Be statesmanlike, Pierre

Re: Canadians have moved on, Poilievre hasn’t (Aug. 7); Poilievre’s trade bluster a desperate bid for attention (Aug. 12)

If I were Pierre Poilievre, I wouldn’t be just thinking about becoming the next prime minister. I’d be thinking about legacy in larger terms — meaning how would I ultimately want to be remembered.

And I would want to be remembered as the politician who, even if not having achieved the ultimate goal of becoming prime minister, left the political world as a respected statesman. As such, with respect to trade and the relationship with the United States, I would be guided by the following maxim found in Tom Brodbeck’s Aug. 12 column: The goal should be to maximize Canada’s leverage while reducing its vulnerability.

Where is the love?

Re: The true costs of your pet — for everyone (Think Tank, Aug. 7)

Before I put Jerry Storie’s mean-spirited diatribe at the bottom of the cage of my precious lovebirds, Harry and Sally, they need to tell him that not only do pet birds add joy and song to a household, they also represent love for all in the pet kingdom.

Yes, pets cost money but they’re still cheaper than kids. Pets earn their keep just by being the lovable creatures they are. Even those with behaviour problems deserve our care.

Clarification

A letter to the editor in the Aug. 6 edition of the Free Press, headlined Defining context, indicated that the federal auditor-general criticized the Canadian Museum for Human Rights for having had deficiencies in managing its exhibitions, saying, “without rigorous systems and practices to ensure accuracy and balance … errors and bias could be introduced to exhibits which could adversely affect the corporation’s reputation and be costly to correct after the fact.” The report in question was done in 2017 and released publicly in 2018. At the time, the museum agreed with the findings and listed a series of steps it would take to address the issue.

ERs should be used as intended

Re: Steinbach ER under siege by frustrated Winnipeggers (Aug. 5)

Hydro debt is good debt

Re: It may be frustrating, but it’s necessary (Editorial, July 29)

As the former senior vice-president and chief financial officer for Manitoba Hydro, I cringe whenever I see negative references in the media and elsewhere regarding Manitoba Hydro’s long-term debt. What’s missing from such references (the most recent being the July 29 editorial in which it’s stated that “… capital missteps have helped saddle the utility with $25.34 billion in debt”) is that Hydro’s debt is totally offset by valuable revenue-producing assets and that all related debt will be fully repaid over the productive lives of those assets.

Electricity and natural gas rates, approved by the Public Utilities Board, are structured to recover Hydro’s day-to-day operating, maintenance and administrative (OM&A) expenses as well as all debt servicing (interest) and debt repayment (principal) costs. Rather than being a burden on future generations, as debt is so often and incorrectly characterized, ratepayers will continue to reap the benefits of Hydro’s investments in capital assets for generations to come.

An opportunity for corporate good

Re: Giant Tiger to close downtown store (July 31); Giant Tiger decision creates giant void for desperate population downtown (Aug. 1)

The recently announced November closing of the Giant Tiger store at Donald Street and Ellice Avenue is cause for some alarm. As a self-described community-focused, family discount store, the grocery and clothing chain has become an important part of Winnipeg’s downtown fabric, catering to, in Niigaan Sinclair’s words, “… people living less-privileged lives: people working low-paying jobs; those with no fixed address and the homeless population…”

Other existing downtown shopping options have anecdotally been described as too expensive and unaffordable.

Charge highlights need for action

The recent reporting regarding a Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service employee accused of violating a protection order, following previous convictions related to criminal harassment and breaches of court orders against former partners, raises concerns that extend beyond a single individual.

I believe this case highlights important questions about how public institutions assess and respond to risks associated with intimate partner violence, stalking, coercive control and repeated violations of court-imposed conditions.

Gender-based violence is a public safety issue. Survivors are encouraged to seek protection orders and to call emergency services for safety and support. When those orders are breached, organizations have a responsibility to carefully consider workplace safety, public safety and survivor safety in their decision-making. Manitobans deserve confidence that public institutions have clear, consistent processes to assess risk and respond appropriately.

Follow the science

Some say the fires in northern Canada are a result of poor forest management.

However, the science is clear: the more fossil fuels we burn, the hotter the atmosphere gets, resulting in more heat waves.

For every one degree Celsius (1.8 F) the air is hotter, it holds seven per cent more moisture, an effect named the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. With the increase in strong winds from the volatility of the jet stream, caused by distorted global heating patterns, forests dry out faster, storms are worse, fires sparked by lightning and stoked by strong winds blaze into larger conflagrations in the remote, tinder-dry forests. The majority of these forests are too remote for human management.

Refining the aluminum can deposit system

Every week across Winnipeg, homeowners face a ridiculous choice — hoarding sticky, leaking stacks of empty beer and seltzer cans in the garage to haul down to a retail vendor, or toss them into the curbside blue bin and suffer a financial penalty for making the convenient choice.

This isn’t an accident. It is the result of a bloated policy double standard maintained by Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MBLL) and legacy industry loopholes.

To see how absurd the system has become, you only need to compare two identical 12-packs of cans on Manitoba shelves.

A reality check for civic leaders

Re: What happened to public service? (Think Tank, July 17)

Erna Buffie’s recent commentary was a breath of fresh air and a much-needed reality check for our city’s leadership. I strongly support her assertion that true public service requires prioritizing people, communities and the environment over an outdated, debt-fuelled model of endless expansion. Cities of the future should be planning for sustainable projects that benefit everyone, rather than catering to developers at the expense of our existing neighbourhoods.

It is incredibly frustrating to see our leaders push for outrageous projects like the Chief Peguis and Kenaston expansions. Spending hundreds of millions of dollars on more roads will do little to reduce congestion — thanks to the well-documented reality of induced demand — while simultaneously piling onto Winnipeg’s generational debt.

Full investigation of death required

Re: Mental-health crisis ends in man’s death (July 15)

Why? That is my question as a former pastor who has sought to support people with mental/emotional health issues. I know of the dangers that law enforcement officers encounter.

But why was the Linden Woods resident killed by police? Are police only trained to shoot to kill? What about shooting to injure or maim?

A mature prime minister

Re: Carney plays well on the road (Editorial, July 14)

The editorial discusses Mark Carney’s strengths from being head of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England.

There is merit in this analysis, but it overlooks Carney’s major contribution to date. This is the simple fact he has replaced Justin Trudeau. Trudeau’s primary personal characteristic is petulance. He slapped a moral label on every issue. If you agreed with him you were amongst the virtuous, if you disagreed with him you were morally culpable and/or stupid. He polarized Canadians in a blink of an eye.

Multiple approaches required downtown

Re: Frustration, not fear, swells in Exchange after drug crackdown (July 9)

The recent coverage of Winnipeg’s drug crisis makes it sound as though compassion and public safety are somehow opposites. They are not.

One business owner said she was “absolutely enraged” by the police response and insisted, “This is not an unsafe situation” because she was not personally seeing violence.

This is the new abnormal

I’m sure we all have read with concern articles about “new” events we are having to deal with. Very specifically: more in number, and intensity, wildfires and the smoke that comes with them; flooding, as we have seen this summer; the hottest days on record and potential for heat domes; more tornadoes; drought conditions affecting forests, crops, even lowering the water table.

We are also informed to expect these events to happen on a regular basis — every summer!

What I take issue with is the phrase “new normal.” These events are not normal, period. They are abnormal. The word “normal” somehow implies that what is happening is all right; it is OK. That we just have to get used to them.

Reporter’s contributions lauded

As an entity on ‘the other side of reporting’ — in my former role as vice-president of communications and marketing with the Winnipeg Foundation — our city has to know that working with recently retired Free Press reporter Kevin Rollason on stories about Winnipeg’s charitable community was an honour and a privilege.

At a time when philanthropy was not a mainstream story, the Free Press, through Kevin, shone a spotlight on the generosity of Winnipeggers in every corner of the city.

Kevin’s reporting in this arena was always generous, kind and accurate. We worked together for more than two decades — when opportunities presented themselves — to showcase the best of the city. As a reporter, he was always curious, kind and generous digging up the stories of Winnipeg’s best side.

Rethinking mental illness and MAID

Re: Canadians with mental illness who saw MAID as an option feel abandoned (July 6)

Following the death of his daughter Katherine, who took her own life earlier this year, Martin Short said the following:

“The understanding (is) that mental health and cancer, like my wife’s, are both diseases, and sometimes with diseases they are terminal. And my daughter fought for a long time with extreme mental health, borderline personality disorder, other things, and did the best she could, until she couldn’t.