Letters, Oct. 31

Encampment benefits

Re: New to Winnipeg, longtime homeless man calls for tent city (Oct. 30)

Tents may serve as a form of shelter now, but in January in Winnipeg, they will not be adequate. Instead, the City of Winnipeg should established housing for the homeless with used trailers heated with electric heaters.

This will prevent fires which will inevitably occur if people are trying to survive in tents. Also, as this homeless man suggests, an authorized encampment will allow the city to provide supports and monitor the homeless to minimize negative impact on the surrounding area.

An encampment like this could be assembled quickly and be up and running when the full force of winter hits the city.

Rich North

Winnipeg

Focus on abandoned buildings

Re: Developer scuttles plan to build apartment tower (Oct. 30)

The sidebar to the article, entitled Make everything old new again: councillor, describes Coun. Brian Mayes’ proposed initiative to encourage developers to refurbish old buildings instead of tearing them down and replacing them. “Land use incentives” are mentioned as a possible way to encourage reuse.

It would appear that Mayes is proposing to add another level of bureaucracy (which will translate into delays and added costs) to the permitting process and to use tax dollars to create the necessary environment to make reuse desirable for developers. It is very likely that this bureaucracy would be subject to the same meddlesome councillors which the new zoning regulations, which have been passed to encourage densification, have thankfully sidelined.

Developers already look at economics and the usable life of structures when making decisions concerning the disposition of existing structures. Many structures are at the end of their useful life, patently inefficient from an energy perspective or just not suited to the proposed end use of the development. If Mayes wants to do something useful, he should pressure the administration to more quickly tear down abandoned, burned-out buildings in existing neighbourhoods so that redevelopment can occur.

What he should not do is gum up the works and make development even more difficult and expensive.

Tom Pearson

Winnipeg

Failures in justice system

Re: Judge slams ‘insulting’ bail reform debate (Oct. 28)

So a judge is insulted by public opinion. Suck it up, buttercup! If you have such thin skin you should consider a career outside the judiciary.

Unlike some of the unidentified, but ostensibly uninformed, letter writers referred to by Judge Dale Harvey, I practiced in the criminal defence bar for 18 years. I quit when I concluded that the “justice system” was not reliably rendering justice in far too many instances. I spent the next 18 years teaching university students how the justice system fails to render justice.

The presumption of innocence is not the only right protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 2 of the Charter grants everyone the freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression.

When judges are not sitting in court, their personal opinions, even when published in the newspaper, are of no greater significance than the opinions of we uninformed letter writers.

Leo Nijssen

Grandview

Although I have not researched Judge Dale Harvey’s judicial decisions regarding bail, I was dismayed at the tone of his comments. If the bail system was functioning properly, the public would not be clamouring for reform.

When individuals on bail continue to commit crimes and are still granted bail, public trust in our justice system begins to erode.

John Pundyk

Winnipeg

Stop the deprivation

Twice a year we read about circadian rhythm, how the time change will have devastating effects on our body and sleep habits. Yet within a few days we move on and it’s not an issue anymore.

The system we have now, as we all know, is designed to give us longer days in the summer to enjoy the great outdoors. Those employed can get in 18 holes of golf after work because it’s light until 10 p.m. Others can enjoy late evening walks or bike rides. Kids can play in the park and enjoy their summer break. In our northern country, we experience enough darkness throughout our long cold winters.

Let’s not deprive ourselves from enjoying every hour of evening daylight in the summer.

Terry Aseltine

Winnipeg

Appreciating Icelandic history

Re: New Iceland marks major milestone (Oct. 16)

What a fabulous portrait Conrad Sweatman has given us of New Iceland in its 150th year of arrival and settlement in Manitoba. Bravo!

The essay is masterful in its creative and insightful spanning of Icelandic cultural history and present life, both in Iceland and in Manitoba.

Sweatman offers us a concise, beautiful theorized overview of the cultural and political meaning and impact of “multiculturalism” in Manitoba. He skilfully traces the creative balancing act involved in celebrating an ethnic immigrant heritage rooted in a faraway land, while participating fully — and generously — in this country’s evolving (multi)cultural life. There are tantalizing glimpses of our beloved holiday communities of Gimli, and Willow Island, and traditional Icelandic cuisine still available in specialty shops there. And a special treat, Sweatman includes a lovely shout out to some of our most famous Icelandic Manitoba citizens, including poets and political figures.

Let me add the names of David Arnason, and siblings Arne and Erika Macpherson, who have influentially helped shape Manitoba cultural life in the arts over many decades, in literature, theatre and film. Erika Macpherson’s award-winning film, This River, shines a light on the habitual Icelanders’ collaboration with neighbouring Indigenous communities in Manitoba, in this case, through an empathetic documentary about Take the Red, the search for drowned Indigenous persons, in collaboration with our celebrated Manitoban Indigenous poet katherena vermette and the NFB.

Di Brandt

Winnipeg

Canada tough, not nasty

Donald Trump has called Canada nasty. Translation: we will not bow to him. Prime Minister Mark Carney is standing firm, protecting Canadians’ interests, and refusing to sell us short. If that makes us tough, Canadians should wear it as a badge of pride.

Trump’s tantrum over Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Reagan ad shows how rattled he is. The ad was factual and true — Ronald Reagan’s own words, not fake, not propaganda, and not AI. Facts cannot be erased to fit Trump’s narrative.

The truth is Trump wants to posture that he squeezed a concession out of Canada so he can brag about it. It is all an act, a ploy. This is no negotiation. It is theatre: walk away, threaten tariffs, and hope Canada folds. But we will not fold. China did not. India did not. They stood firm and survived. Canada will too. Call it Taco Tuesday diplomacy.

As Carney said during his visit to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, every Canadian is a stakeholder. Spoken like a true leader. While Trump rages and divides, Carney strategizes and unites. While Trump isolates Washington, Carney strengthens Canada.

Oh Canada, you are not nasty, but principled, resilient, and tough.

Zahra Remtulla

Vaughan, Ont.

Don’t expect an invite

If U.S. President Donald Trump can have a hissy-fit and threaten yet another tariff increase because Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted a TV commercial that he didn’t like, what is he going to do when the Blue Jays take the World Series?

I can only hazard a guess that they will not likely be invited to the White House for burgers.

Les Hanson

Winnipeg