Letters, April 7

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/04/2022 (897 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Keep pit bulls banned

Re: City could curb dog-breed ban (April 6)

The belief by Leland Gordon, the city’s general manager of animal services, that we should eliminate bans on American pit bull terriers and their cousins is not only naive, it’s dangerous.

Pit bulls are aggressive by their nature. They were bred to be fighting dogs and, with their powerful jaws and immense shoulder strength, they do that very well. The ferocity of an attack by an enraged pit bull is absolutely frightening. It is not defensive, it is not trying to defeat an opponent or protect its owner, it is simply trying to kill, and it won’t stop its attack until its bloodlust is satisfied, even after being shot several times by police.

Most of us do not have the professional skills or facilities needed to train these animals, to counter their instinct and their DNA. How many children will be mangled, how many seniors will have limbs shredded, before the city realizes it made a mistake?

I don’t want to hear a single owner claiming, “I don’t know what happened. He was always so gentle.” We heard it too much in the past, and that’s why these breeds were banned in 1990.

Randy Clinch

Winnipeg

It’s likely all over except the biting, but we are wondering who will ensure that owners train their pit bulls and other breeds properly? Will we create a new Dog Force?

As a lifelong Winnipeg citizen, I can say that within my experience, these breeds are typically owned by people who weaponize these animals. Sure, their dog can play with their toddler fine but, say the trigger word, and there goes my throat tendon.

The ban should stay.

Jeff Monk

Winnipeg

Dying in church she loved

Re: ‘Back to where they started’ (April 4)

I was crying by the time I reached the end of Sabrina Carnevale’s moving article about Betty Sanguin, who chose a medically assisted death in the church where the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) sufferer had raised her family.

I very much appreciate her writing about medically assisted death. My mother died in 1983 at the age of 62 from ovarian cancer. Sadly, medically assisted death was not a choice available to her, and her passing from this life was heartbreaking.

Betty Sanguin’s daughters have given her a gift by allowing her to choose how she wished to pass, and then supporting her as she planned her “special day.” I was also surprised and encouraged that her church, Churchill United, allowed her to have her life celebration and procedure in the church, a place that obviously meant a great deal to her.

Mary Akins-Peters

Winnipeg

Heart attack not priority

Re: Questioning health minister’s grasp of portfolio (Opinion, April 5)

Health Minister Audrey Gordon is quoted by columnist Tom Brodbeck as reassuring Manitobans that the sickest people in our hospitals get “quality, safe care.” She didn’t mention timely, and for good reason.

I had a heart attack at the end of March, was taken to St. Boniface Hospital and was 50 hours on hold in a noisy human zoo called intake, albeit treated very well by medical staff run off their feet. I then spent three additional days on a ward before getting an angiogram that identified my problem and fixed it. Others on our ward had very similar experiences of long, worrying delay.

Our health-care system is so impoverished they even have to prioritize heart attacks. Comforting words from the minister just make me angry.

Barry Craig

Winnipeg

A suggestion to Health Minister Audrey Gordon. Better yet, call it a challenge.

Rather than going to the park for your “sofa conversations,” spend eight hours in a hospital emergency room. You won’t have a sofa, but you’ll have a chair. It will become uncomfortable after one hour, and almost unbearable in the hours following.

As you’re sitting, close your eyes and imagine you are sick, in pain, maybe desperate. Now open your eyes and look around you at the people who are feeling that way. No one else in that room is pretending to be unwell. I guarantee it. They have no choice but to sit and wait.

You will want to pick up and leave, but please don’t. Have the courtesy of experiencing what Manitobans do every day. Talk to, or better yet, listen to those around you. Watch their faces as hour after hour goes by with little or no movement.

I spent seven hours in Urgent Care last week waiting to see the doctor. I’ve earned the right to put out the challenge. Will the health minister accept it?

Marsha Dozar

Winnipeg

Port of Churchill needs vision

Re: Latest Churchill musings not grounded in reality (Editorial, April 6)

The issues confronting the rail line and the Port of Churchill are known by all; however, Canada has been built on vision and the ability to look beyond current obstacles. For a politician of any party to put out a vision of what could be, to look beyond their four-year election cycle, is something we should extol and thank them for.

Try to be optimistic about our country. You might like it.

Don Dunnigan

Clearwater Lake

Teachers don’t lack time off

Re: ‘Pandemic situation’ over for Winnipeg School Division staff (April 6)

Teachers in the Winnipeg School Division are allotted 20 sick days per year. Plus, they got five extra days when quarantining was in effect. Let’s not forget they only work nine months of the year, with various closures and summer break. What a sweet deal.

And don’t tell me they need so much time off because they are always in touch with the public. There are many jobs where this is the case, such as transit drivers and retail staff, and they sure do not get 20 sick days in a year, let alone in nine months.

Stewart Jacques

Winnipeg

Online bookings ruin camping

Re: Reservation system racks up thousands of campground bookings (April 5)

What a way to ruin family camping. Back before online reservations existed, we would come home after work and ask, “What are we doing this weekend?” If the family said “camping,” away we would go. Find a spot, pay at the park, enjoy.

Nowadays, you have to plan months in advance and pay in advance to a Texas company. Where is the joy of spontaneity? There is none. But you have your spot.

Howard Doerksen

Winnipeg

Why is Khan’s faith relevant?

Re: Khan sworn in as first Manitoba Muslim MLA (April 4)

So we now have one Muslim MLA. Why is Obby Khan singled out because of his religion? I haven’t seen other members of government described by their religion.

Why isn’t it reported how many Catholics, Mennonites, Sikhs or Buddhists we have in the government?

Richard Gallant

Morden

Too much Tiger

Re: Tiger Woods plans to play the Masters and thinks he can win (April 5)

In television broadcasting leading up to the Masters in Augusta, Ga., to no one’s surprise, Tiger Woods is the main attraction. I am sure the PGA Tour relies on him to attract fans and money. The problem is that if Tiger can’t play or has to quit in the middle of a round, there will be disappointment. Even worse, letting Tiger start will take the place of an up-and-coming young professional who could have made a paycheque.

Tiger was walking from the parking lot and was showing a visible limp from the right side. He is 46 years old and I don’t think he can play and compete with the young guns.

Paul Roy

Emerson