Letters, Feb. 22

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/02/2024 (935 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Contrasting viewpoints

Re: Commuters, meet Marchetti; and Liberal roads pitch a tone-deaf vote-loser (Think Tank, Jan. 20)

What an interesting juxtaposition of articles on roads on Tuesday from Brent Bellamy and Deveryn Ross. Kudos to the Free Press for giving space to differing viewpoints.

Ross may be right that the minister’s misstep on roads could contribute to a Poilievre victory in the next election. If so, the loss will really be for Canadians.

It’s ironic that conservative politicians should come out so vehemently in defence of Canada’s road network after Poilievre’s recent “Housing Hell” video, in which he blamed the current prime minister for the housing crisis we find ourselves in.

In that video he proposed a “common sense plan” — calling for high density around transit stations and the sale of federal lands for redevelopment as housing. That in fact seems pretty similar to current federal policy.

To win federal funding for affordable housing and infrastructure, Winnipeg, like a lot of other Canadian cities, just voted to relax density limits across the city and building heights near transit routes — this allows more building and lets the market supply homes that zoning regulations have forbidden until now. And the federal government is already selling off a lot of their surplus properties, which are being redeveloped for housing. Naawi Oodena is just one example.

Poilievre is great at pushing hot buttons to create outrage, but he doesn’t really have any new solutions.

There is a basic contradiction between spending money on roads and spending money on housing. Several levels of government are about to spend $1 billion on expanding capacity on Kenaston Boulevard, mainly in service of the suburbs.

While some improvement of this road may be justified, as Bellamy’s article argues expanding capacity there will only lead to more commuting. We can build more houses if we find a way to build them without adding to our existing road network, for which we are already struggling to afford maintenance.

There is no shortage of spaces in and near the centre of the city that can be built up before we add more roads to support (subsidize) more housing in the suburbs. We need to find ways to develop that land, not more roads.

If Poilievre’s government gets in at the next election, that’s when the rubber will really hit the road, and Canada will have to put on its seat belts for a bumpy ride.

Lawrence Bird, Winnipeg

 

The cost of good journalism

Re: There’s more to news than profits (Think Tank, Feb. 21)

Rochelle Squires rightly articulates the decline in the availability of quality journalism. But she misses a vital aspect in her argument: those of us who can afford it, should pay for quality journalism.

Many will respond “Why pay for news if I can get it for free?”

You are not getting it “for free.”

Examine your internet and phone bills and consider where that money is going. It’s very unlikely it’s going to pay professional journalists who follow important local issues in our province.

In my recent digital WFP subscription: Chris Kitching researched and presents details about the new safety patrol officers in Winnipeg. Brent Bellamy did the same about the pressure to develop more roads in our city. Gabrielle Piché writes about a developing business selling honey in our province. Jen Zoratti keeps me abreast of media and arts issues, and so much more.

Ben Waldman updates me on developments at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People. Holly Harris reviews local theatre. Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe closely follow local professional sports teams. Maggie Macintosh provides the latest statistics and implications of foreign student numbers. Kevin Rollason updates on the source
of the “crappy sewage” smell that many are suffering. Danielle Da Silva updates on the hidden cost of the recent liquor store strike. Tyler Searle presents research on the threats that many politicians experience.

And who pays for them to do that work? I do — with my Winnipeg Free Press subscription. At $2.88 a week it costs less than a cup of coffee!

Ironically, many of those who consume ‘free news’ on social media won’t read this letter. And the Winnipeg Free Press will continue to struggle to stay viable.

If we can, let’s all pay our share for quality journalism.

Dave Stobbe, Morden

 

Difference in freedoms

Re: Alternative protest sites (Letters, Feb. 21)

Kudos to David Cohen for his comments on the planning for a second “Freedom Convoy” gathering. I was reminded of an important distinction between “freedom from” and “freedom for.”

We in Canada are fortunate to live in an environment in which we are free from many of the restrictions imposed by authoritarian regimes. It is important to remember that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is not just a lifeless document, it is supported and enforced by legal and governmental authority.

When children become adolescents, they begin to seek freedom from the strictures of home, school, and community. This shift is natural and requires caregivers to help them move towards an awareness of the responsibilities of freedom for. So, at a certain point, parents may feel their child is ready for a less restrictive home environment. However, without a sense of what this newfound freedom is for (e.g., respecting others’ freedom, supporting friends and family, serving the community), freedom from becomes oppressive and even self-destructive.

It may do us well to heed Nelson Mandela’s words: To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

Edwin Buettner, Winnipeg

 

Pros, cons of hospital schools

Re: Bring back hospital schools (Letters, Feb. 20)

Leslie Ann Forgie is bang on in her letter.

I have long shared this sentiment. The hospital schools were excellent and there was little to no waiting list to get into a training facility. The RN program was two years and the LPN program was one, and of course one could attend university for four years to receive a bachelor’s degree in Nursing, if desired. Manitoba turned out excellent nurses at that time.

People didn’t have to wait for years to make a four-year commitment to expensive schooling. It is time to revisit this. What are we waiting for?

Debbie Ammeter Sipley, Cartier

 

With all due respect to Ms. Forgie and others of like mind, what we don’t need is to go backwards with respect to nursing education. What we have now are three categories of nurses: RN (registered nurse); RPN (registered psychiatric nurse); and LPN (licensed practical nurse).

The way to RN certification is through the three-year BN (bachelor of nursing) program. The LPN program is a two-year program that has replaced the former two-year RN program. Why have two three-year programs? Every other province requires the BN program for RN licensing.

Having so many different categories is confusing to the public who usually do not know what category of nurse does what. A better plan is to find a way to ease the transition to RN practice for internationally educated nurses and for former registered nurses such as Ms. Forgie to return to practice should they so desire.

As it now stands, these processes are long, arduous, and expensive.

Another option is to upgrade and expand the education and role of health-care aides to registered nursing assistants, as has been the practice in other Canadian provinces. In this way nurses are freed up from mere rote tasks.

We need to look at new and innovative ways of doing things, rather than bringing back dinosaurs.

Ariel Lee, Winnipeg