Letters, Sept. 20

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/09/2025 (191 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

New model a good one

Re: We need a new model of care for chronic diseases in Manitoba (Think Tank, Sept. 19)

I applaud the care model at the IBD Clinic at HSC. As a person living with Type 1 diabetes for 52 years, I would like to draw attention to a similar model that has existed for decades for people living with diabetes in our province. Diabetes educators come from a variety of healthcare backgrounds — nurses, dietitians, physiotherapists, etc. They are available to support, inform, train us in all aspects of living with this 24-7 chronic disease from understanding diet to managing blood glucose to using new technology such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring to mental health support.

I value the regular visits to my endocrinologist who is attentive and responsive to my needs and I also rely on the quick and easy access to my diabetes educator for a multitude of issues that can arise on a moment’s notice.

This model of care has likely saved many people living with diabetes from ending up in a crisis or in a hospital ER or worse.

I am very grateful for the excellent care I have received that has helped me remain healthy well into my 70s.

Ellen Karr

Winnipeg

Rugby’s popularity growing

Re: Canada one win away from World Cup final (Sept. 19)

It is gratifying to see increased, ongoing coverage of rugby, and particularly women’s rugby, in the Free Press sports pages.

Canada’s national women’s team has been a top international competitor for years and plays in the semi-final match today in England. I recall, back in the day, the picture of a rugby scrum in the sports pages was followed by the caption “What are these people doing?”

Fortunately, now coverage of rugby has grown, as has the popularity of this unique and exciting sport.

Dan Furlan

Winnipeg

Buffer zone well within Bloodvein’s rights

Re: Moose hunters miffed by no-go zone at Bloodvein (Sept. 16)

For years, Indigenous communities have watched Manitoba’s moose population plummet under a mismanaged system that continues to fail both the land and those who depend on it. Bloodvein First Nation is right to say: enough is enough.

The moose decline near Bloodvein isn’t just an environmental issue — it’s a threat to a way of life that has sustained the community for generations. Hunting here is not sport; it’s food, culture and tradition.

Bloodvein has every right to act — whether by creating hunting buffer zones or pursuing other community-led solutions. These are not acts of defiance, but of stewardship.

Some hunters and outfitters may feel frustrated. That’s understandable. But nobody said reconciliation would be easy — and it certainly was never meant to preserve the status quo. It requires respect for Indigenous rights — including the right to defend their land, wildlife, and traditions.

Minister Ian Bushie’s support for this Indigenous-led conservation effort is both timely and commendable.

John Youngman

Winnipeg

Tripping ourselves up

Re: Medical licensing costs stymie doctor from Ukraine (Sept. 18)

Regarding the item about Dr. Mohammed Elgadi, are we totally missing the boat on this?!

We have a severe shortage of doctors here in Manitoba. We claim to be trying to entice qualified doctors to come to the province — yet we are tripping up this man with crippling costs. We should be paying him to practice here!

I know, I know: regulations, proper vetting, etc., but what we’re putting this doctor through is patently counterproductive.

Ida Reichardt

Winnipeg

Tyrants and the media

Regarding all the public screaming and yelling about the death of Charlie Kirk, maybe politicians should be banned from using public social media while in office.

As far as the American leadership telling news and television media to cancel late night talk show hosts and so on, so that only their messages can be public, keep in mind some very frightening history: Hitler used the news media for a number of years before talking over his country and slaughtering millions of people.

Authoritarian governments have a way of using the public media and people do not realize what is happening to them.

Judy Herscovitch

Winnipeg

Dangerous driving

Re: Fatal hit-and-run underscores need to close bike-lane gaps: cyclists (Sept. 17)

As I drove home last night down Main Street, after a round of golf at the Windsor Park golf course, I came to the conclusion that the driving habits of drivers in this city are dangerous. How there are not multiple vehicular accidents or deaths daily in this city is amazing.

Cars changing lanes three or four times in less than a block, while going 20 to 30 kilometres over the limit, tailgating, honking their horns, flashing their high-beams, etc. Funny thing is, I picked a lane at Portage and Main, stayed in it and ended up at Main and Higgins where the lunatic drivers who were driving erratically were sitting at the lights.

Today while watching the news, there was a story about a vehicle that was clocked by Manitoba RCMP driving 182 km/h in a 100 km/h speed limit. The person’s penalty for going 82 kilometres over the limit, was a fine of $1,112! No loss of driving privileges or arrest for dangerous driving, just a slap on the wrist. Giing beyond a slap on the wrist would be a fine in the $5,000 to $6,000 range and a suspension of driving for six months.

I remember being told by the person who gave me my driving test that a driver’s licence is a privilege, not a right. Time to start enforcing safer driving habits with stern penalties.

Alfred Sansregret

Winnipeg

Safety for all

Re: City council threatens rights without delivering safety (Think Tank, Sept. 17)

I would like to offer a response to Meredith Done’s opening rhetorical question “… who — if anyone — will be safer…” as a result of the City of Winnipeg plan to implement new rules that prohibit encampments in and around playgrounds, pools, schools, daycares, transit stops, bridges and rail lines.

We will all be safer, as a start, and there is a whole lot more hard work to do to get us to a good finish. Better alternatives, choices and options for safe, hygienic, and sustainable living conditions and other social and health supports must be included in any program to end the rampant homelessness in Winnipeg.

We do need proactive leadership to respond to a vicious cycle of degrading poverty, neglect, illness and addiction for those on our lowest rung of the social order. It is a good start by this city council with these new rules on where not to camp in our communities. “Rules rule!” is a simple catchphrase but works to highlight a foundational aspect of any functional community. These proposals are a pragmatic good start.

Our homeless citizens deserve all the resources and opportunities that will provide for a better future and that work must continue. This issue presents a very complex societal and political challenge and it will not be solved by this first good step forward to a safer community for all.

Roland Stankevicius

Winnipeg