Letters, Feb. 3

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/02/2021 (1325 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Consumption sites valuable

Re: Rollins seeks to open door to supervised consumption site (Jan. 28)

Supervised consumption sites are facilities where people who use drugs may use their own substances under the supervision of trained staff. They are a harm-reduction strategy widely accepted by addictions and public health experts. They seek to prevent overdose deaths and reduce the spread of serious bloodborne infections such as HIV and hepatitis. They promote a safe environment, clean equipment and medical, social, mental-health and addictions referral services.

There are currently 39 SCS operating in Canada, including in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon. These sites offer services to more than 3,000 clients per day. There have been no fatalities to date in a Canadian SCS. Additionally, 70,000 referrals were made to addictions, mental-health, social and medical care from these visits since 2017, underscoring their ability to connect clients to ongoing supports.

In Winnipeg, there has been an enormous increase in calls to paramedics for opioid overdose, including increased emergency-room visits and deaths since the start of the pandemic. This is attributed to the increased toxicity of synthetic opioids in the drug supply, the use of substances in isolation and self-medication of undertreated mental-health disorders exacerbated by the stresses of the pandemic.

The current Pallister government has strongly opposed the idea of a SCS in Winnipeg on purely ideological grounds. We were reminded of this when a report produced in 2019 by a local nonprofit group recommending a SCS in Winnipeg was thrown on the floor by the premier during a legislative session.

The premier has publicly stated that SCSs attract drug dealers and crime as a reason for his opposition, which has in fact been disproven in several studies. The provincial government has made clear to Manitobans it views the opioid crisis through a lens of morality and ideology rather than evidence and reason.

It is time for new strategies that are supported by evidence.

Dr. Jorden Arbour, Emergency Medicine Resident Physician, Winnipeg

 

NDP talent pool shallow

Re: NDP’s Kinew gets 93% support in leadership review (Jan. 30)

Before the media hurt their arms patting Wab Kinew on the back, it should be pointed out that the question was not “Do you support Wab Kinew?”; it was “Do you want a leadership review?” The fact 93 per cent did not want to go through a leadership review points more to the shallow leadership pool in the NDP than it does support for Mr. Kinew.

Jim Ross, Winnipeg

 

Grow-op odour offensive

Re: Transcona residents express odour outrage (Jan. 26)

The cannabis odour issue is one that is citywide. In the last couple of years, there have been documented odour concerns across the city related to the loosely regulated medicinal cannabis operators who have purchased homes for the primary purpose of growing large quantities of medicinal cannabis.

Beyond the obvious concern of odour, often these homes are vacant, industrial-scale worksites that consume large amounts of power and are much more likely to have a fire, can attract crime into an area, reduce property values and, perhaps worst of all, create a sense of powerlessness for residents who have no say in the matter.

Last summer, I organized a community petition with 200 signatures, asking the city to remove large-scale medicinal grow-ops from residential areas, and relocate them to industrial areas where the zoning, infrastructure and facilities can better accommodate these operations.

Since then, our request has been reflected in a motion to council, which now awaits a report on the issue. Concerned residents across Winnipeg are anxiously awaiting the report, which is due in March.

Ed Kolodziej, Winnipeg

 

Wanted: more COVID-19 data

The provincial government is no longer sharing the data about COVID-19 exposures in schools and daycares.

Right after the Christmas break, I went to the webpage on which I had been following the dramatically increasing numbers from September to December and observed that statistics were not being updated. For several days, I tried to figure out if the information was buried somewhere else on the website. Finally, someone in a school division confirmed that the Brian Pallister government is no longer making the information public.

The public has a right to this information. The provincial government has a responsibility to be transparent and accountable.

Eda Korchynski

Winnipeg

 

Through a landlord’s eyes

Re: West Broadway workshop reminds renters of their rights to fight pandemic-related evictions (Feb. 1)

In 2017, I purchased a run-down apartment building on College Avenue and spent $480,000 renovating the building.

On Dec. 10, 2019, a male tenant was doing drugs and caused a fire that entirely burned out the suite and damaged other apartments and the common areas. Luckily, no tenants were injured and the fire was contained to his suite, thanks to the rapid response of the Winnipeg Fire Department.

Eleven months earlier, within a month of him moving in, he had been smoking marijuana, which affected the entire building. I wanted to evict him immediately, but Residential Tenancy Branch rules state that a warning must be issued first. If I did not do this, he had the right to file a complaint to the RTB.

After the fire, I inspected the suite and found drug paraphernalia in the suite as well. It cost me $22,500 to rebuild the suite, as well as other repairs.

I had no rights as a landlord and the RTB did not help pay for the repairs. The RTB has archaic rules that cause many landlords hardships that should never happen. Something has to change.

Michael J. Mark, Winnipeg

 

Educating the educator

Re: Latitude’s a liability (Letter, Feb. 1)

Educator C. Wyatt Anderson of The Pas writes that she will give Premier Brian Pallister and his caucus a geography lesson because they had no concept of “the North” when imposing pandemic restrictions, lumping The Pas and its tri-community in with an area of Manitoba that she says is “larger than France.”

My Hammond Atlas has the area of France at 543,998 square kilometres and Manitoba at 650,087 square kilometres. So “the North” is not larger than France.

Maybe hold off on those geography lessons for a wee while yet.

Lawrie Goalen, Beausejour

 

River-ice sign sensible

Re: Stop claiming river ice (Letter, Jan. 30)

I don’t understand why writer Diana Epp-Fransen is disappointed with the wonderful creation of rinks and paths on the river. They are all being used by many people from the area.

When she says she is disappointed to see some of her Wolseley neighbours who own riverfront properties try to claim the public river ice for their own private use, I believe the one she mentions that has posted a sign is definitely not claimed for their own use. The sign states that the rink has been created on that spot for many years and welcomes use by the public.

The difference this year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, is that the sign asks people to limit the number of people on the ice at any one time. If the rink is empty, go skating on it. If there are already four people on the rink, use one of the many other ones nearby.

We walked that stretch on Sunday, and that was the only rink with a sign, and that sign made perfect sense to me. Oh, there was also a sign on the curling sheet, and it invited people to stop and throw some rocks.

I commend the citizens of Wolseley for all the work they have put in to create such a wonderful place for everyone to enjoy.

Warren Reimer, Winnipeg