Letters, May 24

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/05/2019 (2045 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Discouraging news

Re: Head stolen from bronze statue of saint at North End church (May 23)

It is sad to read articles whenever they pertain to vandalism in Winnipeg. Unfortunately, a beloved statue located outside of the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Sts. Volodymyr and Olga, a landmark for many years in the North End and for the community of Winnipeg, was vandalized recently.

This statue of great importance, located on the grounds of the parish, represented Prince Volodymyr, the medieval ruler of Kyiv Rus in 988 (the state which grew to encompass modern-day Ukraine, Belarus and northwestern portions of Russia). St. Volodymyr abolished paganism and converted all citizens to Christianity.

The damage done to the bronze statue, leaving it headless and the cross staff damaged, is unbelievable and difficult to accept, showing a lack of respect for property and history. The rich legacy of the North End community has accommodated Winnipeggers for decades. The statue has played a significant role over the years, encompassing diverse cultures, different faiths and traditional customs. This is a unique area of our city.

Why vandalize and destroy important historical sites that were built for, and acknowledged by, the citizens of Winnipeg? It’s very discouraging news to absorb and comprehend.

Peter J. Manastyrsky

Winnipeg

 

Multiple sides to abortion debate

Re: No time for complacency on reproductive rights (May 23)

Virtually every report about the actions of legislators in U.S. states who have attempted to restrict abortions appears to assume that every right-thinking person should be able to recognize how backward and anti-women this is. Your columnist even attributes these attempts to “puritanical thinking” that is attempting to “override women’s right to choose… and their fundamental right to body autonomy.”

One CBC interviewee was never challenged, though consistently using the words “anti-choice” to describe the people advocating for fewer abortions.

What is developing in the womb is an unborn child. It is distinct from the mother, has its own DNA and blood type and will become its own person.

I am familiar with a pro-life ministry in this city that has for decades supported young women debating their pregnancies and considering abortion. As a result of its work, there are many hundreds (possibly as many as 2,500) young people alive who might not have known life otherwise. They are in our classrooms, our workplaces, are your neighbours and mine. I am proud to be identified with the profoundly caring — and, I might add, Christian — vision of this ministry.

In his book, American Grace, sociologist Robert Putnam writes at one point that he and his wife have had many friends and relatives display ultrasound photographs, and “never once has an expectant mother used the impersonal word ‘fetus’ to describe what we are seeing. Ultrasounds are pictures of their baby-to-be.” This is the reality and those who profess to be pro-choice would do well to recognize it.

Harold Jantz

Winnipeg

 

Let’s make a (green, new) deal

“I want you to panic,” 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg told a group of world economic leaders earlier this year. “I want you to feel the fear I feel every day and then I want you to act.”

My name is Hannah; I am 10 years older than Greta and I am also afraid. Climate change is happening faster than scientists could have ever imagined — the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has told us we have 11 years left before we are locked into catastrophic levels of warming.

But it is not just the increased droughts, flooding and heat waves in Manitoba I am worried about. Precarious work is now the norm — for many my age, stable employment with good wages and full benefits is a thing of the past.

Fossil-fuel corporations, and the politicians who support them, exploit this desperation when they tell us we must choose between having a job today or a future tomorrow. Meanwhile, some blame newcomers and refugees for our economic plight, encouraging the kind of xenophobia and hatred seen in the United We Roll caravan that came through Winnipeg three months ago.

Instead of listening to climate science and taking action, the prime minister chooses to assuage the interests of Chinese corporations by buying a pipeline, while our premier approves frac sand mining on Indigenous land and wastes taxpayer money mounting a futile challenge to the carbon tax (itself an incomplete policy measure that will do little on its own to curb emissions at the scale we need).

Faced with politicians who continue to jeopardize my future, I am joining hundreds of other young Canadians in the Our Time campaign, organizing for a Green New Deal (GND). The GND is a framework that, unlike any of the climate plans put forward by any federal political party so far, matches the scale of the problems we face. It recognizes that climate change and precarity are intertwined and offers a path towards a carbon-neutral economy based on stable jobs with fair wages, social equality and Indigenous rights and sovereignty.

We will be watching all parties closely as the election draws nearer, and we will continue to push candidates to articulate a GND with political substance.

The GND is purposefully broad. Communities can adopt, expand and work with these principles to build specific plans that work for them, from the ground up. There is no one-size-fits-all GND policy. By its nature, it is grassroots and community-specific.

The GND is for everyone — whether you care about rising rivers, job security or protecting women’s reproductive rights. Young people are taking the lead, but we need the help of our parents, grandparents, teachers, bosses and friends. It is clear that change is not going to happen unless we make it. Luckily, we can.

Hannah Muhajarine

Winnipeg

 

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We are the adults of Canada. Whether we live in the Maritimes, the territories, Eastern, Central or Western Canada, we all need to become more educated on climate issues for our children’s and grandchildren’s sake.

Learn something about your local politics as they pertain to climate policy; find out about your provincial/territorial climate issues; educate yourself about a federal climate problem. We owe it to our children to be armed with the knowledge to move forward collectively as the grown-ups in this country, regardless of our political leaning or beliefs.

As adults, let’s not take our old experiences and project them onto these current circumstances. Instead, we can learn and look at climate change with a new mindset. We are great at redesigning our homes; let’s learn about climate issues and collectively strive for change as we redesign our lives to create a better global home.

Get armed with the knowledge of three new things, whether it be local building codes, zoning bylaws, ocean policy, farming practices, carbon emissions, migration routes or whatever interests you, and then go forward and take action with that information.

We must learn about climate issues and demand clear and good decisions from our political leaders at every level now.

Louise Hazemi

Burnaby, B.C.