Letters, Aug. 10

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This article was published 10/08/2024 (751 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Time for harsher consequences

Re: Highway 6 remains deadly, dangerous (Aug. 8)

Lately it seems that whenever a tragedy happens such as the recent three vehicular deaths on Highway 6 and the horrific accident in Carman, Man., as well as the recent cyclist/vehicle incidents, there are and will be calls for a full-scale investigation as to what caused these accidents, and invariably it will be human error that caused these tragedies.

As long as people continue to drive distracted, tired, rushed and so on, accidents will occur.

And unfortunately at times innocent people are the victims of other peoples mistakes. Perhaps instead of “cries” for an investigation, there should be ramp-up on the consequences of driving distracted, tired, and/or rushed.

Alfred Sansregret

Winnipeg

Identifying who’s responsible

Re: Robinson Treaties decision reverberates in Manitoba (Aug. 8)

Unfortunately, it will once again be today’s hard-working Canadian taxpayers that will pay for reparations for past wrongs committed by greedy tycoons and mineral extraction companies going back as far as 170 years ago, and the perpetrators will get to keep every cent of the profits made, while not living up to their obligations for the deals they agreed to.

When it comes to the profits, it all belongs to the wealthy with their political connections, but when it comes to reparations, it somehow becomes everyone’s responsibility.

I expect to see our prime minister tearfully apologizing once again on behalf of all Canadians for something that we had nothing to do with.

Bill Parkes

Oakview

Rolling stewardship way to go

Re: Nuclear storage plan has merit (Letters, Aug. 8)

Gordon Boyer wants to know if there is a better plan for dealing with Canada’s nuclear waste. In fact, there is. It’s called rolling stewardship.

In a nutshell, once cool enough, the waste would be stored close to the surface, close to its origins, in super-hardened storage containers designed to be closely monitored so the waste can be repackaged at any sign of a problem. Knowledge and responsibility for the task is passed down from generation to generation and if a real solution is found at a later time, it can be implemented.

This avoids a situation where radioactive contamination from a burial site is detected but no remedy is possible because the waste has become irretrievable. The so-called “gold standard” of deep burial has not been successfully implemented anywhere.

It goes without saying that production of more nuclear waste needs to stop now.

Anne Lindsey

Winnipeg

Looking for long-term vision

Re: Transportation, the north, and the future (Think Tank, Aug. 3)

Once again, Barry Prentice is providing an excellent vision to our politicians for solutions to future prosperity and transportation problems associated with our province’s northland. However, will anyone ever heed his advice and vision for the future benefit of all Manitobans?

It would indeed be refreshing to find a politician who can see further ahead than the next election.

Robert Patrick

Winnipeg

On broken promises

Re: Time to act on electoral reform promise (Think Tank, Aug. 8)

Thank you, Alex Passey, for your perceptive and timely column on the urgent need for electoral reform in Canada.

I remember how excited and optimistic I was when our present prime minister promised that, were he and the Liberal Party elected, it would be the last time we would use the first-past-the-post system of electing members of Parliament.

And I remember even more clearly how he reneged on that promise — a cold-blooded calculation that was not good for the country, but really good for well-funded lobbyists who use the opportunity to advance their own interests, like funding more oil and gas development.

In spite of he and his government doing a fairly passable job of governing our country, I am having difficulty voting Liberal again.

I believe I am at the point where I will not again vote for a party that counts on me voting for the next worst alternative in the upcoming election.

Our present first past the post method of counting votes disenfranchises voters — it puts pressure on our elected MPs to take marching orders from lobbyists rather than from the will of us, the voters.

I will be voting NDP.

Bill Martin

Gimli

A well-rounded education

We are not born democratically responsible, we must be taught to be good neighbours and citizens.

Training us for the economy but not for participating in respectful politics puts democracy at risk.

We must have a well-rounded, questioning education to have a balance of rights and freedoms and to make real, inclusive, mindful and caring changes. Teach civics about how politics work, how sexism and racism happen, how values can be eroded, and respect and politeness broken.

Respect government services at all levels. They do help.

Reject baiting and violence, as that just burns everything.

Douglas Coburn

Winnipeg

Cyclists need infrastructure

Re: Safety first (Letters, Aug. 7)

Pointing fingers at scofflaw cyclists while claiming to have their best interests at heart is so funny to me, because if you’ve biked in this city you see that the built infrastructure and reckless drivers are the reason why people on bikes break laws.

First off, I think it’s funny that the examples given were information campaigns to tell drivers to follow existing laws. Laws they know about by virtue of having their drivers licence.

The information campaigns to keep cyclists safe are to follow safety protocols that are not written into law — and they aren’t because these things don’t keep cyclists safe at nearly the rate that safe infrastructure does.

Just like drivers, we know what a stop sign means — a kindergartener knows what a stop sign means. Information campaigns don’t change this.

The difference is, a driver is not stopping at a stop sign to save themselves a few seconds on their commute. A cyclist is avoiding spending more time in the intersection because it is safer for them.

An informational campaign isn’t going to make cyclists stop using an Idaho stop. We know the law, but we know what is safer for us. In Idaho the introduction of “Stop as Yield,” cyclist injuries from crashes dropped 14.5 per cent, in Delaware traffic crashes with cyclists dropped 23 per cent.

Eleven states have changed this, not out of the blue but all with studies backing them up. We need to change this law that is used as the No. 1 reason people give for not supporting safe infrastructure, that “cyclists break laws”, even though studies show that drivers break more laws and with more frequency and with more life-threatening consequences.

When you build safe infrastructure, we are able to follow the law without risking our lives.

Why waste money on an information campaign when we could spend money on things we know will actually save lives? This city needs to make up their minds, do you want cyclists to be safe or do you want them to follow the law?

Daria Magnus-Walker

Winnipeg