Letters, March 28

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/03/2024 (901 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Pool memories

I read the letters to the editor most days and have never felt a stronger urge to write one.

I grew up in St. Boniface in the sixties. My friends and I spent every day possible at Happyland Pool.

We were a blue-collar family in a blue collar neighbourhood. We did not have the option to go to the lake, or anywhere else on a hot summer day. That pool meant so much to us. We learned to swim there. We met our friends there, had fun, stayed out of trouble and stayed cool.

I know that we are a long way from the sixties, but I’ll bet that there are still young people in that neighbourhood that do not have other options for a hot summer day.

I think that city council needs to reconsider their decision. If you think so, too, give your councillor a call.

That is what I plan on doing.

Karen Watson

Winnipeg

More than one option

Re: City hall votes to open Portage and Main, close concourse, March 22.

Where are the Izzy Aspers and Brian Mulroneys when we need them?

They were big thinkers and doers.

I can’t believe that city councillors would be so short-sighted, unimaginative and pennywise as to vote to close the Portage and Main concourse because the city had been derelict in its responsibilities and failed to plan for the upkeep and maintenance of the most famous intersection in North America.

Of course, pedestrians should be able to cross Portage and Main at grade level from all four corners when it suits them — or, if they wish, go underground during inclement weather.

It should not be an either/or proposition. The folks who work around or visit this famous corner are fully capable of walking and chewing gum.

Five years to replace the waterproof membrane? Most big cities can build a 60-storey building in less time. Has membrane technology not advanced over the last 40 years?

Seventy-three million dollars (less the cost of filling in the hole left by the underground concourse) will look like a bargain in ten years. Or, is this another Avro Arrow in the making?

If we can’t learn from mistakes, we can’t learn at all.

Robert G. Roehle

Fort Garry

Under attack

I strongly support the decision by the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg to increase security at the Asper Jewish Community Campus.

As a non-Jewish resident of Winnipeg, I too have been shocked and upset by the rise of antisemitism occurring here in Winnipeg and around the world, following the tragic events of Oct. 7 in Israel.

Today Israel, and its right to exist as a nation, are under attack. And this makes no sense, as this hostility towards Israel originates from an unprovoked attack by Hamas against average people who were simply enjoying an outdoor music festival.

I say now to my fellow non-Jewish Canadians, imagine if you and your friends/family were attending one of our many outdoor music festivals, such the Winnipeg Folk Festival or let’s say the Dauphin Country Music Festival. And out of nowhere, terrorists began to attack you, your friends and family and others at the music festival, shooting, blowing up, killing and kidnapping festival-goers.

How do you think the Government of Canada would respond? Would Canada simply ignore such an attack, or demand justice to defend its borders and its citizens?

Today Israel is defending itself, the best way and only way it can. Israel is fighting back. And I suggest to you that if such a terrible event, such as Oct. 7 in Israel, had occurred in Canada, we too as a nation would be fighting back.

Councillor Russ Wyatt

Transcona Ward

Winnipeg

The business of war

Dwight Eisenhower warned us of the growing influence of the military industrial complex.

As a result of the Second World War, the U.S. established a huge armaments industry employing thousands of Americans.

The armaments industry and the military had become a dominant part of American enterprise.

Using the threat of communism spreading to other countries in the world, the military industry persuaded even the most doubtful American politicians to continue the vast investment in military hardware.

The problem the industry faced was finding a market for its products.

Military conflict was the answer.

Noteworthy was the fact that in world areas where left-wing governments existed or were a likelihood, markets were found.

Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Libya, and Afghanistan all provided huge markets for weapons of war. The merchants of death were successful in marketing their goods. Only international commitments of peace and neutrality could frustrate the industry that dominates the U.S.A.

Al Mackling

Winnipeg

To clarify …

In my capacity as an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law, I was quoted in Dean Pritchard’s article from March 4 (Judge, lawyer argument leads to rare contempt of court).

As indicated at the time I provided my comments, everything I said was general in nature and not specific to a particular case.

Readers of the Free Press website may have been left with an erroneous impression, given webpage formatting issues, which have now been resolved.

Prof. Brandon Trask

Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba

Winnipeg

Who is examining who?

John Wiens’ article on school examination practices (What exams do and don’t do, March 25) concludes with a statement about “evaluating the school system”. The phrase came as a bit of a surprise to me, as most of the essay deals with matters related to student evaluation.

Could it be that at least one of the reasons exams are so controversial lies in a failure to distinguish between student evaluation and system evaluation?

For example, among the evaluation controversies is the use of standardized tests, i.e., those grounded in the application of accepted statistical methods to large numbers of students.

Though the results of such tests are sometimes (inappropriately) used to determine how well a particular student is doing, that is not their purpose. Their function is to establish statistically reliable system information. To put it simply, group tests work well for assessing groups (i.e., schools and school systems). At best, results of such tests may serve as a screening tool for how well any particular student is doing. Other methodologies are needed to explore in detail what a particular student’s strengths and weakness might be.

The subject of exams in schools is complex and so any discussions ought to begin with a clear understanding of whether the focus is on students or systems. Mixing political issues arising from system evaluation practices with the tracking of individual students tends to generate to more heat than light.

Edwin Buettner

Winnipeg

Taxing rules

I wholeheartedly agree with Dawn Harris that the new CRA filing requirements for trustees in a “Bare Trust” situation are ridiculous.

Tens of thousands of parents like me who have agreed to co-sign a mortgage loan for their adult children are now considered trustees and are required to fill out two additional forms — a T3 and a Schedule 15, and they must do so by April 2, or else risk being heavily penalized.

I was able to figure out the paperwork on my own but many people will have to seek professional advice and pay accordingly.

If this government is truly committed to helping young people purchase their first home, why are they adding this red tape which will surely dissuade many parents from offering their support?

Lynne Champagne

Winnipeg