Letters, Feb. 25

Bitter pill

Personally, I am tired of hearing about Ukraine’s resilience and fortitude in staying strong against Russia. While I am living in a safe democratic country, sitting in a warm living room, I watch and read about the further atrocities perpetrated on Ukraine by Russia’s attacks on civilians and infrastructure.

I am weary of hearing what the European Union is doing to help Ukraine with its infrastructure and supplies it needs. And providing maximum pressure on Russia. And that Ukraine will join the EU.

I am disgusted with the betrayal of the U.S. under President Donald Trump for abandoning Ukraine and trying to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into a bad “deal” to give up its own land.

And I am appalled at the International Olympic Committee and its playing up to Russia, penalizing Ukraine for its brave stance to memorialize the deaths of athletes and for allowing Russia and Belarus to participate in the Paralympics.

Until the Western powers find their own determination and political will to provide weapons to close Ukraine’s skies, employ harsher sanctions and put non-combative boots on the ground to give Russia a strong message, I will continue to feel despondent that Russia will keep getting away with their cruelty and barbarism against Ukraine.

The fourth anniversary of this war is a hard pill to swallow and I am beginning to doubt that good will overpower evil.

Christine Krucko

Winnipeg

Disturbing rhetoric

Re: Anti-immigrant rant shows Poilievre’s bad hand (Feb. 24)

Thank you Dan Lett for the column on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s rant on immigration. I wonder if all this anti-immigrant sentiment is because a lot of them are not white? I find that disturbing.

I find Poilievre’s misinformation disturbing. Is Poilievre following Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s lead on anti-immigrant sentiment? Canada needs immigrants to maintain its social programs.

Leanne Hanuschuk

Winnipeg

Cuba’s resilience

Re: Only a matter of time for Cuba now (Think Tank, Feb. 23)

Gwynne Dyer raises some important points on the situation in Cuba. However, his article is steeped in cynicism.

After ousting a U.S.-backed dictator, Cuba has resisted more than 60 years of illegal U.S. aggression including terrorism against its tourism industry, assassination attempts, biological warfare, an unsuccessful military invasion and a debilitating, globally condemned economic blockade which has drained the country of over US$170 billion. What recently changed is the American government maximizing its attack on the island. This has increased the level of collective punishment on the Cuban people — affecting essential services such as hospitals and transportation.

Despite experiencing violence from the most powerful nation in the world and having limited natural resources, the Cuban government has always strived to prioritize the needs of its people and protect its hard-won gains. Gains that would largely disappear under a capitalist system. The so-called “institutional rot in (the) ruling party” was able to achieve significant progress for its people — all of which have been negatively impacted by America’s war on Cuba. Some examples are a greater lifespan and lower infant mortality rate or on-par with high income countries, as well as universal and high-quality education, social programs and health care.

This includes the highest number of doctors per capita in the world; creating its own COVID vaccine and other life-saving medications through its biotechnology sector; and medical teams travelling to other countries to provide care in remote areas. Through massive public consultations and a referendum, in 2022 Cuba passed the most progressive “Family Code” in the world. To the U.S., Cuba is a positive example of national sovereignty that must be destroyed and brought under American hegemony.

As a result of U.S. aggression Cuba’s historical gains have been significantly damaged. We are at a crisis point. Rather than focusing on Cuba’s sovereignty and condemning the U.S.’s blatantly cruel and illegal actions, Dyer suggests it is all part of some passive, natural process. Currently, the Canadian government seems to be aligned with Dyer’s position by not sending aid or oil.

Cuba has a long history of resistance and supported by international solidarity. This strong spirit is very much alive and Cuba is not alone.

In response to Dyer’s reference to his experiences in Cuba, like many Canadians, my family and friends have travelled to the country multiple times. We have never experienced any crime, enjoyed Cuban hospitality and have always felt very safe compared to other countries, including Canada. I plan to return to Cuba in April through a Mexican airline.

Brent Anderson

Winnipeg

Trumpian taunts from Alberta

Re: Alberta premier asks voters to bypass Indigenous rights (Feb. 21)

Loathsome, shocking and cruel intentioned are the only appropriate words to describe Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her proposed provincial referendum gambit that blames and attacks immigrants; an easy excuse for her failures in government.

Her calculated icy calm contemplations that invoke the worst kind of scapegoating of the most vulnerable and powerless among us is a clear view of her true character. I can only imagine the heightened fear and anxiety my immigrant parents would have felt if the government of their day in the 1950s turned on them as Smith is now planning to execute in Alberta.

Niigaan Sinclair writes so accurately about Smith needing a new “boogeyman” to divert attention away from her policy failures and slumping oil prices. His clarity and perspectives are very welcome. Smith is shameful in her Trumpian taunts targeting immigrants and our constitutional relationships. Alberta, as part of a Canada is a given, integral to our thriving Canadian mosaic. Smith is just plain gonzo.

Roland Johannes Stankevicius

Winnipeg

The hate speech by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has soared to a new level of vitriol with her recent tirade against immigrants.

Will her “questionnaire” finally make her constituents realize that she has gone beyond the pale of civility? Will they encourage her to immigrate to the U.S. where she can watch in delight while ICE officers throw innocent people in detention camps?

Half of my family lives in Alberta and they are not nasty people. When the federal government opened Canada’s doors to refugees from the war in Ukraine, like hundreds of caring Alberta taxpayers, my son and daughter-in-law welcomed a young family into their home. They paid their living expenses, negotiated the immigration bureaucracy to obtain vital documents, registered them for English classes, found them housing and employment, and taught them how to live in Canada.

How will those folks feel when their acts of kindness are berated by their own premier?

Carol Clegg

Lac du Bonnet