Letters, Sept. 8

Opinion

Critical change needed

Re: — ’Enough is enough’: mayor pleads for bail reform (Sept. 5)

Our police budget in Winnipeg has increased dramatically year over year, with most years ending in expenditures that go beyond the proposed budget. Regardless of your stance regarding police budgets as being merely reactive to environments, or as directly contributing to the wealth gap in the city, which begets social issues and crime — it must be admitted that inflating police budgets has not worked.

It is time to try something new. The powers-that-be in Winnipeg have long been devoted to a neoliberal economic model which affords large companies the opportunity to create luxury experiences in an effort to revitalize the inner city. Experiences not intended for those who live there, but for those who don’t. The most recognizable of these projects is Portage Place, but include City Place, Winnipeg Square, the Winnipeg Jets, and Waterfront Drive.

It is time to give those who live in the most crime-affected areas of the city a chance to decide how their tax dollars are spent. It is worth remembering that the children involved in the armed robbery cited in this article were just that. Children. Rather than the fear-mongering which is so common, centred around applying an ill-defined moralistic failing of the current generation, let us look at the conditions in which our young people are growing up, and look at ways to develop a society which meets their needs.

Incarceration is simply not a legitimate option when it comes to helping kids. It is well documented in the book Indians Wear Red (Comack et. al.) that youth centres are the epicentre of developing gang relationships, which then lead to identities of resistance which centre around illegitimate economies including crime. Incarceration begets crime. It is as simple as that.

Mayor Scott Gillingham was quoted in this article as saying “The evidence is in our streets…the system isn’t working.” He is, in a way, correct. The system is not working for these kids. It was designed to work against them. Policing and incarceration are core tenets of that very system. It is time for critical change.

Kieran West

Winnipeg

Life in the smartphone era

Re: Stopping the tech drain — or slowing it down (Think Tank, Sept. 4)

Janine LeGal’s article about tech resonated with me. I have a cellphone but one without data. I am not in need of constant info that a smart phone provides. As a result I have also been daunted by QR codes.

Travelling also has its challenges in that regard in addition to the chaos at most airports now.

Somehow I am made to feel foolish for no good reason. I really do long for the good old days when everything was less complicated and a heck of a lot easier on the nerves.

Marie Carrington

Winnipeg

Must mandate Holocaust education

Re: “Human rights education” (Letters, Sept. 4)

Teaching the Holocaust separately doesn’t mean ignoring other genocides or injustices — it means giving each the depth and dignity they deserve. Dozens of countries around the world have mandated Holocaust education and for important reasons. In fact, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became the first Muslim country to mandate Holocaust education nationwide in its primary and secondary public schools.

Teaching about the Holocaust as a distinct subject is crucial because of its unprecedented nature, its complex historical context, and its universal moral lessons. When taught alongside other issues without distinction, the Holocaust risks being flattened or diluted, losing its historical specificity and emotional gravity, while a separate focus ensures that students grasp the scale, intent, and legacy of this genocide without conflating it with other tragedies.

The Holocaust remains unprecedented in scope and in nature. It was a systematic, state-sponsored genocide aimed at the total global annihilation of the Jewish people. Unlike other atrocities, it involved industrialized killing and required the active help or cooperation of professionals working in diverse fields ranging from civil servants, lawyers, doctors, teachers, police, members of the military, business elites, to church leaders.

The Holocaust fundamentally challenged the very foundations of civilization. It provides us with a lens to examine bystander behavior, moral courage, and the consequences of indifference. Its impact reshaped international law, human rights frameworks, and global consciousness. For all these reasons, we are proud that Manitoba has joined so many others in mandating a curriculum on the Holocaust.

Belle Jarniewski

Winnipeg

On vaccination

In light of recent news of Florida removing all school vaccine mandates in the state, I was inspired to check what protections Manitoba provides to some of our most vulnerable citizens in this regard.

I was horrified to discover that we have, like Florida, no vaccine mandates. Doctors across the United States are horrified at this policy move, explaining how many children (and those in contact with children) it will harm.

In Canada, we like to think we are more community-minded and collectivist in our approach to everything, from social safety nets to public health, than the United States. And yet Manitoba quietly provides a similarly laissez-faire individualist approach to childhood vaccinations to Florida. Is Florida our public health model now?

Measles cases are rising in Manitoba. In 2025, at least two cases were due to school-based exposure. We have an overall rate of vaccination in Manitoba (two doses) of 65.4 per cent at age seven, with the percentage continuing to drop — herd immunity requires 92-95 per cent coverage.

Whooping cough continues to have outbreaks in Manitoba. In the Southern Health region, vaccination rates are only 58.1 per cent, and 90-94 per cent vaccination coverage is required for herd immunity.

It can be hard to know which vaccines your child needs, difficult to remember to do it, and hard to access (pharmacists can only dispense to certain ages and our well-known family doctor shortage makes it harder). If schools require vaccinations in order to attend, there will be an automatic backstop helping families to ensure their children are vaccinated. I have a preschooler and Grade 1-age child myself, and despite caring deeply about vaccination, am uncertain if they are up to date. Research shows that school vaccination mandates are strongly correlated in higher vaccination rates.

Deaths should not be required to see the urgency of this political move. Illnesses like measles can cause hearing loss, blindness, and other lasting harm without killing.

Teresa Prokopanko

Winnipeg

Other ways to serve

Re: Benefits of national service (Think Tank, Aug. 23)

Columnist David McLaughlin correctly points out more than 70 per cent of Canadians support a national service option for youth (July 2025 Angus Reid poll) and describes the programs offered in various European countries.

I would like to suggest one more option for consideration: the University of Winnipeg’s summer Inner City Work/Study program. This program provides students with summer employment with inner-city community organizations, along with a credit course analyzing the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The program has employed more than 250 students, involving 77 community groups and provided more than 100,000 hours of community service. It deliberately enrols students from different socio-economic backgrounds to increase mutual awareness. The program grew from a plan put forward by then-mayor Brian Bowman and myself as St. Vital city councillor, and the city has been the lead funder with over $1.5 million provided.

Hopefully the federal government is taking note of the Angus Reid poll — and taking note of what the City of Winnipeg and University of Winnipeg have already put in place.

Brian Mayes

Winnipeg