Letters, Dec. 1

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/12/2022 (774 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Still behind the times

Re: Wider liquor sales, but not in grocery stores (Nov. 29)

Kudos to the provincial government for once again proposing legislation to modestly broaden consumer choice on where alcoholic beverages may be purchased. But it does not go far enough.

The legislation will still act to protect the monopolies held by beer vendors (and the hotels that own them) and the MLCC (and its union) to the detriment of consumers.

As a regular traveller to Montreal over the years, I have always enjoyed the ability to purchase beer and wine at the local supermarket while shopping for groceries. No special trips by car (a waste of gas and time) required to go to different locations.

Beer and wine can also be purchased at convenience stores in Quebec. Since we already have small MLCC outlets at a very small number of grocery stores, such as the Superstore on Sargent Avenue, why not follow the Quebec model?

Americans, of course, have access to purchase alcoholic beverages in pretty well every grocery setting, large and small.

Irwin Corobow

Winnipeg

Here we go again with our PC government thinking it is improving the lives of Manitobans by expanding the number places to buy liquor.

The Tories are allowing private businesses to sell more liquor, but this will reduce the amount of liquor sold by MLCC outlets and will reduce their revenues and profits.

Also, crime will increase because the increase in liquor available in non-MLCC outlets will make it more attractive for robbers.

There has been no issue with the way liquor is sold through MLCC outlets. The PC government has to come clean as to why they are doing this.

David Little

St. Andrews

It’s instructive how the Manitoba government handles evidence when making decisions that affect us all. On the one hand, it has decided to remove the six per cent social responsibility tax from cannabis retailers.

Apparently, evidence has shown the introduction of legal cannabis does not produce the social harm the funds were intended to address, and the tax, which is a drag on suffering retailers, is no longer needed.

On the other hand, when it comes to the evidence demonstrating that supervised injection sites dramatically reduce social harm and overdose deaths, the province is deaf.

This goes beyond a sniff of hypocrisy. It is another clear indication that our current government is more concerned about bottom lines than flat lines.

Mike Stainton

Elie

There has been progress in so many areas of our lives; a lot of it good and some of it not so good.

But it seems we’re still stuck in the Dark Ages with regard to the government trusting the public to handle that giant leap forward in having alcohol in regular stores.

Rick Gallant

Morden

YFC needs to read Bible

John Longhurst’s Nov. 29 story No place for non-believers, regarding the Youth For Christ’s anti-LGBTTQ+ stance, brings to mind the New Testament story of Jesus engaging a Samaritan woman at a well (John 4:1-26).

Jesus, as a Jew, does the unthinkable while travelling in Samaria, and asks a woman who is drawing water at a well for a drink.

The woman responds by noting that because he is a Jew and she a Samaritan, they are not to associate with each other. How can he request a drink from her?

What’s more, their conversation goes on to reveal that she has lived with five different men and is currently living with a man who is not her husband. So she is dumbfounded at his request.

Jesus tells the woman that he provides the true living water that she seeks.

If this is the same Jesus that Youth for Christ claims as its inspiration, does it not follow that Jesus inspires his followers not to avoid people whose belief system is different from their own, but rather to provide them with the services they require?

Ken Reddig

Pinawa

I’m more than aware of the important roles faith-based organizations play in society. They often go where many others won’t and willingly tackle some of the most challenging issues and conditions far too many are forced to contend with daily.

I have no issue with public funds being directed their way, provided the fundamental principles of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms are respected and practised.

LGBTTQ+ folks pay taxes, too. They are, for all intents and purposes, being required to underwrite a double standard that leaves them further marginalized.

Separation of church and state is one thing; adherence to constitutional and charter principles is another.

Dan Donahue

Winnipeg

Who says colonization is in the past? This Youth for Christ debacle illustrates how white-led efforts to be missionaries to the Indigenous community continue to this day.

The best solution at this time would be for the province to confiscate the recreation centre and return it to the community in which it sits.

Gloria Enns

Winnipeg

NIMBYs miss the big picture

Re: Board impairs civic decision making (Nov. 28)

This is another great column from Brent Bellamy.

Like many others, he knows the solution to Winnipeg’s housing crunch is to relax density restrictions, which would also reduce urban sprawl.

However, there are so many NIMBYs who are against any type of increased density in their neighbourhood. Now, sadly, these folks have another level of bureaucracy to whine to — the Manitoba Municipal Board.

The NIMBYs think any development near them will somehow result in their property values going down, when in fact they would likely go up.

In Charleswood, where I grew up, the old Odd Fellows site is a perfect place for development that requires zero infrastructure upgrades. This is why it was approved by the city.

What a great place this would be for future empty-nesters in Charleswood to move to without having to leave their neighbourhood. It is sad that it may not come to fruition, owing to the short-sightedness of a very small group that doesn’t see the big picture.

Derek Rolstone

Winnipeg

Bring on university football

Re: Laval Rouge et Or win Vanier Cup with 30-24 victory over Saskatchewan Huskies (Nov. 26)

Thanks to the CBC for airing the Vanier Cup game. And what a game it was.

Heck, Laval even kicked a 49-yard field goal, the second longest in Vanier Cup history. Congratulations to Laval for winning the cup and to Saskatchewan for a game well played.

It’s too bad we do not see more Canadian university football on television.

Jack Brignoly

Selkirk

Logic needs some development

I enjoyed Gwynne Dyer’s Nov. 25 column, COP27 offers glass-half-full perspective, but I was taken aback by the revelation that China is classed as a “developing country.”

Who comes up with this rating? China has the largest military, in numbers, on the planet, and the largest navy, by way of surface and underwater vessels.

And here we are, buying more and more “made in China” or “made in the PR” products to help boost its place in the world up from being a “developing country.”

Someone has some explaining to do.

Jim Temple

Cooks Creek

Bomber fans are everywhere

Those who enjoy the comic-strip Crankshaft may have failed to notice that the title character’s son-in-law is wearing a Winnipeg Blue Bomber shirt in the Nov. 25 strip.

This is not bad for an American comic strip. I’m not sure if it was originally that way, or if the Free Press altered the image.

Don Halligan

Winnipeg