Letters, July 27

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/07/2024 (758 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Committee of the like-minded

Re: “Harmony-seeking mayor dumps Mayes from EPC”

I’ve been a resident of St Vital for 41 of the 51 years I’ve been eligible to vote.

During that time, Councillor Brian Mayes is the only elected official who has appeared at my door prior to every election.

He has responded to and followed-up on my e-mails on more than one occasion, when safety issues went ignored for too long, and even stopped to chat on the street as he jogged through the neighbourhood.

I consistently found him to be thoughtful and engaged.

It was only a matter of time before our mayor showed his true stripes. The decision to remove Mayes from the executive policy committee was because “it’s crucial to have committee members fall on the same side of issues.”

Another way of saying Yes-persons only. That a Tory mayor would want to remove a councillor with an interest in environmental issues should come as no surprise to anyone.

And a real class act, removing Councillor Mayes from his position while he was out of town (on portfolio business).

Isn’t that the equivalent of ending a relationship by text message?

Terry Toews

Winnipeg

Buffie, yes

Re: “Don’t Axe the Facts” July 26

Thank you, Erna Buffie, once again. You have outlined the facts regarding the Carbon Tax and hopefully your analysis will get through to those who have been taken in by a slogan rather than the truth.

I am also thinking of a recent op-ed by Rebecca Chambers: we are looking for simple solutions to complex problems, rather than using our powers of critical thinking to see what is really going on.

Judith Doctoroff

Winnipeg

Buffie, no

Erna Buffie is indeed confused about carbon tax.

There are some inaccuracies and some facts that are either left out, ignored or she simply doesn’t know them. The carbon tax is not effective in reducing CO2 emissions. In fact emissions were up 2.1 per cent in 2022 from 2021.

Another fact left out is that the world’s’ largest aggregate CO2 emitters have no carbon tax.

Only 40 countries have some sort of carbon tax. China has increased its CO2 emission output by 50 per cent since 2005 yet does not have a carbon tax. Large Canadian emitters use carbon offsets to reduce thier carbon tax. Sunoco, for example, used carbon offsets to reduce its carbon tax from $210 per tonne, about 1/4 of the full carbon tax while drivers pay $30 per tonne or about 6.6 cents a litre.

I think the problem is not that ordinary taxpayers don’t understand, it is that we do understand. The Canadian taxpayer is the one who has to pay, in overpriced EVs, heat pumps that need a backup system, and carbon taxes that can virtually be avoided by corporate Canada.

Gilles Nicolas

Winnipeg

Sifting the sands

Re: “Sio Silica keeps digging, but failed mine still a long shot”July 25.

I agree with Dan Lett. Sio Silica shifting their operations to First Nations land could possibly avoid provincial review and set it up for a federal environmental assessment. Then there is a long and serious list of unanswered questions about the impact of drilling through valuable aquifers.

There is no doubt that introducing oxygen into the aquifer system, collapse of geological material that according to their own reports contains selenium and pyrite, the prohibited intermixing of aquifer waters, and the injection of mined water back to the aquifer, is not in the public interest. The project is not viable and the province’s decision to deny licensing was correct.

Can the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada come to another conclusion? Perhaps with a Conservative government, predicted in the upcoming federal election? Is this what keeps Sio Silica afloat?

Without reform of Manitoba and Canadian legislation for a more contemporary, certain, transparent and comprehensive framework for environmental assessment and licensing, we will continue to see invalid projects politically supported.

Environmental decision-making through evidence-based analysis for real environmental protections are required now.

Sincerely,

Tangi Bell

Anola

 

Re:“Sio Silica keeps digging, but failed mine still a long shot”

Dan Lett is sadly mistaken in his analysis of the threat of Sio Silica to rise from the ashes. Brokenhead has every right to entertain business ventures from anyone. Good on the band members for asking for a second opinion on sand mining and being skeptical of the dog and pony show put on by Sio Silica. That much, we know.

However, Dan Lett is sadly mistaken if he thinks the approval of the sand mine at Hollow Water was smooth sailing. The community is still suffering from the divisive adversarial regulatory process under the Mining Act, Indian Act, and Environmental Act.

Everyone should be afraid of what happened here.

When Canadian Premium Sand came back with a whole new mine with different processes, and in a new location closer to Lake Winnipeg and people’s homes, the Conservative government pulled a fast one.

They labelled a different mining process as a minor designation when it really was a brand new mine, allowing them to deny public meetings on a whole new set of data, with no requirement to publish the Technical Advisory Committee’s analysis of the newly submitted research. The Public Registry has nothing recorded for this second mine.

Two previous air quality reports predicted air fines at an unacceptable level as defined by Health Canada. The newly submitted research for the new mine, in a location closer to homes, was not publicly vetted. Camp Morningstar consulted with a meteorologist on the new research. His expert opinion was that it deserved to be publicly reviewed. However, the minor designation meant public meetings were denied. The only way to appeal was in writing — not a mode of communication favoured by many of our Elders who know the winds.

The same scientist, Dennis Leneveu, submitted research for both projects . One project had the benefit of a CEC hearing. One was denied. One project had people shadowed by the RCMP for daring to point out weaknesses in the environmental approval process, and one did not. One project seemed to support freedom of speech, another did not.

I predict the premier will want to hold onto those new seats in the Vivian riding. I am not sure his decisions have anything to do with science as I am told the Technical Advisory Committee is at 70 per cent of what it once was.

That means less regulatory oversight just as the critical mineral search heats up. I would not let Wab Kinew’s ethnicity fool you. He is an economist who needs money to pay for his expensive heath care promises and as shrewd as politicians come.

He will let the many mining projects proposed for Keewatinook pay for his promises. The divide and conquer game is played much easier here.

Mary Jane McCarron

Wanipigow

Police naming names

Re: “’People are angry. They want justice.’”

And this is why the names of the accused (just like the names of victims) should not be published until guilt is proven.

Once your name is out there, people will assume guilt.

Especially with crimes of this nature, there is no unringing that bell.

Rene Vincent

Winnipeg