Letters, Nov. 29

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/11/2024 (312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fed up with system

Re: Random stabbings injure three (Nov. 28)

The story reads, “A 20-year-old Winnipeg man faces two counts each of assault and failing to comply with conditions of release order, and a single count of possession of a weapon. He was released on an undertaking as mandated by the Criminal Code, police said.”

Are you kidding? I guess we will wait until he kills someone before we don’t release him. What a colossal joke our justice system has become.

Stewart Jacques

Winnipeg

Don’t grant bail

Re: Bestiality added to couple’s charges (Nov. 28)

I was absolutely disgusted reading about the couple accused of torturing animals and planning to harm children as well. If the charges hold up, they will be given the maximum sentence: five years! How much of that sentence will be served is anyone’s guess. It’s unfortunate that people are not held to a higher standard when it comes to animals. We know that torturing animals appears to be a precursor to harming humans.

The article states that the accused are in the process of applying for bail. In my opinion, bail should be the last thing granted.

The Criminal Code outlines three reasons for which bail may be denied: so that the accused show up for court; public safety; and to maintain integrity of the justice system.

In my opinion, public safety and confidence are undermined if either of the co-accused is granted bail.

Ken Campbell

Winnipeg

Not so shatterproof after all

Re: City looks at shatterproof glass for bus shelters (Nov. 28)

It took only a few minutes to research polycarbonate’s real-world performance.

New polycarbonate weakens with temperature drop; it will shatter just like glass at -40 C. This temperature threshold rises as the product ages.

So, if the product cost is 2.5 to four times that of glass, is there a benefit over time?

Can the removal of graffiti be done without damaging the surface?

Lastly, polycarbonate is a combustible plastic; it produces a toxic smoke when it burns.

In a nutshell, fewer but more costly replacements with a limited performance product that is less safe.

These factors should be included in a cost/risk/benefit analysis.

Allan Robertson

Winnipeg

Talk sense into PM

Re: Premiers, PM set to visit Washington over tariffs (Nov. 28)

In the Nov. 28 edition of the Free Press it talks about the premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau going to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump regarding the tariffs he plans to impose on Canada unless we crack down on illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the U.S.

While they are all together, maybe everyone can try and explain to Trudeau that the money from cutting back on the GST between December and February 2025, and handing out $250 per working person, would better be put to use on his NATO defence spending commitment of two per cent of GDP right away — and not by the federal government’s 2032 target.

One day common sense will prevail!

Debbie Painter

Winnipeg Beach

Battling loneliness

Re: Breaking the silence about being lonely (Think Tank, Nov. 27)

Unfortunately, loneliness is an ever-present and increasingly common symptom of the lack of connection found too often in our world.

Lives are fast-paced and people do not take the time needed to build strong connections with each other. Living alone today is often seen as a sign of independence and strength.

Contrast today’s world with the interdependence of those living in earlier times. Then, people knew they were needed and important to others. Skills and talents were valued and shared. Joys were celebrated together and sorrows softened by the sympathy of others.

In today’s world, such communities can be created intentionally. I am one person who, along with five others, intentionally chose to purchase a home and to live together under one roof. Our primary objective is to prevent loneliness as we age by facilitating the formation of strong bonds and supportive social connections among the members of our welcoming and comfortable home.

Prairie Rivers Co-living Co-operative, founded in 2021, is here in Winnipeg. One key to our successful community is sharing the preparation of our daily evening meal. We always take time to break bread with our housemates. This is a time when we can share the experiences of our good days and not-so-good days. We know these are friends who really care about us and are always here for us.

Creating such community takes time and effort, but here, no one is an island. No one feels the loneliness of an empty house. Here, belonging replaces loneliness. We need more such communities. Here, you have come home.

Frances Woolison

Winnipeg

Bravo, Mexico

Re: Mexico suggests it would impose its own tariffs to retaliate against any Trump tariffs (Nov. 26)

The response by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to the proposed Trump tariff on Mexican exports was, in a word, brilliant.

She did not mince words, nor flounder about making excuses. It was a textbook response to an overt threat to her country and its citizens. She warned of the enormous potential economic consequences to both countries but didn’t shy away from threatening Mexico’s own retaliatory tariffs.

The president accurately identified the real problem with drugs was the insatiable demand for synthetic opioids originating with the American public and that the real victims of drug violence was the ordinary Mexican. She identified that 70 per cent of firearms used and seized in criminal activity in Mexico were of U.S. manufacture.

The president made it clear that Mexico was not going to be used as a scapegoat or a political tool to forward Trump’s agenda. To be clear, she was caught unawares just as much as was Trudeau. The difference between the fractured Canadian response and Mexico’s is telling. In a unified voice, Canadian political parties should have demanded the U.S. blunt their own drug trade, aggressively stop illegal immigration into Canada and stifle the trafficking of illegal firearms onto Canadian soil.

Canada is not defenceless when it comes to trade, it will just take a unified front to make it clear that Canada is not going to be a U.S. doormat.

Don Reed

Winnipeg

Poilievre’s tariff response lacking

Once again, Pierre Poilievre’s reaction to possible American tariffs being imposed on Canadian and Mexican goods crossing into the U.S. shows how totally incompetent and unhinged he is.

Apparently his obsession with repealing the federal carbon tax and ending a cap on greenhouse gas emissions would be his solution to counteracting the tariffs. He feels a leader needs “brains and backbone” to have a plan and he obviously lacks both in his reaction. He has said he would consider taking retaliation action against the United States as an alternative.

First of all, this is an overreaction to a social media tweet. We certainly don’t need another war, whether it is a diplomatic one or the other kinds. Diplomacy would appear to be the only solution to this potential problem and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already initiated talks with the incoming American president.

Canada should certainly be concerned and prepared for the possibilities of the tariffs and its negative aspects, however, not in the way of Mr. Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s reaction.

There will be many serious talks about the tariffs when the new U.S. president takes office in January and hopefully this situation will be resolved.

Brian Dyck

Winnipeg