Letters, Dec. 13

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/12/2023 (1022 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just trying to get places

I am a woman with a disability. I have been in a wheelchair for most of my adult life. I am also very active and engaged in my community.

The City of Winnipeg snow clearing bylaw reads: ” Snow clearing on city sidewalks is the responsibility of the property owner from property line to property line. Minimal machine clearing by the city is a courtesy.”

This bylaw is not new. All winter long I travel with a shovel strapped to my wheelchair. You will see me and others like me travelling on the street all winter long. Often in bike lanes. I am aware this is challenging for motorists but I don’t have a choice if I am allowed independence. Some of you have neighbours that barely shovel their own paths. This makes most areas inaccessible.

So please understand I am just trying to live and work just like you. No one helps me or many of us, so think about what you might do. Instead of giving the finger, how about just give me a wave as you drive past.

Laurie Helgason

Winnipeg

Addressing a basic need

Re: University of Winnipeg get free hygiene products on campus (Dec. 12)

Congratulations to the executive of UWSA for drawing attention to menstruation and products required by those who menstruate. Supplying pads and tampons should be the norm, not the exception. We would never accept having to carry around personal toilet paper to use when we leave our homes, so why are menstrual products treated differently?

Half of the population menstruates for 480 (on average) periods in their lifetime. Free access should always be available — and not just for emergencies, but consistently.

We know that period poverty is a real thing as menstrual products are expensive. Many struggling with the high cost of living do not always have the funds for these necessities, thus interfering with attending school, work, or just day to day activities.

Giving folks what they need for basic personal hygiene is imperative and maybe having these products readily available in public washrooms will help lose the stigma of periods.

Melissa Dvorak

Winnipeg

Removing menorah bad move

Re: ‘Abundance of caution’ drives city to move menorah for day (Dec. 11)

I disagree with the mayor’s reasoning and the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s CEO Jeff Lieberman’s agreeing with him to remove the menorah for a day. Protests have security. If someone vandalizes or destroys properties they should be arrested and charged. There has to be consequences for ones actions. Without consequences every type of crime will escalate, as we see happening today.

This is Canada, a democracy. We shouldn’t have to be afraid to be who we are, to wear a religious symbol, or go to a house of worship or a community gathering. If our politicians and law enforcement want our respect, they have to earn it.

It’s time to stop talking and studying and start acting. Freedom of speech is disagreeing and discussing. Advocating for and doing damage, destruction and assault is hate.

It’s time for consequences for one’s actions.

Rochelle Litvack

Winnipeg

Time for new strategy on theft

Re: Retail theft a symptom of other problems (Editorial, Dec. 11)

I totally agree with your editorial on the need to find root causes for the problem of retail theft. I grew up in Manitoba, but moved north for three decades, returning a couple of years ago when the liquor store thefts were at their zenith. I was shocked; this was not the Manitoba I had left. And a minor correction to your editorial, the controlled entrances may have been installed in “Liquor Mart” stores across the province, but in rural towns, liquor outlets in grocery/hardware/convenience stores, it’s business as usual. There is hope.

The immediate “law and order” response by the previous government was to be expected: lock it down, mission accomplished. Police working with social service agencies on diversion programs for first time offenders is a great step in the right direction. I believe we now have a Manitoba government willing and able to take more steps in actually fixing the underlying problems.

Efforts must be made in a number of areas: improved mental health support, adult education/training and job opportunities, family supports, recreational and sporting avenues, among others. But enforcement must also be in the mix. When perpetrators believe there is no consequence, there is no deterrent. Policing must be involved, even if the outcome is a diversion program as opposed to fines or jail time.

We are living in unprecedented times, and new approaches are required.

Clark Marcino

Brandon

Imbalance in the system

Re: Retail theft a symptom of other problems (Editorial, Dec. 11); A tale of two scandals (Think Tank, Dec. 11)

Mac Horsburgh’s well-researched article on the subject of the former dean of the faculty of law at the University of Manitoba running off with $500,000 and not being charged is disturbing and hard to comprehend.

It is ironic that on the opposite page, a Free Press editorial reports that 150 people have been charged for petty crimes in retail stores. So stealing $10 from a dollar store gets you criminally charged but stealing $500,000 from a university, no problem.

White-collar criminals are obviously treated differently at the expense of taxpayers and donors.

Terry Aseltine

Winnipeg

Perfect venue for COP

COP 29, the annual international climate change gab-fest, will be held next year in Azerbaijan. Rated by Transparency International as one of the most corrupt nations in Europe (more corrupt than Russia!), as well as being a significant oil producer, this is an even better location than Dubai.

Given the uselessness of the previous 28 COPs, I would suggest that Canada’s COP 29 delegation should number two (in case one falls ill). They should travel by the cheapest economy airfare and be instructed to listen and only listen at the meetings. And wouldn’t it be refreshing if we were given a full public accounting of the cost of sending an army of Canadians to COP28?

Perhaps the federal auditor general could look into this matter.

Norman Brandson

Winnipeg

The power of libraries

As a Grade 8 student at Linden Meadows, I have been to a library, studied about libraries, and have written about libraries. But the shame of libraries funding brings me to write to you. Today, I am writing to you about the importance of libraries and why we should fund them.

Libraries are about knowledge and supporting our society. But when we have everything at our disposal, libraries might become less and less used. There is a problem with this. Technology is the one that gives us all this knowledge and power. If it is limited, people will have to turn to something, and without libraries people do not have anything to turn to.

A homeless person in the streets has no food, no shelter, and no money. If they had anything they could turn to, it would have been long before. Libraries give people an opportunity by sharing their knowledge, shelter, internet, and technology. But without a library, people must work harder even though some are at minimum wage, for all the inflation has been crucial and they need something.

So, when funding libraries, more people would be able to be educated, have access to technology with the computers in the library, and people would have a place to work or get books.

Iggy Zaidel

Winnipeg