Letters, May 10

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/05/2024 (740 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Redo of materials

Re: New tools to fight trafficking (May 2)

Improved police access to guest information in hotels and short-term rentals (STRs) is a good idea, all the more considering other recent Free Press articles regarding organized crime. I am wondering why our previous government did not proceed with this proposed legislation.

On the other hand, as part of its new licensing process for STRs, the City of Winnipeg requires all short-term rentals ( but not hotels?!!) to display in a very prominent place a poster about human trafficking.

Although the content is based on some very good information (e.g. Joy Smith Foundation materials), the poster itself is, in my opinion, very strange and not at all focussed or useful.

For example, it proclaims “Our property is a safe haven.” Well, if a victim is already there, it obviously is not. There is no phone number for a victim to call for help.

It also advertises how much money someone can make per year in the business of human trafficking. I kid you not.

STR owners have had feedback from guests saying that this poster makes them feel uncomfortable… Perhaps they are in an unsafe area? There is a photo of a security camera… not all STRs have them, but in any case, what guest wants a reminder that they may be “watched”?

From the tourism point of view… what is the city thinking? Now that they have successfully cut the number of short-term rentals in half, current guests are uneasy in their surroundings? And why would the city not aggressively target the real problem area, which is downtown? Hotels included, of course.

It’s time for a more useful and tasteful redo of this important piece, if it is to be mandatory. City staff and councillors are not open to discussing this, despite requests to reconsider the wording, focus and visuals. Why not get some input from those “on the ground”, with experience in this field? They’re out there.

Laurel Sarginson

Winnipeg

Fishery forum

The Manitoba government recently held fishing forums to engage with commercial fishermen and stakeholders about the Lake Winnipeg fishery. MWF staff attended to represent anglers and conservationists and were very pleased with the engaging format the government developed.

Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Natural Resources Minister Jamie Moses spoke about the importance of the fishery and that its sustainability is of the utmost importance to his government. The room was broken out into smaller working groups which allowed for more engaging conversations.

The views expressed very much mirrored what the Manitoba Wildlife Federation (MWF) has been advocating for years on including; proper science, a well-funded and staffed fisheries branch, laws and regulations that apply to all, and the need for enforcement to protect the resource.

While some concerns about the eco-certification process still exist, the majority have seemed to accept that it’s needed to protect and sustain the industry for future generations. The MWF was also pleased to learn more about the initiatives that the IndigiNorth Fisheries Group was promoting. Some quick facts:

· Over 80 per cent of commercial fishers are Indigenous;

· The sector employs 3,000 people;

· Over 25 Indigenous communities depend on commercial fishing as their No. 1 source of livelihood;

· Manitoba accounts for 12 million kilograms of the entire country’s total commercial catch of 28 million kilograms.

You can see from the above the importance commercial fishing plays to the provincial economy. This, combined with the 150,000 plus anglers in the province and with the financial contributions from these anglers pegged at over 650 million annually, means that the protection and sustainability of this precious resource is the responsibility of all Manitobans. The MWF looks forward to continuing to work collaborating with all stakeholders in achieving this goal.

Chris Heald

Winnipeg

Hybrid work is fine

Re: Public service unions promise “summer of discontent” (May 9)

As a taxpayer I am enraged by this threat from the unions. COVID has been beaten back and it has long been safe enough to return the office. Why do the public service employees feel they are entitled to work from home?

They should be reminded that they work for us, the taxpayer, and we are “discontented” with the service we are getting. Perhaps if they were in the office things would improve. I feel that three out of five days is a good compromise.

Also, to the NDP… no one needed to consult the unions on this return to office. Hybrid work arrangements aren’t in the contract. It’s time for the public service to suck it up and go back to the office.

Ursula Delfing

Winnipeg

It is hard to think of anything more self-indulgent than the stand being taken by the federal public sector unions who are opposed to being asked by their employer to work (heaven forbid) three days a week in the office.

So many workers on the front lines had no choice but report for work during the pandemic and, since then many other employers in the public and private sectors have been bringing their workers back into the office over the past two years.

When most of the federal workers were hired to work, they were likely working full-time in their offices, so how all of a sudden does working remotely become a legitimate term of employment? I hope the federal government does not back down.

Irwin Corobow

Winnipeg

The members of PSAC better be careful what they are asking for.

Their announced work actions after being told to come back to work sort of backs them into a corner. Most of the reason they were allowed to work from home is no longer an issue, so coming back to your workplace in order to get paid should be a no-brainer.

Another big reason for the order, I believe, would be a deep suspicion that while at home supposedly working, that they are in fact not doing any work.

Hand in hand with this desire for staff to be at work should be an efficiency review that may just find that many of these folks do not do anything and their jobs have become redundant, nasty word. That would also take care of the nowhere-to-sit issue.

I refer you to the recent review at MPI that showed managers with no staff to manage and staff with no function. Of course the result was job loss, the truth can, and should have, consequences.

Go back to work folks — the long coffee and lunch breaks will make you feel better.

John Zaplitny

Winnipeg

Dental problems

As an 81-year-old pensioner I applied and received my dental card from the government a few weeks ago. It had an eligibility date of May 1, 2024. I approached my dentist, after about one week, to make an appointment. They informed me that very few dentists have signed on to the program yet. There are three parties to this program all of which need to agree.

First the government, the funding agency, then Sun Life the administrator, and finally the dental association which is negotiating on behalf of all the dentists.

It is difficult to understand why this is so complicated. Dental offices have been billing third-party payers for years, e.g. Blue Cross, and I am sure Sun Life have similar programs for group plans. As of today I received an estimated date of July 8, 2024 as being when the plan may go into operation. That will probably be pushed back due to some hitch in the procedures.

Where is the holdup occurring?

Is it the federal government not wanting to pay a fair rate for the services rendered?

Is it Sun Life wanting a bigger slice of the pie or is it the Dental Association not wanting to compromise on their fees?

Whatever the cause, I would urge all three parties to get it worked out as I am sure that I’m not the only one frustrated with the delay.

Jim Hansford

Winnipeg