Letters, April 3

Opinion

Consider the airship

The current Canadian motivation to become more self sufficient in response to Trump’s bellicose attitude has all political parties campaigning to be the choice best focused and motivated to initiate and foster industrial growth both within Canada and with other trading partners. Not one of the parties has realized the potential for revisiting airships for their heavy-lift potential, both throughout the North and now as a cargo carrier to Mexico, which would be faster and easier than truck and even rail transport, by eliminating U.S. border crossings.

Barry Prentice, the director of the Transport Institute at the University of Manitoba, has been trying to bring airships to the North for two decades. Nunavut’s biggest and Inuit airline, Canada North, has taken early steps toward launching airships in Northern Canada, with a memorandum of understanding with the France-based company, Flying Whales, which has an office in Quebec.

A federal focus in the development of heavy lift airships could be the impetus needed to take a viable air industry from its nascent stage to one providing significant and needed transport resources to the North and throughout Canada.

Len Lewkowich

Winnipeg

Mismanaged apperance

Re: ‘Who’s ready to stand up for Canada?’ (April 1)

How disappointing to wait in line for over an hour and a half to see Mark Carney at the convention centre, only to be turned away because the venue was at full capacity.

Organizers knew exactly how many people would be there because you had to register online before the deadline. There was mass confusion in the crowd. No one knew what line they should be in or even where the lines were. We were told that for security reasons, you had to check your coat or you wouldn’t be allowed in. They had four coat racks set up in the coat check area.

When I gave my jacket to one of the two ladies working there, she said to “watch where I throw it” because they had no more hangers. One table with nine workers was set up at the front door to verify registration for all those people. Even though I was there at door opening, I and many others ended up at the end of the line and had to leave.

There really is no excuse for this kind of poor planning.

Gladys Bellamy

Winnipeg

Believing in goodness

Re: Taking a journey to the distant past (April 2)

Thank you to Pam Frampton for taking us on a fascinating journey through humanity’s development, as revealed through precious artifacts. However, it would be a mistake to romanticize the past as a time when humans lived harmoniously, in contrast to what Ms. Frampton refers to as today’s “rampant backwardness.” History itself provides counterexamples, such as the existence of warrior cultures identified by anthropologists.

Our understanding of justice has also seen significant evolution, albeit with a “two steps forward, one step back” rhythm.

Over the past century alone, we’ve witnessed remarkable awakenings: the emergence of human rights, the establishment of institutions like the United Nations and the International Court of Justice, the growing rejection of capital punishment, and movements advocating for gender equality, among others. Take, for instance, I believe that much of humanity would no longer condone the imprisoning of someone stealing a loaf of bread to feed their children.

Justice as enforced by governments, remains an ever-evolving ideal — a distant and receding horizon. While I share Ms. Frampton’s concerns about our current challenges, her ability to openly express and share her views is itself a marker of progress. I hold on to the belief in the inherent goodness of humanity and the promise of its actualization.

Without that belief, hope dies.

Edwin Buettner

Winnipeg

No need to showboat

Re: “No half measures” (Letters, March 29)

Not selling U.S. alcohol in Manitoba Liquor Marts is a good way to show local resistance against the U.S. tariffs, however, I don’t agree with the “showboating” way in which it was done.

Prior to the tariffs, the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries purchased tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of alcohol from the U.S., which is now sitting in a warehouse until when? Possibly four years from now? Then we must ask, can the Liquor Marts sell a product that is that old?

The money was already spent in the U.S., so by not selling this product, the only ones being hurt are Manitoba taxpayers. The MLLC is a business, and like any business, when they have a loss it has to made up. As this is a governmentt organization, we the taxpayer is responsible for making up this loss through increases somewhere. As a lot of the profit from the MLLC goes into public programs, any loss to profits mean these programs could see less funding.

A better way is to sell all the U.S. alcohol in stock, but not re-order any replacement product. This allows the MLLC to recoup its losses and not help the U.S. economy further.

Arthur Matthews

Winnipeg

Horses face terrible abuse

Re: “Election priorities” (Letters, April 1)

The ongoing transport of live horses to Japan for slaughter via Winnipeg’s Richardson International Airport has to rank among the worst animal welfare abuses of our time.

I would encourage anyone unaware of the sheer brutality of these flights to Google the 2024 Horse Transport Report by Animal Justice documenting the sickening treatment of horses flown abroad for slaughter in flagrant violation of Canada’s animal transport laws. Horses crammed into small crates. Horses collapsing, miscarrying and dying in mid-flight. It’s all there in black in white, documenting the hell these animals endure in transit for no other reason than human greed.

I would also encourage concerned members of the public to let the Winnipeg Airports Authority know what you think of them allowing our very own airport to be used as a hub for this vile trade. Members of the public are invited to attend the WAA’s Annual Public Meeting, being held at the airport on April 24 at 9 a.m., and are asked to RSVP by emailing APM@waa.ca or by calling (204) 987-9861.

John Youngman

Winnipeg

Trade-offs in listening, reading

Re: Listening to audiobooks offers ‘reader’ unique experiences (March 29)

Katherine Powers made some excellent points in her article. A good reader can enhance in some different ways from traditional reading. When that reader is also the author, there is an added dimension which can be very positive.

In fact, many excellent readers get their start listening very young, if they’re lucky, when a parent, a sibling, or someone else reads to them before they learn to decode letters and begin to read themselves. Also, listening well is a skill which can help students in situations beyond the written word, in instructions and social interactions.

Accusations of “cheating” may stem from student readers jealous of those who take the shortcut (in time spent) listening to literature. Some teachers have taken that stance, as well.

But some students find the process of reading too laborious, or impossible, as Powers noted in cases of visual impairment or reading disability. Sadly, some who are capable take this shortcut, and shortchange a greater facility with the written word, because that kind of reading also offers some unique aspects separate from audio.

As a teacher of literature and writing for about half my life, I recognized trade-offs in time and engagement which attend both listening and reading. Surrendering to the word in diverse ways comes out positively, overall, in my experience, for myself and for others.

Bill Rambo

Landmark