Letters, April 27

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This article was published 27/04/2022 (1499 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s Gordon who should ‘fix it’

Re: ‘Insist they fix it’: health minister on plan for ER wait times (April 26)

I can’t believe Health Minister Audrey Gordon said she’s aware of long wait times in emergency departments, and “she’s given her marching orders” and will “insist they fix it.”

So, by magic, without further funding from the provincial government, which doctors have been begging for, the medical staff have “to fix it.” How will they do that without receiving more funding?

The province has cut health care in our hospitals to the bone over several years. Does Gordon not realize that it’s her department, not medical staff, that is responsible for fixing these problems?

Lois Abraham

Winnipeg

As a long-time PC Party supporter, I have a hard time understanding why Premier Heather Stefanson, along with Health Minister Audrey Gordon, continues to do or say things that will almost ensure the election of the NDP in our next vote. The latest examples include Stefanson’s snubs of both the Brandon Winter Fair and question periods in the legislature. Then we have Gordon’s refusal to release pandemic updates, and now she compares an elevator in the legislature building not working to the Thompson hospital not having hot water. What other stupid comments will she come out with?

It is because of what they say or don’t say, and then do or don’t do, that the election of the NDP in our next provincial election is almost inevitable. As much as it hurts to do so, I would like to congratulate Wab Kinew for very likely becoming the first First Nations person to be elected as a premier in Canada.

Now more than ever, we need a strong Liberal Party in Manitoba.

Les Howard

Winnipeg

Never rains but it pours

Re: Manitobans drying out, cleaning up after wild, wet and cold weekend (April 25)

It’s no wonder mental-health referrals are through the roof in Manitoba. Two years of a deadly pandemic, a war involving friends and family members in Ukraine, a particularly cold winter and record snowfall amounts, and, add to this, a spring melt and late snowstorm that are causing major flooding in Manitoba.

What did we ever do to Colorado and Alberta?

Ken Campbell

Winnipeg

Poilievre’s politics refreshing

Re: Poilievre banks on Trump-style politics (April 25)

Not surprisingly, columnist Tom Brodbeck has declared candidate Pierre Poilievre has a “toxic, deranged, and dumbed-down” kind of politics. Brodbeck’s left-leaning view of the world is exactly what is harming Canadians.

Poilievre has breathed new life into Canada. He has called out the draconian pandemic mandates and the attacks on people’s personal medical decisions by our current Liberal government. His rise in popularity is no doubt due to his veracious condemnation of our current government. People want more control of their lives and less government meddling.

Poilievre speaks against the division of citizens and the fear mongering the left-wing political agenda is intent on delivering. Hopefully, he will be the successful candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada and go on to be our prime minister.

Christine Cockerill

Winnipeg

Booster indifference alarming

Re: Indifference to booster shots alarming (Opinion, April 26)

As usual, columnist Dan Lett hits the nail on the head. Would that people would do the right thing.

There have been enough warnings and suggestions that booster shots improve your personal ability to avoid hospitalization, yet even though the shots are free, many people ignore them. Many also ignore the sanitization stations in stores and malls, it seems like most people walk past without availing themselves of this free form of protection.

Regrettably, many people insist on accepting disinformation because it is easier to follow. Sadly, many of them wind up in hospital and, unfortunately, some die.

Come on, people. It is up to you to protect yourself.

Tony Rhodes-Marriott

Steinbach

EV queries answered

Re: EVs come with ramifications (Letters, April 26)

Dianne Cooper’s letter contains several common misunderstandings. Hydro’s ability to supply electricity is unconnected with electric cars (EVs), as power for things other than EVs will always be needed. EVs are recharged overnight in most cases, a period when power companies would like to see more power usage.

The question of where minerals for EVs will come from is simple to answer: Canadian mines can supply them. EV maker Tesla is busy acquiring mineral rights in Canada for their EVs.

Finally, used batteries will be first repurposed for stationary power storage and then recycled for their valuable ingredients.

Michael Dowling

Winnipeg

MPI pothole advice is sound

Re: Pothole advice creates sinking feeling (Opinion, April 9)

God help and protect me, I’m actually writing a letter to the editor about potholes.

In a recent column, Carl DeGurse sideswiped and mocked Manitoba Public Insurance for offering the modest and perfectly reasonable advice to slow down and drive to road conditions. DeGurse ended by suggesting that MPI will then, in the case of damage, “punish us when they determine … that we’re the ones at fault.”

Well, perhaps in a way we are “at fault.” For how many decades now have Winnipeggers been warned that continued urban sprawl and tax cuts, or increases below the rate of inflation, are unsustainable? And yet we continue to follow the delusional pipe dream that we can get something for nothing, or that a brother-in-law might get it for us wholesale.

And yet the underfunding of public transit and the din against infill housing continues unabated. Yes, the pothole situation is outrageous, and embarrassing, but when it comes to deferred maintenance and paying the piper, we have met the enemy, and the fault is ours.

Sig Laser

Winnipeg

Turning from Kenaston Boulevard onto Corydon Avenue is a fiasco, given the bizarre quick asphalt fix. Watch out! The existing potholes are covered in heaped asphalt, leading to a rocky ride guaranteed to damage your vehicle — if you don’t run into another vehicle as you seek to avoid the mess.

Clearly, this is a COVID-19 pothole fix, done by city workers who are stressed to the max, as prior to the pandemic we never saw such a botched job.

Margaret Shaw-MacKinnon

Winnipeg

Life-long Bomber fan dismayed

Re: Bombers unmask new policy ( April 26)

With the Bombers deciding to allow unmasked fans, I suppose I have to congratulate the anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers. You saw it as a battle and, despite being in the minority, it appears you have won.

As a Bomber fan since the days of Kenny Ploen and Leo Lewis, I have had season tickets to the present, except for a few breaks, and signed up for the Bombers for Life program when it was initiated.

I will have to rethink whether I want to continue my relationship with my favourite sports team. We have family members who have asthma and grandchildren who are too young to be vaccinated. Do I want to put any of them at risk by possibly passing on the virus to them? Definitely not!

If I do decide to mask up and continue to attend the games, I will no longer have my pre-game meal or fight the mob at the concessions. Wade Miller stated that “any season-ticket holder that doesn’t feel comfortable with the changes will be worked with individually.”

In fairness to the football club, I will wait to see what options will be provided before making my final decision. However, if we have to order in some food on game days and then watch my team on the telly, so be it.

Tim Proskurnik

Winnipeg