Letters, May 29

Casting stones

Re: Premier quick with the quip on national stage (May 28)

Praise to Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew for challenging Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and advocating for a unified Canada. But it would have had more impact had he not also recently asserted that Manitoba knows what it is like to be ignored by Eastern Canada.

If anything, Manitoba benefits greatly from the financial support of other provinces, including those in the east. Over and above other federal transfers, Manitoba receives about $3,500 per capita in equalization payments, for a total of just over $5 billion in 2026. That represents roughly 18 per cent of the provincial budget and a huge contribution to health care and other provincial services.

Even more telling are comparisons with other provinces. The $3,500 per capita is double what Quebec residents receive despite their being maligned so often over the issue. Moreover, higher rates in Atlantic provinces are explained by an aging population owing to the loss of young, working age adults to other provinces, especially to the benefit of oil-rich Alberta.

Manitoba, however, has a relatively young population and our shortfall in provincial revenue must originate elsewhere. Rather than citing lack of support from Canada, Premier Kinew should unreservedly acknowledge how Canada fills that gap and express our deep gratitude for the generous support of taxpayers from all provinces.

Jim Clark

Winnipeg

Time, time, what’s the time?

Re: Manitobans prefer later sunsets in time change debate: poll (May 26)

The time-change debate provides an example of the need for principle-based decision-making in government.

The governments of Alberta and B.C. eliminated the twice-yearly practice of “moving the clocks” and alternating between standard time and daylight time. The main principle cited to support their decisions was the health and safety of citizens.

Studies have shown that moving the clocks results in, among other things, an increase in cardiovascular problems, strokes, traffic accidents and workplace injuries. The resulting sleep deprivation contributes to mental health issues, fatigue, depression, obesity and impaired cognitive function. A survey by Prairie Research Associates found that roughly 75 per cent of Manitobans favour eliminating moving the clocks, and their views align with the health and safety considerations.

But should the permanent time be standard time or daylight time?

The 2025 Stanford University study cited by Premier Wab Kinew showed that permanent standard time is the ideal scenario, as it aligns our circadian rhythms with the sun and would result in significant reductions in the health and safety issues.

Permanent daylight time only provides two-thirds of the benefits of permanent standard time.

When Alberta and B.C. chose permanent daylight time rather than permanent standard time, they chose to do what was popular rather than what is in the best interests of the residents of their provinces. Let’s hope Premier Kinew makes decisions based on principle, backed by scientific studies linked to health and safety benefits. True leadership requires doing what is right rather than what is popular.

Robert Pruden

Winnipeg

Do the numbers lie?

Re: Violent crime rate drops again (May 28)

Lies, damn lies and statistics.

Statistics can be manipulated in many ways to say what you want or what you want to believe. A 4.8 per cent reduction in violent crimes is only one in 20, or five in 100. Is this significant?

It may be no difference at all. What message do the police want to send ?

Allan Jakilazek

Winnipeg

Empires fell, war ensued

The History Channel is running a 20-part documentary titled World War II with Tom Hanks, narrated by the actor and movie producer.

The program claims that the Second World War was the largest military event of the 20th century. This may be true in terms of sheer geographic spread, but it severely underestimates the importance of the First World War.

Prior to 1914, Europe was a continent of empires: British, Austro-Hungarian, German, Russian and Ottoman. France, although a republic, held many overseas colonies. By 1919, the majority of these empires had ceased to exist. They were replaced by new national entities based on ethnic loyalties.

These new entities were unstable and formulated regional rivalries. This allowed German chancellor Adolf Hitler to pick them off, either by ‘diplomacy’ in the 1930s or by warfare after Sept. 1, 1939.

I find the program very good, but it fails to recognize that the Second World War was the closing chapter of the First World. Without the fall of empires, Hitler would have remained an under-employed house painter.

Kurt Clyde

Winnipeg

Staff museum properly

Re: Delta blues (May 26)

The recent news that the Manitoba Museum is being forced to decommission its treasured Delta Marsh and Rye Farm diorama after 23 years is heartbreaking, but not surprising to anyone who has been paying attention to the slow-motion decline of Manitoba’s flagship museum.

The dismantling and packing away of the diorama depicting a Ukrainian immigrant family farming in the 1920s and the iconic Delta Marsh with its amazing biodiversity is only in small part because of the pests that threaten to irreparably damage the featured exhibit.

The reality is that 19 years without an increase to provincial operating grants by successive governments have left the museum without enough staff to care for the collection. This short-staffing has also led to the cessation of summer day camps for children; the elimination of the overnight sleepover program; reduced hours at the Museum shop; less box office, visitor reception, and gallery staff; and fewer courses, public events, and curriculum-based school programs available to Manitobans.

This institution, built and modelled to tell our province’s story, is in wilful decline because funding has flatlined. The result is an over-reliance on attendance and sponsorship revenue streams — both of which are scarce during periods of high inflation and economic uncertainty, such as right now. What the museum needs is a more stable and predictable funding stream that keeps up with inflationary increases.

The museum has done its best to weather economic storms in the past by finding creative ways to raise revenue and decrease spending, but this has come at a cost. There are 20 fewer staff members currently working at the museum than there were six years ago— a 27 per cent drop — leaving fewer hands to curate artifacts or design dioramas such as the Delta Marsh, and fewer conservation staff to look after the exhibits and artifacts that naturally deteriorate over time.

While much-needed capital funding for upgrades and refurbishment flows more regularly, the heart of the museum is the staff who curate and care for the 2.9 million historical artifacts, conduct research, respond to inquiries from the public, and process new donations. These people enable the museum to produce high-quality exhibitions and deliver programs, while staying current with scientific discoveries and modern conservation techniques.

Museums do not preserve themselves. They depend on skilled professionals who keep our history alive. To help them do that, the Manitoba government must provide stable operating funding that keeps up with the inflation and reflects the true value of this work, so that the Manitoba Museum can continue to tell our province’s story with the care and dignity it deserves.

Kyle Ross

President, Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union

Winnipeg