Letters, Aug. 14

Do we need a new bridge?

Re: It’s one thing to climb aboard rail-relocation train, quite another to pay for the ride (Aug. 13)

A game-changer? Perhaps, but it appears to be a very long game. Otherwise, in a short game, there would be no need to build an expensive new Arlington Street Bridge over the CPKC rail yard since it would no longer exist.

And, in a long game, 25 years hence, would it then cost more money to deconstruct a needless bridge over troubled rail yards?

Bruce Hutchison, Ottawa, Ont.

Councillors’ exits raise alarm

Re: Democracy is a civic election issue (Think Tank, Aug. 13)

Thank you to Erna Buffie and the Free Press for stimulating interest in the upcoming civic elections. This election is of utmost importance to residents of Winnipeg and will shape the landscape of our city for many years to come.

I have watched, with great concern, the exit of the many longstanding councillors, who Buffie refers to as progressive, including my own councillor, Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry). When the incidence of diligent incumbents leaving public service grows and becomes a trend, the people of Winnipeg should be paying attention.

As with many organizations, governance appears to be at the root of the matter. If city council is to be effective and vibrant, it is important that rules which will guide the internal relationships and place clear parameters that limit the scope of powers of all, including the mayor, need to be established. No leader should have unlimited powers that can be used to railroad their ideas through without due process and consultation. We have seen how that is going in the U.S.A., and it has not been pretty.

Stop the bleeding, Winnipeg, and restore democracy to city hall. Elect officials who are ready to embrace democracy and govern with transparency. Our future should be determined collectively, not based on one person’s vision.

If you want change, demand a council that works well together and is not afraid to debate, rather than leave in disgust.

Robert Granke, Winnipeg

The why, not the how

Re: Quiet opening fitting for controversial site (Aug. 12)

Kudos to Melissa Martin for a refreshingly balanced and compassionate analysis of the new safe drug consumption site in Winnipeg. Would that all observers shared her giving primacy to the saving of lives … even ‘just’ one life! How easy it is to lose sight of the people for whom policy decisions are made.

It takes a rare combination of courage and humility to admit the limitations of one’s perspective when deciding what’s “best” for others.

Edwin Buettner, Winnipeg

Proud and nasty

Re: Tens of thousands sign petition to kick out U.S. ambassador (Aug. 12)

I am one of the thousands who signed the petition to kick out the U.S. Ambassador Peter Hoekstra.

I’m upset about him complaining about “anti American” sentiment while his boss throws tariffs around and threatens annexation.

Hoekstra wants Carney to have a conversation with Trump about annexation. Absolutely not. Canada is a sovereign nation. I’m upset with him always undermining Canada.

Hey Pete: If you’re upset about booze bans and reduced U.S travel, maybe speak to your boss about the unnecessary tariffs and 51st state threats.

Signed by a proud, nasty Canadian.

Leanne Hanuschuk, Winnipeg

Mr. Hoekstra has it backwards. His job isn’t pushing his president’s views in Canada; his job is to find out what Canadians think and present it to his president. Only then can the two countries work on creating a relationship that works for both.

Unfortunately, his president doesn’t think anyone should differ from him in their views of international relations. That’s what is making Mr. Hoekstra’s job harder than it should be.

James Wingert, Winnipeg

Carbon inferno

While communities battle floods, heat waves, and wildfire smoke this summer, oil and gas companies are posting record profits. That is not a coincidence. It is the business model.

Rather than taxing this windfall or holding polluters accountable, the federal government is handing the industry billions in public support for new pipeline projects. That is money that could fund health care, wildfire response or a genuine transition to renewable energy.

Canadians should not be asked to subsidize the same industry that is driving the disasters we are living through. We need leaders willing to make polluters pay, not underwrite their expansion. It’s time for our leaders to do what is best for Canadians, our country and the environment. It’s time to do what is necessary, not kowtowing to industries causing the problems.

The time for half-measures is over. We need real action.

No pipelines on a burning planet.

Anne Christine Chisholm, Winnipeg

Contempt without content

A new kind of verbal pollution is spreading across Canadian roads, revealing far more about the drivers displaying it than the politicians they target.

I recently saw another truck plastered with vulgar anti‑Trudeau and anti‑Carney stickers — a rolling billboard of rage.

The issue isn’t the profanity; it’s the emptiness behind it. Profanity is the camouflage of a mind unwilling to be seen thinking. When every grievance becomes a four‑letter word, it’s impossible to know whether the driver is upset about taxes, vaccines, carbon pricing or simply a world more complex than he can manage.

This isn’t conviction. It’s resentment posing as courage. And it cheapens public discourse by replacing debate with tailgate tantrums.

I’ve used sharp language myself, but experience taught me it’s no substitute for thought.

That truck wasn’t making an argument. It was confessing a lack of one.

Martin Zeilig, Winnipeg

Health-care progress a good thing

Re: Pharmacists able to prescribe birth control (Aug. 8)

Reading PC health critic Kathleen Cook’s response to the province’s announcement allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control feels like watching someone criticize a home renovation they refused to budget for during their seven years in power.

It is staggering to hear the Progressive Conservatives complain that this expanded scope of practice is “limited and long overdue.” It certainly is overdue, because the previous PC government sat on its hands for years while other provinces actively expanded clinical roles for pharmacists. To suddenly demand a full menu of expanded services overnight, after doing virtually nothing to move the needle during their own tenure, takes remarkable political amnesia.

At least the current NDP government is getting the ball rolling and delivering tangible progress for health-care access in Manitoba.

The criticism feels like someone who spent a decade ignoring a broken vehicle, only to yell at the new mechanic for fixing the transmission before upgrading the stereo. It is unhelpful, unwarranted and frankly exhausting. Manitobans deserve constructive dialogue on expanding health care, not endless, reflex-driven negativity.

Luba Krosney, Winnipeg