Letters, Dec. 14

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This article was published 14/12/2023 (1021 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More useful measures of pay

Re: Think tank urges minimum-wage hike (Dec. 13)

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Manitoba’s report calling for an increase to the minimum hourly wage rate to ensure a “living wage,” says nothing. The hourly rate alone does not determine income; hours worked must be included and clearly identified, in the calculation. How many hours of paid work per week were used in the calculation?

Many Manitobans are working part-time positions with limited hours. $19.21 per hour is not going to provide a “living wage” to anyone limited to working 10, 15 or 20 hours per week. And even full-time hours range from 40 to 37.5 to 35 hours per week, depending on the employer.

A far more useful report would have shown what the writers are considering an annual “living wage,” the weekly or annual income required to meet that living wage and the determinants used in reaching the “living wage” number. Only then can any example such as a household with two working adults and two children have any validity or relevance.

Again, wage rates alone do not determine income; hours worked must be included in the calculation. Both must be clearly identified.

Mary-Ann Gibson

Winnipeg

Cool plan

Now that the federal government is reviving decades-old plans to construct prefabricated homes, albeit modern ones, is it possible that all new homes in Manitoba could come equipped with solar panels on the roof and indoor cold rooms?

A cold room would be an insulated indoor room with access to outside temperatures to eliminate the need for any electricity to keep things cool/frozen during our winters — that is, an indoor version of the old cold cellar which was common in rural areas from generations past.

Eric Unger

Winnipeg

Turn up thermostat

As seniors who follow multiple grandchildren’s hockey games, my wife and I get to enjoy many of the city’s arenas.

Together with many of the parents attending, we are all puzzled by the fact these arenas don’t make use of their heating systems. The fact thousands of dollars have been spent to install them, it’s a poor investment if we don’t use them.

One has to wonder if there is outside influence not to use them. People will still buy coffee and hot chocolate even if the heat’s on!

Don Johnson

Winnipeg

Have conviction

Re: ‘Abundance of caution’ drives city to move menorah for day (Dec. 12)

The temporary removal of the menorah broadcasts two distressing admissions from Winnipeg City Hall and from the acquiescent Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.

The first, that a seasonal religious symbol representing a mere 1.4 per cent of the national population requires physical protection from any group or groups of the wider Canadian mosaic; and, the second, that the civic authorities were unwilling to advocate for the Charter’s Section 2 rights to freedom of expression and belief which would have accompanied the lamp’s opening day display.

Rather than displacing the menorah “out of an abundance of caution” — a hackneyed expression now synonymous with political timidity — civic authorities ought to have ensured a visible police presence informing those with any ill intent that no racial or religious intolerance would be permitted on this administration’s watch.

No matter how proactive the indoor move may have seemed, hiding from sight should never be a substitute for moral conviction.

Graham R. Mann

Winnipeg

Poverty’s impact on learning

Re: Worrying data (Letters, Dec. 11); Manitoba students’ math scores improve, but still ‘worrying’ (Dec. 5)

Thanks to John Murray who, in a Dec. 11 letter, illustrates how there is more to glean from the large-scale assessment PISA 2022 (mostly Grade 10; focus on math this round) than scores and ranks.

A weekly ‘Slices of PISA’ insert of published and unpublished analyses could address many topics. Is the no-fail policy real? From the Dec. 5 article Manitoba students’ math scores improve, but still ‘worrying’, are scores improving? Are they worrying? Are they “remarkable” (per Education Minister Nello Altomare)? Is “direct instruction” the best way to teach math? Are students anxious about math? Are staff shortages and student poverty concerning?

Regarding poverty, socio-economic status (SES) (addressed in Mr. Murray’s letter) routinely stands out in research regarding academic achievement. Manitoba’s PISA mathematics rank dropped between PISA 2006 and PISA 2009; this was simultaneous with a drop in rank of the PISA-generated index of student SES. In PISA 2018, Manitoba’s index of SES was the lowest among provinces, as was the math score rank. In PISA 2022, the five provinces with the lowest math score, including Manitoba, also have the five lowest PISA indices of SES. Manitoba’s SES index is the lowest again, consistent with the report Campaign 2000, End Child and Family Poverty from the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, which states that the rate of child poverty in Manitoba is the highest among provinces.

The government document Pathways to a Better Future: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction Strategy states that “Poverty is complex and multi-faceted … (and includes) … inequitable access, absence of opportunities, social isolation, discrimination and stigma.” Given this pervasive and the relatively wide-spread effects of poverty in Manitoba, the observations above, and the fact that the decline in PISA math scores is over 15 years old across Canada and in many countries, this cursory slice of the PISA pie suggests that the fact and impact of poverty ought to be of paramount concern, be it for PISA scores or for more compelling reasons.

Ken Clark

Winnipeg

Next generation needs guidance

Re: COP28 — Sound and fury, signifying nothing (Think Tank, Dec. 11)

The recent op-ed by Norman Brandson is somewhat alarming in its cynicism and tone and maybe a smidge of hypocrisy (how many conferences did he attend on the taxpayers dollar without a measurable benefit?).

While COP 28 (and previous summits) may be a bloated world stage on climate change, Mr. Brandson’s slagging of the whole process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is simplistic and sensational in its condemnation. Similar to recent political approaches, the article serves to divide rather than unite on this most pressing human and planetary problems.

Surprisingly, he offers only his sandwich board comment as the eventuality without COP. It sounds more like an unsupported handoff to the next generation. Our grandkids may figure it out, but not without the guiding hand of rational grandparents.

Patrick McGarry

Winnipeg

Support libraries

I am writing to support our public library system. Unfortunately, most of the attention recently has focused on security, but this should not detract from the social value of libraries.

A recent editorial noted that the Wold Health Organization has declared loneliness to be a significant health problem. A book is a companion, most often an intelligent companion. Fiction gives us an insight into the complexity of human nature, non-fiction gives us an insight into the evolution of human societies.

A strong public library system is a bulwark against prejudice and selfishness, it literally makes our democracy stronger.

To amend a famous saying of Mark Twain slightly, “ A person who reads is my friend and comrade without need for further introduction.”

Please support funding for our libraries.

Kurt Clyde

Winnipeg