Letters, Sept. 17

It’s done here, too

The GLITTER program in Portland was held up last week as a glowing example of progressive, community-minded litter removal that Winnipeg and its downtown agencies should aspire to replicate.

Well, the grass may seem greener, and the encampments a little cleaner, but ask around and you may learn that Winnipeg already has community-led programs doing this work and doing it well.

I can’t fault anyone for raising the merits of a made-in-Portland program for the sake of discussion. After all, it is a timeless Winnipeg pastime to ask why our city lags behind others on any number of trends, programs, or amenities. But the suggestion that “some version” of GLITTER should be considered here falls short when it fails to acknowledge the parallel efforts already delivering results here.

Allow me to highlight Siloam Mission’s Mission Off the Streets Team program. Designed as a temporary work initiative, it helps participants build employable skills while contributing to the community. Similar to GLITTER, individuals assist with cleaning and street beautification among other meaningful activities. The program serves as a bridge toward more permanent employment.

The work of the program combines outreach, harm reduction, community safety, and environmental stewardship in a way that recognizes the complex realities of homelessness. All this, while helping clean up our public spaces.

We should be open to adopting what works elsewhere when it fills a gap or improves outcomes. But we should also be careful not to overlook the people and organizations already doing the work.

Kalen Qually

Winnipeg

Frightening similarities

I see terrifying parallels between today’s debate over AI and the debate over climate change decades ago.

More and more credible voices are coming forward to sound the alarm over what AI could do to us. They should be taken seriously, especially coming as they are from the industry itself! But will they be?

After all, alarms over climate change from our best scientists, sounded worldwide way back in the 1980swere — with criminal negligence and malice aforethought — ignored by our leaders. And look what we’ve ended up with!

We’ve passed the point of being able to stay within the Paris agreement target of 1.5 degree C warming.

I never thought I’d say this, but at least the AI moguls are warning us against the potential dangers of their own product.

Oil industry execs on the other hand, being the devious cowards they are, lied and covered up theirs. (And continue to do so.)

Could the price of ignoring these new warnings be even worse? With monstrous, brainless idiots like Trump in charge (and also thanks to Canada’s milquetoast stance on the topic) no guardrails are in sight.

So where does all this leave us? Looks like we are the guinea pigs in a gargantuan, twisted and grotesque “clinical trial,” with “Big Brother” holding us in the palm of his hand.

Larry Powell

Shoal Lake

Welcome back

I was very happy to see the return of Brent Bellamy’s column to the Think Tank page. Over the years his thoughtful and insightful writing has made him my favourite columnist in the Free Press. Although not involved in architecture, design, building or city planning, his ideas and work have always best reflected my own hopes for a better Winnipeg.

Brent is an inspiring and visionary thinker who we are so fortunate to have in the city of Winnipeg.

His progressive, urban community and design ideas and plans incorporate all the essential elements of cities today — social responsibility, environmental awareness, safe downtowns, walkable cities with high density housing; and beautiful but meaningful esthetics with the character, uniqueness, personality and heart that his mother and many of us are drawn to.

My heart goes out to Brent for his sad loss. His mother was no doubt deeply proud of his work here in Winnipeg. I hope she knew that others value his vision and work too. May her influence and memory live on in this work and in particular Parcel 9.

Karen Goodridge

Winnipeg

Kudos to the city

I was born and raised in rural Manitoba, have worked in northern Manitoba and camped extensively in Manitoba’s Whiteshell — I know about mosquitoes.

I have lived in Winnipeg for 50 years. For most of that time summers were plagued by mosquitoes. I remember many summers when working in my garden required long sleeves, long pants, Muskol spray and serious determination.

Sitting outside to enjoy our lovely weather was a major challenge.

Over the last several years that has changed. Winnipeg has been basically mosquito-free and there have been many wet periods. Seems to me this fabulous change must be due to improvements in mosquito control. It would be nice to read a story detailing how this has been accomplished and how come it took us so long to figure this out.

Most of all I would like to give a big, big bouquet to the City of Winnipeg mosquito control folks. Manitoba is blessed with great summer weather — now Winnipeggers can enjoy it more easily. Great job Winnipeg.

Barry Oswald

Winnipeg

Worthless deals

I’ve read various opinions concerning Prime Minister Mark Carney, his dealings with the U.S. and the general handling of the situation concerning the economy.

Let me remind you, in the very early days of his administration, Donald Trump was asked if he intended to take Canada. He said that was his intent.

When asked if that meant militarily he said “No, through economic coercion.”

So, whatever you think about what actions Carney takes, keep in mind the individual he is talking to.

The last thing I need to see is Mark Carney standing on the tarmac waving a piece of paper proclaiming, “I have secured a fair and equitable trade agreement with Donald Trump” only to find out he was sold a worthless deal.

Appeasement didn’t work in 1939 and there is no reason to think its going to work in 2026.

Don Reed

Winnipeg

Finding true balance

On the front page of the Sept. 14 edition of the Free Press, there was an article about a study stating the Port of Churchill’s expansion would threaten the beluga whale population that summers in the estuary of the Churchill River.

Though I most certainly agree that an unchecked and unregulated expansion could have a negative impact on these amazing creatures, what I don’t see is any data from before 2019 when the port was far busier in the ’80s, ’90s, and even up to 2013 when the loss of the Canadian Wheat Board slashed the average number of grain vessels from 15 to 20 to five to six.

Then, after the previous owners of the port cancelled the 2016 season and the subsequent wash-out/repair, there were but three grain ships in all of 2019 when this study began.

They should have talked to those who operated beluga whale tours during those previous busy periods, they would be told that even when there were 20 grain ships (plus a few Arctic resupply vessels per year), there were still plenty of whales to be seen.

By no means am I advocating full steam ahead in terms of development without consideration for the animals who call Churchill home, but there is already precedent that shipping and beluga whales can both thrive in the Churchill River.

We just need to promote that reasonable balance, and make sure both arguments are heard.

Joe Stover

Churchill