Letters, Dec. 19

Ongoing fiasco

The fiasco of the transit route restructuring is becoming a never-ending and increasing cost to city taxpayers.

Recently, transit officials reported to city council about the drop in ridership due to the changes. This loss of ridership, along with the corresponding loss of revenue, is a direct cost to the citizens of Winnipeg. In addition, it was mentioned that transit officials anticipated a loss in ridership due to the change, without indicating how much of a loss they expected, in the hope of attracting new riders.

Every business person knows it is easier to retain current customers rather than attract new ones.

This basic fact of the business world was apparently ignored or overlooked in developing the new routes.

Was this anticipated loss of ridership disclosed to city council when they submitted the route restructuring plan for approval? If not, this was a material omission in the presentation to councillors. If this was omitted, again, in the business world, the person in charge of this restructuring would be looking for a new job. If it was included in the presentation to councillors for approval, responsibility for the loss of ridership rests on the councillors that approved the plan.

Now, in order to try to fix the deficiencies, city council has approved a new position for Winnipeg transit that will cost taxpayers even more. The loss of revenue and increased costs will be borne by taxpayers for years to come.

It appears as if there is no end to the cost to taxpayers of this never-ending transit fiasco.

Jack Murray

Winnipeg

Valuable time

The mayor and councillors have not only increased every tax and fee they could think of but, with the complete disaster they created by switching the bus routes, they are also basically taxing the time of transit riders.

I have heard of so many former riders who were unwilling to waste an extra two to three hours of their day on this terrible transit plan, and either bought or borrowed a car. My next-door neighbours now carpool for most of the week when possible. That’s not even mentioning the extra walking and waiting, and in some cases, risking their safety having to walk or wait in unsafe neighbourhoods.

It sounds like our mayor and council are too stubborn to admit they made a mistake and are hoping they can get away with small changes, or they can just lie and say that people find the new system better. They don’t want to spend money to reverse their stupid mistake, but will blow large amounts of money widening one street while bridges are closing. The vast majority of transit riders are now massively inconvenienced and are ditching transit as fast as they can.

I can’t wait for the next election, but unfortunately Winnipeg voters have a history of re-electing incompetent politicians. Let’s hope that changes next time.

Jason Sudyn

Winnipeg

Help our feathered friends

Re: Developer says protection is ‘for the birds’ (Think Tank, Dec. 18)

I have to agree with Erna Buffie’s article about protecting the birds.

We have been a part of Feederwatch since 2013. Although we live outside Winnipeg, we are directly north of there and have seen a substantial drop in the number of not only birds, but species of birds visiting our feeders. We used to get lots of chickadees, pine siskins, purple finches, red polls, nuthatches and grosbeaks at our feeders during the year. Last winter, there were flocks of sparrows. We used to fill our feeders on a daily basis when we started.

Now, it takes a month to empty them. We got window hits until we put reflective tape on and netting over our windows. There are roaming cats all over our neighbourhood, and pesticides used in monoculture farming poison the birds. Drought also plays a part.

We have lost a dozen mature oak trees in our yard. So, yes, we agree that our feathered friends need all the help they can get.

Cathy Coss

Warren

Important delivery

It’s 7:15 a.m. during a Thursday blizzard. I look out the window to check out the status of the weather and what do I see? My amazing, dedicated Free Press carrier coming up the sidewalk with my morning paper! What a trooper!

Thank you to all the carriers who braced the weather.

Ellen Karr

Winnipeg

Imagine my surprise when I reached into my mailbox at 6:45 a.m. Thursday, in the middle of a blinding Winnipeg blizzard, and found my morning Free Press.

What fantastic consistent service in a era that seems to have put old-time customer service in the hands of email messages. Congratulations and thank you to the carriers who do this great service and the Free Press for its support.

Rick Jones

Winnipeg

The compromised West

Trump seems bent on attacking Venezuela. Almost from the beginning, the regime that came to power in 1999 has been in Washington’s crosshairs. This blockade, to starve Venezuelans, breaks the UN Charter. Trump’s military attack, if it goes ahead, will also break the UN Charter.

On what grounds then can the West condemn Russia for having invaded Ukraine? The Russians have done nothing the U.S. wouldn’t have done had the Russians set up missile launchers in countries like Nicaragua and Venezuela, and had pushed a hostile military alliance right up to America’s borders. This is not a matter of guesswork, as historically the U.S. has overthrown many foreign governments.

Now, you may argue that Trump’s breaking of the UN Charter is justified because Ukraine is a liberal and democratic country, while Venezuela is run by Maduro, a “narco-terrorist.” Even if this were true, the U.S. and its allies (vassals) are in no position to condemn Maduro.

The U.S. and its ally, Israel, are stained by the death and destruction in Gaza. The rest of the West is compromised badly, as it continues to ally itself with the U.S. and Israel, and seems helpless.

The future looks bad on many fronts.

Ron Gaffray

Winnipeg

AI comes with too high a cost

In recent days, I have been reading about two companies wanting to set up a data centre near Ile-des-Chenes, just south of Winnipeg.

Their proposal is that they would use six gas steam-generating turbines to generate the electricity to run this plant. I can see why they chose this site as it is adjacent to TC Energy, which has a pumping station pumping gas across Canada.

They say it will bring jobs to the area, but as we all know AI destroys jobs. It is a power hungry industry which I fear will not bring too much good to anyone. These companies say they would back up Manitoba Hydro on the grid, but I think that’s a red herring. If that were the case, they would be selling power to Manitoba Hydro at a loss.

Manitoba really has to get on its horse to start and continue dropping the use of fossil fuels. The finance minister recently said we are twice over the original budget deficit due to fighting wildfires. The costs of global warming extends to drought, causing steep rises in the price of meat, and the lack of water for Manitoba’s power generation, causing electric prices to go up.

When allowing companies to come to Manitoba to set up, the government should consider their carbon footprint before giving any approvals on construction.

As well, AI centres require a lot of water for cooling, so I assume they would be using a lot of, well, water.

I think it’s just a bad idea.

Gerald Trudeau

Winnipeg