Letters, Nov. 1

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/11/2024 (540 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Honour all vets

What is a veteran?

Each year, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canada pauses to honour those who gave their lives during the past wars.

Veteran Canadian Legion members conduct these sombre ceremonies and as the years pass, their numbers become fewer and fewer.

However, the number of veterans who retired from the Canadian Armed Forces is never mentioned. Webster’s Dictionary defines a veteran as “someone who has served in the military.” Are we not worthy of mention? Should we not be recognized as well?

My career in the Armed Forces spanned 20 years, from 1961 to 1981, during the Cold War. Am I not a veteran?

South of the border, during most public functions, there is a practice whereby veterans are recognized and thanked for their service. Could this country not adopt this practice as well?

Just a thought.

Pierre Parent

Gimli

Put price on needles

Re: Councillor fears cleanup of needles, other dangerous debris in parks will prove too costly for colleagues (Oct. 29)

The concerns regarding the need for more action regarding “cleanup of needles/sharps” and the potential cost associated with running a cleanup program are both valid points and a concern shared by most Winnipeggers.

As someone who for the past 25 years has been working diligently with our homeless community and those who suffer with SUD and addictions (I am CEO and founder of Red Road Lodge), I believe I understand the problem and have a suggestion.

Homeless people are not necessarily lazy. Rather than the city or the province running a costly supervised program which if implemented I suspect will be underfunded and understaffed, I suggest we put a bounty on discarded needles, say two to five cents for every needle returned to a safe return site. All members of our community, including our homeless community, could pick up needles throughout the city in a much more cost-effective and efficient manner. I believe there is a pilot project in New Brunswick that is experimenting with this model.

Richard Walls

Winnipeg

Lessons from Chornobyl

Re: Existential echoes (Oct. 25)

After reading Melissa Martin’s in-depth report on present-day Chornobyl, I’m surprised there are no letters to the editor from readers alarmed by the environmental and human destruction.

“Its radioactive contamination will outlast civilizations; for as long as humans exist, the stricken reactor and its poisoned environs will need to be tended.”

With climate change front and centre these days (rightly so) many levels of government are purporting that nuclear energy is the answer to our ever-increasing demand for electricity.

All aspects of nuclear energy have potential lethal consequences to life on Earth for the many generations to follow and of the magnitude written about in Martin’s article.

We are foolish and complacent to think otherwise.

Lois Taylor

Winnipeg

Disaster in the making

Re: ER wait times will remain a problem without more staffed beds (Oct. 29)

Tom Brodbeck’s column on ER wait times is bang on. When the Conservatives closed three ERs, staffed hospital beds dropped by 130 over the next two years and neither the PCs nor the NDP have been able to reverse that trend.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the baby boomers are all getting older and putting more pressure on our health-care system while government continues to let the system shrink. Not to mention, as Brodbeck notes, our population has increased during this time too!

These factors combined are a recipe for disaster and we’re continuing to march blindly towards the cliff.

Makes an aging boomer like myself very nervous.

Ken McLean

Starbuck

Spotlight on the environment

Re: Making room for nature; Not far enough, not fast enough (Think Tank, Oct. 29)

I must thank the Free Press for doing its part to acquaint the public with the issues and responses to climate change. I wish to comment on two articles which appear in the Oct. 29 Think Tank.

In Making room for nature Erna Buffie decries the unnecessary destruction of green space and trees by developers hastening to use federal funds for infill housing in Winnipeg. Her story confirmed my opinion that in the city’s planning department there is no concern for climate adaptation or vision for sustainable communities. Development occurs willy-nilly.

Not far enough, not fast enough by Deveryn Ross deals with the inadequacies of the provincial government’s newly released Manitoba Affordable Energy Plan. I seldom agree with Mr. Ross’s political commentary, but this time he is absolutely right in his assessment that the plan is deficient and there is no expression of urgency to address Manitoba’s future power shortages.

The Pallister government’s excuse for doing nothing about emissions control was that we had Manitoba Hydro producing green energy and therefore no concern about Manitoba’s contribution to global warming. When I voted for a new government, I expected a drastic change of attitude towards environmental issues. My hopes are fading fast.

Carol Clegg

Lac du Bonnet

Rethinking violent crime

The recent violent incidents in Winnipeg — the carjacking near William Avenue and multiple machete attacks — underscore an urgent need to rethink our approach to public safety. The Winnipeg Police Service, already stretched thin, struggles to meet the demands of a rising crime rate, especially during peak times.

While community programs addressing mental health and youth engagement are crucial, they do not prevent crimes as they happen. Winnipeg needs a balanced strategy that both increases police resources for immediate response and funds preventive social interventions.

Marc Robichaud

Winnipeg

Tax cut of little help

In a report funded by the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the Canadian Urban Institute in 2023 indicated that the average cost of required infrastructure support for housing “likely exceeds $100,000 for each newly built home.”

Developing a plan to finance the need for new housing also requires acknowledging that essential costs must be planned and paid for during and long afterward. A tax base and debt plan for the infrastructure and its support requires serious consideration.

The federal Conservatives’ recent proposal to eliminate building GST on new home construction would save upfront money. But is there a plan to address the required community infrastructure costs? As Canada aims to build homes faster, the public and private sectors must also spend on infrastructure such as roads, transit, schools, wastewater management, fire halls, firefighters, police services, recreation facilities, etc. Will eliminating GST on new homes shift the infrastructure and other costs to property taxes and make it a complete municipal responsibility? More than a three-word slogan to cut taxes is needed.

Why buy a house if you can’t flush the toilet and the water required is no longer safe because funding for its protection is eliminated?

Ian Jones

Winnipeg