group of high school teachers. He urged upon us one thing… he asked, begged, pleaded with us that we teach them to write a sentence.”

Both are from Talks to Beginning Teachers of English by Dorothy Dakin, published in 1937. That’s 85 years ago.

As an aside, I imagine there were complaints from parents in Athens about their sons lounging about under shade trees being taught by Socrates by his asking them questions. What my research imparted to me is that no matter what the subject area, no matter who the teacher, there will be a degree of subjectivity that adheres to assessment and evaluative procedures.

Any form of assessment requires, therefore, a system of reporting that provides: information to the student for reasons of continuous assessment; to the parent for reasons of formative and summative reporting; to the school administration to meet demands of ‘accountability’; and to the teacher, so the program can be as effective as possible. That system is “authentic assessment.”

Dave Normandale

Winnipeg

Kudos to Kinew

Re: Kinew to recognize Riel as honorary first premier (Oct. 16)

Thanks Premier-designate Wab Kinew. The settlers’ historians were not fair to Louis Riel — the founder and first leader of Manitoba and a founding father of Confederation.

It’s about time that Louis Riel’s picture in the legislature says ‘honorary first premier.’

Riel’s vision for an inclusive Manitoba still lives!

Derek Dabee

Winnipeg