Letters, April 8

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/04/2024 (886 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kinew should rethink alliances

Re: Manitoba’s surprisingly anti-climate government (Think Tank, April 5)

I agree with Scott Forbes’ arguments about the lack of incentives in the latest provincial budget to deal with climate change. I was shocked to see Premier Wab Kinew have a photo op with federal Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, not a good look. Poilievre has made the carbon tax a target to build his own popularity while ignoring the very dangerous future he is leaving to younger generations.

Poilievre has no alternate plan for dealing with climate change. It is easy to come up with catchy slogans to criticize the Liberals’ policy, but not so easy to communicate his own proposals. The Conservatives have no policies to put forward. The provincial NDP do not either.

Kinew prefers to ignore all the forest fires that are threatening our northern forests. Do we need forest fires in southern Manitoba for this government to notice? I am disappointed that Kinew gives publicity to an irresponsible populist instead of educating the Manitoba populace about why buying big gas-guzzling vehicles is a bad idea. His “axe the gas tax” policy is not helping cut down on emissions.

Shame on all those people who drive big vehicles in the city when they don’t need them. Kinew should ally his government with the policies of the federal government, which is trying to do something about climate.

Ruth Swan

Winnipeg

Hoping for a Biden win

Continuing the grift, Mr. Now Religious (Citizen Donald Trump ) is currently selling Bibles. If he doesn’t win the U.S. presidential election in November, all his delayed court cases will eventually materialize.

He will assuredly be found guilty of a few indictments against him. Incarceration is in the cards and most deservedly so.

Even though the current president, Joe Biden, is old and not perfect, let’s hope he wins for the sake of democracy.

Robert J. Moskal

Winnipeg

Portage and Main decision bizarre

Opening pedestrian traffic at the corner of Portage Avenue and Main Street is a bizarre decision and one that has not been well thought out. I am not a resident of Winnipeg but I expect some provincial funding will end up helping to pay for whatever happens at the intersection. I worked at the corner of Portage and Main for many years and I am very familiar with the volume of traffic at that intersection. It is very badly congested now without slowing traffic flow down and adding pedestrians to the mix.

Adding to the congestion are pedestrians who frequently ignore the Walk/Don’t Walk signals and the elderly and handicapped who will take a longer time to clear an intersection. This delays anyone wanting to turn left or right. So there will be lots of injured pedestrians whom have been hit by frustrated and angry drivers caught in even worse bumper-to-bumper traffic.

This decision should be an issue of providing both safe and efficient traffic flow and safe pedestrian traffic at one of Winnipeg’s more complex and high volume intersections. But that point seems to have escaped your mayor and council.

Replacing the leaking membrane over the concourse is the sensible option. But in doing so, I would suggest looking at installing multiple layers of water protection and not just replacing an old leaky membrane with another new membrane. Waterproofing technology has most likely been greatly improved since the concourse was first built in the 1970s.

The concourse is one of those wonderful unique features that Winnipeg should be proud of and should cherish. I loved the concourse in my time working at Portage and Main. I and many concourse pedestrians have encountered lost or disorientated souls and we have gladly helped them on their way. Perhaps the mayor and council could admit they made an error and reconsider this decision.

Errol Dickson

La Salle

On family reunification

Reuniting newcomer families is a major hallmark of Canadian immigration; where permanent residents, citizens and even temporary residents (students and work permit holders) can easily bring their spouse and children to Canada to join them and live together as families are meant to be together. Helping families to reunite does not only bring happiness and achievement of family plans but it also plays a significant role in how the country attracts, retains and even integrates immigrants who will contribute to the success of the country.

The inability to reunite with your spouse as an immigrant can be emotionally tough and can have adverse mental and even physical health consequences on the immigrant and families in the home country. Newcomers are at risk of fewer social networks to support them navigate a new environment and succeed.

International students in Canada contribute greatly towards the Canadian economy. As a commitment towards their success, the federal government of Canada has over the years included them in the family reunification program, where an international student can bring his or her spouse to Canada. When a spouse of an international student arrives in Canada, the spouse receives an open work permit to work and support the partner economically and emotionally during their stay. In addition to this, provinces such as Manitoba issue a health card for open work permit holders, hence, the spouse can add the international student as a dependent for health coverage.

On Jan. 22, Marc Miller, federal minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, mentioned that in the coming weeks there will be restrictions to the open work permits for spouses of international students. Open work permits will only be available to spouses of post-graduate students (masters and doctorates), whereas spouses of international students in undergraduate and college programs will not be eligible any longer. This came as a shock to many undergraduate and college enrolled international students in Canada.

International students are a vulnerable and racialized population in Canada, and de-integrating them in this manner does not show Canada’s commitment to inclusivity and fighting discrimination. It appears that postgraduate students bring weightier contribution to Canada’s economy than undergraduate and college international students.

Many international students choose to immigrate permanently to Canada with their families, who will also become part of the success of Canada’s economy through their skills and knowledge. I hope Minister Miller reconsiders this decision and allow undergraduate and college enrolled international students bring their spouse to Canada to support them emotionally, mentally and even economically as they study, and this will consequently develop the Canadian economy through immigrating spouses with diverse talents.

Jonathan Worae

Winnipeg