Letters, June 6

Opinion

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This article was published 05/06/2022 (934 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Care for eating disorders crucial

Re: Premier insists dent will be made in backlog (June 1)

The premier is quoted as saying “We want to ensure that Manitobans get the health care, the surgeries the diagnostic services they need, when they need it.” To me, these are insignificant words with no substance and little action behind them.

I would love to know when the premier will care as much for the many Manitobans waiting over two years for urgent eating disorder therapy. There are 193 Manitobans at the Women’s Health Clinic who would love to have the premier care about eating disorders that have the highest mortality rate, after opiate abuse, of any mental illness. It’s a very dangerous, debilitating mental illness with serious physical complications like cardiac issues, early onset of osteoporosis and serious self harm and suicide rates.

The children’s Adolescent Eating Disorder Program is in urgent need of more psychological therapist time, a terrible injustice to the children.

Since February of 2021, I have sent urgent appeals for action to the premier and former mental health and addictions minister. The minimal funding is not nearly enough to reduce the backlog of people on the WHC waiting list and the many more calling every day for help.

All Manitobans have a right to urgent health care when they need it, not just surgical and diagnostic patients. Premier, your job is to act on behalf of all Manitobans and not just the ones who give you the best press coverage.

Elaine Stevenson

Winnipeg

Human touch vital

Re: The self-checkout experience is changing (Opinion, June 3)

Self-checkouts are faster only because stores have reduced the number of cashiers they hire. Doing the work yourself is faster than standing in line for one overworked cashier. This may be why a survey shows that consumers are happy with self-checkout. They just want to get the shopping done and get out of the store.

There are problems though. I was recently at a large retail store on a seniors’ discount day. The lineups at both the one cashier and the half-dozen self-checkout stations were long. The lone cashier not only had to service those customers standing in line but also had to run (yes, run) to all the self-checkout stations for each new customer because the machines were not programmed to acknowledge discounts.

At other retail stores with self-checkouts, cashiers have lost their jobs. The stores, however, have increased the numbers of security guards. They do not assist customers at the checkout stations but merely stare at them as if everyone in the store was a thief.

As far as digital sensors, with payment for items put into shopping carts charged immediately to the customer’s credit or debit card, what happens if the customer puts an item into the cart but then has a change of mind and puts the item back on the shelf? How many of you would prefer a conversation with a robot over a conversation with a human being?

Judy Herst

Winnipeg

Home-care workers deserve better

Re: Fed-up home-care worker calls it a career (June 1)

After 19 years as a home-care worker, Pascal Le Gal is resigning because of poor working conditions, including a lack of scheduled breaks, working to exhaustion as a result of staff shortages and no pay increases as inflation rose.

Pascal helped care for my ALS-afflicted wife for several years. His visits were eagerly anticipated, for he was unfailingly upbeat, caring and professional. In short, he was among the best of the best.

His current circumstance saddens me because he deserves better and because the loss of his service will have a much greater impact on home-care patients than the powers-that-be seem to imagine.

We should be doing what we can to urge people like Pascal to stay on, not driving them away. Their skills are much needed.

John Morrison

Winnipeg

Benjamin Franklin said there were only two things certain in life: death and taxes. Another certainty is that many of us will grow old and likely need health-care assistance. Yet we have a government that does not care one iota about our home-care workers.

The Free Press reported in April that nearly 27,000 home-care appointments were cancelled, an increase of 166 per cent over April 2021. And the best excuse the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority could come up with was COVID-19 and wintry weather, instead of admitting they have no staff, because it is a hard job with lousy pay.

Why have home-care workers been without a contract since 2017 and no pay increase for five years? Instead of addressing the issues, the province announced in April it would survey older Manitobans to create a strategic plan. This is laughable, to say the least, as I thought we paid government ministers and WRHA staff to do this.

Stewart Jacques

Winnipeg

Glass-plant impacts worrying

Re: Sand firm pivots away from oil and towards solar panels (May 31)

Dennis LeNeveu, science researcher, has provided evidence-based information to communities that will be affected by the proposed silica sand mine project, who are extremely concerned about the health, safety and environmental impacts of this project. Communities have not been assured by the environmental review process undertaken by the government of Manitoba that this project will be carried out safely without polluting our air, land and water.

This company must be required to submit a new environment act proposal in compliance with the terms stated in the Environment Act Licence #3285 which they received in May of 2019, so that Manitobans can be assured we are not taking all the risks for their financial gains.

Shawn Kettner

Winnipeg

Weigh costs of gun ownership

Re: Measures in new bill to keep guns from abusers, stalkers welcomed by advocates (May 31)

I have never owned a gun but, as a lifelong Manitoban, I know many people who have guns for personal use. Of the people I know, only one has more than 10 guns and he hunts and goes to a shooting range. The others are hunters or have inherited their guns. I have no issue with this type of gun ownership. What concerns me is the susceptibility for guns to be stolen and used improperly.

What should be be considered are secure storage facilities throughout the city. Armouries already exist in the city and they and other facilities may be suitable. People could store their weapons in these controlled locations and sign them out to hunt or range shoot, returning them shortly after use.

There would be outrage for something like this, but the core thought is that ownership of deadly weapons by the public has facilitated horrific results. The cost of inconvenience and storage has to be weighed against safety.

Jim Baker

Winnipeg

Toxic view of relationships

Re: Jail time for posting nude pics of ex (June 1)

The description of the offender’s behaviour during an on-off relationship indicates a dangerous relationship model in his mind — that the man owns the woman. This idea is toxic and often at the root of violence against women when a relationship is tenuous or breaking up.

Other than a statement from the pre-sentencing report that the offender is “at low risk to reoffend,” I see nothing that indicates he has received counselling to change his idea of how relationships work and how to end them amicably.

Our children should be taught this sort of thing in school since many have learned the ownership model from watching their parents or older siblings.

James Wingert

Winnipeg