Letters, Oct. 20

Stefanson’s legacy

Re: Is Stefanson’s fine fitting punishment? (Editorial, Oct. 17)

It’s appropriate to thank outgoing politicians for their service. For many reasons, my thanks to former premier Heather Stefanson are highly qualified and grudgingly offered.

The fine that she will pay certainly does not match the gravity of her offence. At the time she remained the caretaker premier, it was on her to behave with integrity and she deliberately chose not to do so. She wasn’t forced into anything; she made a deliberate choice to try to circumvent an important rule.

Thanks are due to the civil servants who chose to behave ethically.

The action, resulting in the $18,000 fine, may be Ms. Stefanson’s most egregious episode, but it is not the only incident that demonstrates her indifference to Manitobans.

Ms. Stefanson willingly repeated the “coulda, woulda, shoulda” line. In 2022, in response to a question about the death of a woman headed out of province for COVID treatment, Ms. Stefanson shared news about her son’s hockey success.

I wish her luck with her new endeavours. It sounds like she will have significant latitude to behave as she likes.

Lynn Silver

Winnipeg

Transit must be part of net-zero plan

Re: Net-zero plan lacks measurable action (Think Tank, Oct. 17)

Shaun Loney is right to critique the shortfalls in the province’s recent Path to Net Zero strategy, especially concerning the absence of concrete policy commitments appropriate to the urgency of the climate crisis.

There are many positive promises in the strategy such as legislated emissions targets, a net-zero electricity grid by 2035, and stronger building codes. The province has also committed to following up on this initial “enabling strategy” with interim emissions targets and sector-specific action plans. However, timelines for this work remain unclear.

Along with the commitments that Loney identified as necessary, like banning new fossil gas installations after 2030 and ramping up heat pump deployment, increased provincial funding to urban, rural, and Northern public transit is critically important.

With a chorus of public dialogue about transit in the wake of the new Winnipeg Transit redesign, now is a key moment for the province to ramp up dedicated transit funding to bolster service, address gaps, and get people out of cars and onto buses — by far the fastest way to reduce transportation emissions.

James Wilt

Winnipeg

Defining sovereignty

Re: Alberta looking to change licence plate slogan to ‘Strong and Free’ (Oct. 16)

The article reads “(Alberta Premier Danielle) Smith told reporters there’s nothing political about the choice, noting the same words are also lyrics to the Canadian anthem. ‘This is neutral language,’ Smith said, adding the phrase pays homage to Alberta being a ‘strong and sovereign province within a united Canada.’”

Anyone looked up the word “sovereign”? The definitions that I saw included “supreme political power.” Within a united Canada? Which one is it, Smith?

It matters to the rest of Canada.

Andy Maxwell

Winnipeg

The cure before the crime

Re: Tougher bail, sentencing rules on horizon (Oct. 17); Manitoba leaders weigh in on federal bail reform (Oct. 17)

These articles highlight public concern about safety, all while leaving out the most important piece: prevention. Tougher laws may keep people in custody longer; they do nothing to address why so many end up there in the first place.

What’s missing is investment in supports before harm occurs — social workers in bail courts, culturally grounded supervision programs, trauma‑informed parole planning, and data agreements which respect Indigenous sovereignty. These are not luxuries; they are the foundations of lasting public safety.

We can be tough on crime without being blind to its causes. If our goal is safer communities, we must pair enforcement with healing, equity, reconciliation, and support. Otherwise, we are treating symptoms while ignoring the disease.

Anne Thompson

Winnipeg

Manitobans need more than ‘awareness’

On Oct. 16, the Manitoba government illuminated the Legislative Building in purple in recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

I will not deny the importance of awareness, but the key to enhancing disabled people’s employment does not end there.

Rather, concrete policy and legislative changes are desperately needed. These include: not “clawing back” money from workers on provincial disability support; passing and enforcing legislation to prohibit employers from demanding medical documentation for access to accommodations; providing legal protection for employees’ right to work from home; mandating that masks be worn in higher-risk workplace environments to protect workers and others; and covering the cost of anti-viral treatment for COVID-19 so that more people can avoid becoming disabled by long COVID.

“Awareness” doesn’t pay the bills — but meaningful systemic change can allow us all to thrive and contribute.

Kristen Hardy

Winnipeg

On bail reform

The proposals for “reverse onus” bail reforms beg a number of questions such as what will the additional costs be for staffing, courts, and jail facilities, and how will these be provided and paid for.

Recent reporting by the Free Press has shown that data concerning the bail system are inadequate and cannot easily answer questions such as how often individuals who are out on bail commit crimes or violate bail conditions, or how many of those who are denied bail are ultimately found not guilty.

This is critical information required to predict whether the bail reforms are likely to achieve positive results, or whether strengthening bail supervision measures would perhaps achieve better results at a lower cost.

Ideally this kind of information and analysis would be available before bail reforms are put in place, but in any case an improved information system should be part of any planned reforms.

Jeremy Hull

Winnipeg

Climate change and economic hardship

Re: Time for a shakeup at city hall (Oct. 9)

Erna Buffie’s comments that city hall needs a shakeup are accurate. Governments at all levels, the business community and society at large do need to take the climate change crisis more seriously. The excuse given is that addressing the crisis will be too expensive.

Anyone reading my letter who wonders whether climate change will hit you hard in the pocketbook, and do worse, should conduct an online search: type in “homeownership climate change insurance crisis.”

Do that and see what pops up. It should trouble you. It will be ironic if the largest corporations and most enthusiastic proponents of capitalism end up doing the system in. They should care about the fate of the economic system, even if they otherwise, for example, spare little thought to dying coral reefs.

Ron Gaffray

Winnipeg