Letters, Dec. 15

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/12/2023 (670 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayor should rethink comment

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

We take serious exception to Mayor Scott Gillingham’s rationale to move the menorah indoors in fear of vandalism by pro-Palestinian rally attendees — apparently on the advice of the WPS.

We hope that this was not his intent and will clarify his comment. Unfortunately, his expressed concern that rally participants may vandalize the Menorah, was irresponsible and divisive. There was no need to make it a political issue by pointing to the pro-Palestine rally.

We appeal to our civic and political leaders to please refrain from tainting and demoralizing our diverse religious and ethnic diaspora communities — that are seeking solace, and are grieving the loss of human lives within the sanctuary of their respective faith and exercising their democratic rights peacefully.

Please be mindful of the responsibility to enhance civil harmony and not unwittingly sow seeds of division, discord, fear, and hate.

To the Winnipeg Jewish community, observing Hannukah – we pray for peace and healing.

Shahina Siddiqui

Ramsey Zeid- Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba

Winnipeg

Can’t have it both ways

Re: Ditch tax cuts, Labour groups urge (Dec. 14)

As a retired union representative, these labour groups must have forgot that they also have a responsibility to represent their retirees, workers on WCB, permanent disability and also the single parent.

With most all of the members in these groups living on a fixed income, any tax breaks are welcome. Yes, maybe not all the tax breaks will benefit everyone, but any portion of tax relief is better than nothing.

This same labour group complains when newly elected governments don’t live up to campaign promises.

Well this was one promise the government did campaign on and Manitobans elected them for it. Sometimes you can’t have it both ways.

Brian Short

Retired Grand Lodge representative

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

Ex-executive Council Member of the Manitoba Federation of Labour

Stonewall

Correcting Hydro record

Re: Hydro and drought — a litany of excuses (Think Tank, Dec. 13)

As the former senior vice-president and CFO for Manitoba Hydro, I feel compelled to refute the allegations of Tim Sale that Hydro misled the government and the public about the comparative costs of alternative forms of generation, including wind. In fact, all options were extensively and rigorously reviewed by the Public Utilities Board before the wise decision was made to approve Keeyask as the most optimal source of next generation for Manitoba.

Sale asserts that Keeyask’s costs are “well over 13 cents per kW.h.” This is grossly overstated. In fact, despite capital costs for Keeyask being higher than originally forecasted, Hydro was able to secure long-term financing at historically low interest rates which resulted in Keeyask’s unit cost of generation being close to 7.5 cents per kW.h. This comparatively low cost, combined with the significantly lower environmental footprint than a wind/gas turbine alternative, validates Keeyask as the far superior generation source for the province. It should also be noted that the construction of Bipole III transmission was essential to maintain the reliability of the entire northern generation system and its costs should not be attributed to Keeyask.

Sale also states that Hydro “fought tooth and nail” against wind farms in Manitoba. In fact, wind was always a serious contender in Hydro’s power resource planning and in order to entice wind developers to locate the existing wind farms in Manitoba, considerable incentives were provided. The cost of wind generation has dropped substantially over the past decades and it is expected that wind will continue to be considered in Hydro’s future resource planning.

With respect to drought, Mr. Sale is correct and Hydro is fully aware that periodic droughts can have significant impacts on financial and operational plans. But the inevitability of droughts reinforces the invaluable contribution of our strong interconnections with neighboring jurisdictions in the USA, Ontario and Saskatchewan. Not only are these jurisdictions lucrative markets for Hydro’s surplus power during periods of high water flows, they are also a reliable source of power during low water flows.

Manitoba Hydro, with its low electricity rates, high system reliability and low greenhouse gas emissions, is strongly positioned for the low-carbon energy future of our province.

Vince Warden

Winnipeg

Criminalization failure

Re: B.C. chief coroner leaving her office frustrated and disappointed (Dec. 14)

British Columbia and all of Canada is experiencing a deadly drug overdose crisis. In just the one month of November more than 200 deaths were reported in B.C., that is an average of seven people per day.

There is only one very simple answer to this problem which is to destroy the monetary value of the illicit drug smuggling and distribution market. To do that, we need to provide cheap and quality-controlled drugs to users through medical and pharmaceutical channels. Drug prohibition and criminal prosecution programs have failed decade after decade, and only the truly stupid will repeat the same behavior over and over and expect different results.

The illegal drug market is not only killing people, it is providing financial support to numerous other types of criminal behaviour. Take the profit of illicit drug distribution away and the non-stop criminal activities that plague our cities and harm innocent bystanders will diminish faster than anything else we might do.

These are not statistics who are dying. They are the brothers and sisters and sons and daughters of people who love them. We all think we are immune to this horror until it happens to someone we love, then we spend the rest of our lives in grief and remorse for having done nothing when the solution was so simple.

We need to tell our leaders to put an end to this once and for all. And to the politicians that want to increase policing and criminal prosecutions to solve this issue, we need to tell them that they are not only as evil and deadly as the drugs that kill people, they are fools without vision or compassion.

Steve Oetting

Winnipeg

Sweet sources

While it’s anyone’s guess how long Rogers Sugar is going to remain on the picket line, that doesn’t mean stores and customers have to go without.

Redpath Sugar provides sugar to a cafe I lunch at, as well as my office tenants and a new coffee bar in the Richardson Concourse. Them, and Sun Spun can provide what Rogers Sugar is too busy feuding to make available.

I’m all in favour of workers getting a fair deal but there needs to be some balance where and when possible. When Rogers Sugar in B.C. gets back to work, fine. In the meantime, why should customers go without what’s needed? Especially during the busiest baking season of the year.

Joanna Oznowicz

Winnipeg