Letters, May 31

Opinion

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This article was published 31/05/2022 (1008 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A toast to open liquor sales

Re: Liquor Mart union greets expanded private sales with skepticism (May 27)

I am fed up with reading the fear mongering from the Manitoba NDP and Liberal politicians over the PC considerations to allow retailers such as Superstore, Costco and Walmart to sell liquor and beer. I say it is about time.

The NDP uses scare tactics such such as an increase in underage drinking and loss of liquor revenue for the province. Let me remind Manitobans that any retail business that applies to sell alcohol will be under the same regulations that our MLCC stores, hotels and wine stores have to follow now.

People who walk into a supermarket or large retailer with their children will not see a pyramid of Budweiser beer at the front entrance; the stores would have to build a separate area, where customers who purchase liquor will have to show proof of legal drinking age.

The second fear that Manitoba would see a decrease in revenue from liquor sales is also false. Taxes and liquor licence fees are the same in a case of beer or bottle of rye as any other place that sells liquor.

Alberta is a perfect example. Liquor revenue in Alberta increased substantially when the province privatized its liquor sales. For Manitobans, that will mean more money for health care.

Wayne Neumann

Winnipeg

Bartender honorable profession

Re: Whyte Ridge student’s career choice of bartender barred from Grade 4 memory book (May 27)

I have worked a lifetime in the hospitality industry as a chef. I have tremendous respect for anyone who wishes to aspire to the vocation of bartender.

That the staff of Whyte Ridge School wouldn’t let Zack Anderson list his career ambition as “bartender” because they believe there is a negative connotation to the profession shows outdated and backwards thinking. There are certifications to be acquired, and years of training to become a successful bartender.

I understand some people, such as my 80-year-old mother, don’t believe the hospitality industry is a “real job.” That’s fine. But I would have expected more progressive thinking from people who are responsible for training children for the future.

Edward Penhall

Winnipeg

Working in a job that pays well, teaches you communication skills, and allows you to transfer those skills around the world are all perfectly reasonable reasons for wishing to pursue a line of work. So what is the problem?

I wonder what other occupational choices would not sit well with Whyte Ridge School. Perhaps they could provide a list of acceptable jobs.

Robert Orr

Winnipeg

The article struck a chord with me, as my son, who has completed post-graduate education, works as a bartender and it provides him with gainful employment. I worked as an employment counsellor for many years, and know what skills and abilities one acquires as a bartender.

Elizabeth Dorey

Winnipeg

In the view of these educators, would a sommelier, cicerone, brewer, distiller or bar owner be considered a taboo career ambition, as well? Let’s not even go to the cannabis industry.

Mixologists/bartenders make a sustainable living at a legal occupation. It is not a teacher’s or administrator’s obligation to question or censor those who aspire to be employed in that field.

In a province where educational outcomes are rated as some of the lowest in the country, perhaps our educators have more important things to worry about.

Piper Werbowski

Winnipeg

I remember being dragged out of Grade 10 math class and being sat in front of the guidance teacher to be be questioned as to what I wanted to be in life. My response of wanting to join the French Foreign Legion was met with a derisive smirk.

Oddly enough, after traveling through Europe at 19, I joined the British Army, spent 10 amazing years there and now, with the various skills I learned, I most likely much make more than my old guidance teacher.

Jamie Bonner

Winnipeg

Studying UFOs waste of money

Re: MPs concern more than a flight of fancy (May, 26)

The editorial gives a hearty “attaboy” to Brandon-Souris MP Larry McGuire for his plea that our federal government take the phenomena of unidentified flying objects much more seriously. Of course, any time Ottawa takes something more seriously it results in the expenditure of serious amounts of our money.

Sighting of moving lights — and make no mistake, that’s all we’ve been able to verify — have been reported since at least the late 1940s. Speculative explanations have ranged from weapons experimentation to visiting observers from outer space to atmospheric electrical phenomena.

Only if one of these blobs of light materializes as an actual spacecraft, spilling extraterrestrials in our midst, will that particular explanation be verified. Until then, let’s not waste money catering to the febrile imagination of MPs and editorial boards.

Norman Brandson

Winnipeg

The reasonable response to the matter of unidentified aerial phenomena is to assign it to the astronomers for study, rather than some parliamentary committee whose eventual report will only end up on a shelf gathering dust, with the long-suffering taxpayer picking up the tab.

If UAPs are deemed a threat to aircraft or nuclear facilities, the record so far shows no harm has ever been done. If they indeed are the embodiment of some vastly superior alien technology, the last thing we need is a committee of politicians to study the matter.

Michael Dowling

Winnipeg

All-gender washrooms alarming

Re: Gender-neutral washrooms create challenges (Opinion, (May 28)

Regarding Carl DeGurse’s opinion column, I have had to visit a gender-shared washroom where three stalls and three urinals are all in the same room. After a flush, I was privy to three men all standing and urinating within two feet of my exit of the stall, which I don’t think is appropriate. I’m sure many will disagree, but I’m not interested in washing my hands beside those relieving themselves.

In any other public area, this would be considered exposing themselves.

Sue Medgyes

Victoria B.C.

As a compromise, why cannot public places designate three types of washrooms, one for men, one for women and one “gender neutral?” If there is not the architectural space, cannot the men’s washroom be subdivided into two sections, one “for men only” and one for “gender neutral,” as typically men’s washrooms are just as large as women’s but rarely have lineups like women’s washrooms?

Kirsti Kuuskivi

Winnipeg

Our western civilization has evolved to expectations of standards, not only of sanitation, but also safety and moral privacy. To suddenly expect the vast majority of public washroom users to silently adapt to reduced sanitary conditions, lack of privacy and potentially reduced personal safety to appease a rather small minority does not address equal rights of both sides.

Is it not a violation of the rights of the majority of females, who actually go out of their way to avoid using public or aircraft toilets because of the often-poor sanitary conditions?

Karen Zurba

Winnipeg

If I had young daughters, I would tell not them to share a public washroom with men or teenage boys, especially in this day and age when everyone has a phone to record whatever they want, never mind the risk of assault. Before changing our public washrooms to all genders, give your heads a shake, people.

Robb Roberts

Winnipeg