Letters, Sept. 23

Banning gambling ads

Re: Sweeney’s sexist U.S. gambling-site ad isn’t the real problem, Sept. 16

I applaud Dan Lett’s opinion piece regarding online gambling.

Reporting of increasing social issues due to the proliferation of gambling addictions has been thin. Online gambling (not just sports gambling) is super-charging this serious and growing problem.

I do not expect provincial governments will cease their dependence on huge revenue gained from online gambling, but they have a responsibility to at least minimize the proven harms they are causing.

We prohibit advertising of tobacco products, so why not ban advertising of online gambling?

Bill Speers

Winnipeg

No Snowbirds here

Like many Manitobans, I was deeply frustrated to see the Canadian Forces Snowbirds final 2026 tour schedule. Our province was completely excluded from their final flights before the team is grounded for a prolonged operational pause.

The Snowbirds are supposed to be a symbol of national unity. Instead, skipping Manitoba entirely makes us feel like an afterthought to Ottawa. Our community has supported the military and celebrated the Snowbirds for decades, yet when it came time for a final thank-you, we were cast away.

If national institutions are funded by all Canadians, they should belong to all Canadians, not just a select few.

Our federal representatives and local leaders need to speak up and demand that Manitoba get the regional representation we deserve. This was a poor decision.

Sandra McArthur

Winnipeg

Wrong pick

Re: Klein launches mayoral campaign with pledge to make Winnipeg safest city in Canada, Sept 18

Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein stated that his pledge to make Winnipeg the safest city on Canada would be accomplished by a task force lead by retired chief of police Devon Clunis.

Devon Clunis was the chief of police from 2012 to 2016 and in 2015 violent crime rose by six per cent and property crime by nine per cent.

Anyone who has met Devon Clunis knows that he is an honest and sincere person whose heart is in the right place, however, his record as a crime fighter does not match Klein’s aspirations to make our city safe.

Stan Tataryn

Winnipeg

Reasons for not voting

Re: An uninspired electorate, Sept. 18

I am writing as a member of the 13 per cent of people who won’t be voting in this year’s mayoral election.

If you ask me why, I will reply that I’m a deeply disillusioned citizen as I realized as long as the Executive Policy Committee remains, my vote won’t matter. They make all major decisions and control the city purse strings, including showering the south end of the city with infrastructure gifts and allowing the city to grow outwards, increasing costs.

Furthermore, if all the city councillors are required to vote along with the mayor’s whims like robbing seniors of bus stops instead of voting as per their ward, why bother?

So far, all I heard are candidates happy to maintain the status quo, including those running for mayor.

This is why I’m not voting and I’m sure if the Free Press dares to publish this letter that I won’t be the only one in October. Here’s hoping we can together affect change!

Betty Palen

Winnipeg

The Saturday paper headline was “An uninspired electorate.”

I want to vote, but how can I do that without information?

Where is there coverage on candidates’ platforms? Where are debates or townhalls? A family member found some information on the City of Winnipeg website. Some candidates have a website, many do not. How can you be inspired when you know nothing about the candidate?

Diane Pearce

Winnipeg

Concerning the mayoral election: I am a decided voter.

One: I will vote.

Two: I will not vote for Kevin Klein or Scott Gillingham (two peas in a pod). In the last election, I did not vote for Gillingham, but when he won, I thought, “OK, he should be alright.”

I was wrong.

I don’t believe he did anything noteworthy. He was like a processed cheese sandwich on white bread. No vision, just stay the course. And when I read that he felt he was the one to take Winnipeg into the future, that concerned me.

Compared to any other Canadian city, we are years behind.

Public transportation? Put more buses on street? Will that solve traffic congestion? We are one of the few modern Canadian cities without a light rail system and I recently read about a much smaller centre planning to move in that direction.

Picture this: you’re heading to catch a bus to work. You’re at the bus stop five minutes early…Great! Here it comes.

And there it goes, packed like sardines. You’re late for work.

Now picture this, Scott and Kevin: You drive to the nearest train station where there’s secure parking. The train is still crowded, but people get off, and besides, another is coming in a few minute.

We will have, in the future, abandoned rail lines all over the city that can be used for light rail.

Granted, we might not see it our lifetime, but your name can be put on a building or bridge down the road — a good legacy.

Now next time we can talk about where the city will get its money from: from middle income earners by raising sewage and water rates a few dollars at a time or some other fairer and more equitable way.

Tim Proskurnik

Winnipeg

More apathy

Ron Thiessen of the CPAWS (Where is the rest of the plan?, Sept. 19) may not realize it, but the apathy of Winnipeg voters toward the upcoming civic election is mirrored by Manitobans in general regarding the province’s Path to Net Zero plan.

People consider the whole climate crisis narrative as having lost most of its traction since they suspect it’s nothing more than a quasi-gimmick designed to raise taxes, impose new restrictions and introduce green mandates, all of which will raise living costs.

Then when they hear that the U.S. is on track for record oil production this year, China and India have no intentions of cutting their coal consumption and fossil fuels still provide over 80 per cent of the planet’s energy — a 163 per cent increase since 1971 — they wonder how much effect Manitoba’s clean energy plans will have anyway.

Meanwhile Nature magazine reports no increase in global-scale drought trends in the modern warming era.

They don’t dismiss climate change entirely, but it’s something that can be lived with, just as the annual weather fluctuations are taken in their stride. Besides if it were that serious global populations, life expectancies and agricultural output would be negatively impacted; instead, they are all rising.

So just as Winnipeggers seem to view the upcoming election as making little difference in their lives, Manitobans and much of the world’s population view Net Zero as an unattainable goal given the current technologies and certainly not worth making big lifestyle changes to help achieve.

Edward Katz

Winnipeg

Time bandits

I look forward to the time change when we “fall back” and recover the hour that was stolen from us in the spring.

With daylight saving time forever, our lives will be shorter by one hour.

Thanks, Premier Kinew. It beats talking about important issues.

Allan Jakilazek

Winnipeg