Letters, May 28

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2019 (2041 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Get with a better bike program

Re: Time to broaden the search for bike theft solutions (May 24)

We have purchased many used bikes over the years and have also found some bikes as well, left out for giveaway day or elsewhere. I find it is difficult to figure out if a bike is stolen. I know one thing to do is to find the serial number (not always easy) and use it to search the serial number on the Canadian Police Information Centre website. I have searched for “lost” bikes on Kijiji and have posted an ad about bikes found. I see there is also a Facebook page called Winnipeg Bike Watch where you can share info if you have lost or found a bike.

I tried all of these methods when I found a bike, but none worked. It was in a back lane for many days, and when I left a note saying I was interested if it wasn’t wanted, I received an answer that the bike had been left there. The serial number was not registered on the police website, but it did have a Winnipeg registry sticker. Previously, bikes were registered by mailing in an application and a cheque. The receipt would arrive with numbered stickers in an envelope. After I contacted the registry, they were able to find the owner, who wanted the bike back. The city picked the bike up and it was returned to the owner. I at that point paid to have all of our bikes registered.

Under the current system, I wouldn’t have had a way to find out if the bike was registered. I did register a newer bike under the new system and was disappointed to find out that stickers are no longer involved.

My son has a bike he loves but rarely rides as he is worried about bike theft. His friends have had locked bikes stolen from locked garages, that were locked in a secure school bike cage, or locked in a porch. Appearance and brand doesn’t matter in these scenarios. He has a less-expensive bike that he rides to school just so that it would be less of a financial loss when it gets stolen (although it takes much time to find a similarly priced bike).

If our bike registration system is not working to return stolen bikes to the owner, it is not worth the fee even if it is relatively inexpensive. If Vancouver or other cities are trying programs that do measurably reduce bike theft, then I wonder why we are sticking with a program that does not seem to have results.

Pam Gordon

Winnipeg

 

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In response to your editorial about Winnipeg’s bicycle theft problem, I would like to add that cyclists would benefit if MPI offered bicycle insurance. The deductible on home contents insurance is usually the same as the price of a new bicycle.

Gabriel Hurley

Winnipeg

 

Here’s the beef

Re: What’s in your burger? (Letters, May 27)

I think Linda McConnell has adopted Donald Trump’s strategy for spinning an issue — make an outrageously false claim and then hope enough people accept it as truth before anyone has a chance to point out how ridiculous it is. Then make another one to distract from the first. Repeat.

McConnell says that if you want less global warming, “go out and eat an Angus burger today.” I really doubt even she believes that. As most people know, meat production is terrible for the environment. In fact, according to the United Nations and the World Resources Institute, animal agriculture is responsible for 13-18 per cent of human-caused greenhouse-gas emissions globally.

As for beef, it’s significantly worse for the environment than any other type of meat because it requires significantly more resources to produce. So if you actually want less global warming, eat something other than meat. Because pretty much everything else is better for the planet.

Russ Tychonick

Winnipeg

 

Getting truth out crucial to progress

Re: We must resist silence around abuse (May 25)

Niigaan Sinclair’s column is heartbreaking — and true.

The high prevalence of sexual abuse amongst Indigenous people no doubt has its origins in the abuse of earlier generations in residential schools and the resultant emotional scars, substance abuse and the “learned behaviour” of abuse. Professionals who counsel victims of sexual abuse will tell you that not all abused people become abusers, but some do.

Breaking the silence as courageously suggested by Sinclair will no doubt engender a terrible shame in some, but it will also shine a light on a problem that is seriously harming Indigenous people and may get them the help and counselling that they so desperately need and deserve.

Tom Pearson

Winnipeg

 

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As someone who has benefited all my life from white privilege, I want to thank Niigaan Sinclair for his courageous columns.

His work is helping me dismantle my misconceptions and open my eyes to the racism and injustices perpetrated on Indigenous Peoples. Just when I think I understand our history and the relationship between colonizers and founding peoples, along comes another column that takes me a bit further down the road of actual understanding.

Coupled with the incredible work done by his father, Sen. Murray Sinclair, with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, these two men give me hope for genuine understanding and reconciliation.

I also want to thank the Free Press for hiring Niigaan Sinclair and giving his columns the prominence they deserve in the paper.

Rachel Morgan

Winnipeg

 

Laws meant to govern all

Re: Multiple sides to abortion debate (Letters, May 24)

In response to Harold Jantz’s letter criticizing those of us who are appalled and disgusted by the laws being passed in U.S. states that interfere with and criminalize a woman’s right to choose, I will continue to use the term “anti-choice.”

And the growing number of us who don’t believe in Christianity, or Christians’ most hardline moral positions, do not want our society governed by any “Christian” ministry.

Please keep your faith out of our laws. Laws are meant to govern all… including those of us who find your opinions on what other people should do with their bodies to be irrelevant.

Ryan Lacovetsky

Winnipeg

 

Permit advice for premier

I find it rather rich that Premier Brian Pallister is taking issue with the City of Winnipeg’s building permit system. The premier is recently quoted that perceived issues with Winnipeg’s permit system “impacts on the degree that people can invest in Manitoba.” Regardless of the current state of Winnipeg’s building permit system and any criticisms that may warrant, the province has its own issues to attend to and that should be its priority, instead of challenging the City of Winnipeg.

As a professional representing mineral exploration companies, I can tell you that the province has much to do to provide a transparent and timely process for the granting of permits required to conduct mineral exploration activities in Manitoba, and accordingly, tens of millions of dollars in investment are either on hold or have moved to other Canadian jurisdictions. I have clients who are waiting years for approvals.

I think it would be wise for Pallister to get his own house in order before picking a fight with the City of Winnipeg. He who is without sin may cast the first stone.

Chris Beaumont-Smith

Winnipeg