Letters, Dec. 29

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/12/2022 (630 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Wild topic

Re: Parks tourism report draws fire (Dec. 22)

Be careful what you ask for; you may get it.

The new report commissioned by the provincial government says our provincial parks need better accommodations, more visitors, better services and better access for visitors with disabilities, low-income people and recent immigrants. To do all of this, fees would have to be increased. How does that help lower-income families to access the parks?

And given the way this government thinks, preferring that private companies deliver services (park passes being issued by a company in California, the privatization of the Amaranth campground, etc.), be very aware of what its next steps may be. Don’t want to sound paranoid … but I’ve seen this movie before, and I hated the ending.

Ken McLean

Starbuck

Costs and benefits

Re: A chance to reimagine road safety (Dec. 19)

I enjoy reading Brent Bellamy’s articles on urban planning and architecture and the use of these disciplines as tools of public policy and social change.

However, I find myself taking umbrage with some of his sweeping and unsubstantiated comments about the impact of actual and suggested policy changes (I do appreciate these are “opinion” pieces). For instance, he states regarding Edmonton, “It also recently committed $100 million to building protected bike lanes that will transform the city’s mobility.”

Is it too much to ask for how he comes to this conclusion about transformation? Could he direct an interested reader to research supporting the Edmonton decision or the impacts of bike transportation investments in cities such as Winnipeg and Edmonton?

To be clear, I am not debating Bellamy’s credentials, but rather would like to be directed to hopefully unbiased discussion on such a proposal. Discussion and analysis rather than unsubstantiated assertion, please. Many of his proposals have significant price tags (and Bellamy unapologetically says he is not an economist), and I would expect more than commentary that is conclusive rather than analytical.

Michael Kukelko

Oak Bluff

Fact check needed

Re: Assisted dying a complex issue (Letters, Dec. 26)

In her letter, Karen Lalonde talks of assisted dying as being “a World Economic Forum agenda to rid the world of ‘useless eaters.’” A simple fact-check by the Free Press would have revealed the statement made by the author is false. Simply put, it is a lie.

Reuters news agency did a fact-check when the “useless eaters” phrase was first attributed to the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab. The truth of the matter is that the quote comes from the book Conspirators’ Hierarchy: The Story of the Committee of 300 by John Coleman. This book puts forward a debunked theory that there is an organization called “the committee of 300,” a supposedly “all-powerful group” that controls every aspect of the world.

It is disappointing to see your newspaper publish misinformation that is better suited to conspiracy-theory publications that also purport Donald Trump won the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Perhaps, going forward, a closer scrutiny of Lalonde’s letters is called for.

Campbell Alexander

Winnipeg

Disappointing outcome

Regarding the article “Canada Post promotion denounced” (Dec. 24), we hear about a supervisor’s despicably sexist and inappropriate behaviour rewarded with a promotion. This is typical of a government-run corporation concerned only about protectionism rather than exemplifying a professional code of conduct.

Aren’t government positions for leaders who are models of professionalism and are there to serve the citizens?

Hilda Bergen

Winnipeg

Robbing Peter to pay Paul?

Re: Right move on surgeries (Letters, Dec. 24)

I see Peter Kaufmann, as is his wont, is voicing continued support for the premier’s continued poor performance in the health portfolio.

He alleges limited numbers of Manitobans who are able to take advantage of trips to Cleveland, Ontario, North Dakota and other locations for life-saving or life-improving surgery are “getting their lives back.”

Sadly, they are doing so from the same provincial government that “took” their lives from them in the first place by cutting our health-care budget, closing emergency rooms, shutting down beds, forcing nurses and doctors out of the Manitoba health industry and generally wreaking havoc on our health system over the past six years.

Laurie Etkin

Winnipeg

Amid news of surgeries on Manitobans performed in Cleveland, Dryden, Fargo and Kenora, I just have to echo letter writer Peter Kaufmann’s “kudos to Premier Stefanson and our government for caring for the well-being of its citizens.”

Now the possibilities seem endless: we could send patients to any number of metropolises — Fort Frances, Vermilion Bay, Moosomin, Kamsack, for example. With caring and creative management like this, there’s potential to completely eliminate the need for in-Manitoba surgeries!

And to facilitate all this, we could draw on the expertise of Minister of Mental Health and Community Wellness Sarah Guillemard, who could travel to and assess the capacities of all of these places without ever needing to set foot inside.

Ron Menec

Winnipeg

Happy with surgery option

Re: Manitoba’s out-of-province surgery strategy called pricey political tactic (Dec. 23)

I was disappointed when I read this article, because I just had a left total knee replacement on Nov. 28 in Kenora. I am very happy with my results. I have less pain post-op than I did prior to surgery. When there was a possibility to get surgery sooner than the one- to two-year wait list in Winnipeg, I jumped at the opportunity.

My husband and I went to Kenora on Nov. 27, stayed the night in a hotel, then he dropped me off at the hospital at 7 a.m. the next day. I had my surgery about 9:30 a.m. and we were on our way home about 4 p.m. I can’t state how easy it all was. I have already requested that my right knee be done in Kenora.

I realize patients going out of province or country is not the final solution to the backlog of orthopedic surgeries, but when you are in a great deal of pain, it is a much better option than continuing to wait for an unknown length of time (with the possibility of it being cancelled the day of surgery) to get relief.

Because of the 60 people who have had their surgeries out of province and the 90 who signed up for it, doesn’t that make the person who is last on the very long waiting list move up 150 people?

Janice Jackson

Winnipeg

Source of hope

Re: Ace Burpee’s Top 100 Most Fascinating Manitobans for 2022 (Dec. 23)

I woke up Christmas morning, feeling my particularly nasty week-long flu was finally over. I was looking for some hope in the world. Isn’t that what Christmas should be about, above all? Yet we are surrounded by mountains of disappointments, tragedies and evils around us.

I read Ace Burpee’s piece on “fascinating Manitobans.”

Frankly, it gave me that hope I was looking for. Each of the stories told of dreams and accomplishments, all personal, but so many with a goal to make others happy and make the world a better place. Thank you!

Raymond Currie

Winnipeg