Drug situation requires complex solutions

Re: Police begin massive 10-day drug sweep (June 26)

While many residents understandably want safer streets and less visible drug use, the recent police operation in Winnipeg raises serious questions about whether enforcement alone can address a complex public health crisis.

Police officials state that the initiative is not aimed at people struggling with addiction, yet the operation appears to have overwhelmingly targeted those very individuals. Reports from front-line workers suggest that people were detained, searched and had harm-reduction supplies confiscated.

Alberta’s alternatives

It’s the ‘Battle of Alberta’ and not in sports vernacular.

So, you want out of Canada, eh, Alberta?

You know what? If that’s what you want, I will not stand in your way. You’ve had the good fortune of being a rich province because of your petroleum resources, but this is apparently not enough. You want even more. You are hard done by because you have been blessed with sources of revenue “lesser” provinces do not have.

Forgotten backyard artist

Manitoba summers are beautiful. So, whenever we have the opportunity to visit our parks, we take that adventure. Recently I did just that, visiting Assiniboine Park and, in particular, the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden. Personally, I was astonished what we have in our backyard. Something amazing, something unique and something international.

We are lucky to have Leo Mol’s artwork and to share his work with Canadians and the rest of the world. If you ever been to the sculpture garden at Assiniboine Park, you know what I am talking about — it is, as they say “awesome.”

Mol contributed immensely to Canada’s multicultural mosaic. He dedicated his talent and skill to the tapestry of Canada and to his heritage in the area of history and culture. The sculpture garden displays his personal collection of priceless bronze sculptures, paintings, ceramics, porcelains, sketches and more than 300 pieces of artwork that he donated over to the City of Winnipeg over the years

Social media ban undercuts parents

So the current government of Canada thinks it can parent our children better than we can.

I completely disagree with banning social media for children under the age of 16. My late wife and I raised two kids who are currently 22 and 20. They had cell phones and tablets since they were nine or 10, and not once was there an incident of someone who was trying to manipulate them or bully them. We made it clear to them that we would track their browsing on their phones/tablets, as all parents should.

Our government should be worried about dealing with countries who allow child labour and who allow sexual-orientation discrimination, and leave the parenting to parents.

FIFA knows no bounds

Re: FIFA’s financial fiefdom (June 12)

I don’t always agree with Dan Lett, but his views on FIFA are bang-on. It is without a doubt the most corrupt organization in sport — it makes the International Olympic Committee look like a convent.

This World Cup is a total price gouge. A check on StubHub shows tickets in Toronto for a game between soccer “powerhouses” Senegal and Iraq (hey, first time making it in 40 years — they must be good) marked down from $4,000 to $3,100 … each!

A return of serve

Re: Sala fails budget test (Think Tank, June 13)

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is right to be concerned about the growing provincial debt (and attendant debt payments) and some levels of taxation, but their unrelenting tunnel vision is borderline dysfunctional in terms of contributing to a useful discussion. If they want to be taken seriously, then I think they need to also respond to a number of other important issues including the following:

What about the out-of-control growth of income inequality here and around the world? What about the fact that systems of progressive taxation (primarily established after the Second World War to ensure taxation equity) are being steadily eroded? What about the huge amounts of money being put into tax shelters and offshore tax havens by wealthy people to avoid paying taxes?

An appalling outcome

Re: Despair, spelled with the letter of the law (June 13)

The harm perpetrated by the justice system in the case of Ethan Wildcat was appalling and avoidable. My heart sank when I learned that Ethan, once my fellow participant and member of the Morberg House “family,” was dead.

The judge in his case could have sentenced this bright, kind and impressionable young Indigenous man to serve time in the community under the care and supervision of St. Boniface Street Links. I witnessed him flourishing in this setting, where he was healing from complex trauma, learning to become a better father and contributing to the welfare of the community as part of the street outreach team.

Cut Carney environmental slack

Re: Hats off to Steven Guilbeault (Think Tank, June 10)

I, too, agree Steven Guilbeault was a necessary advocate for the environment in the Liberal government. Environmental issues have been stepped on and pushed to the back burner of Liberal priorities with the Carney government.

However, when you’re “up to your derrière in alligators, it’s hard to remember your objective was to drain the swamp.” With respect to Prime Minister Mark Carney, he has alligators in this country, as well as those in Washington, with which to deal so I can cut him some slack for the time being.

Long-term solutions required

Winnipeg is plagued by problems that appear to be getting worse: growing numbers of people with addictions, mental health issues, HIV and hepatitis A; open drug use; homelessness; shoplifting; petty crime; school absenteeism; overcrowded prisons, jails and remand centres.

These problems are rooted in complex poverty, the growth of which governments have paid too little attention to for the past half-century.

Those chickens have come home to roost — you can’t ignore social problems for decades and expect there to be no consequences. The only solutions are long-term solutions, requiring consistent investment year after year in strategies proven to work. Adult basic education is one of several good examples.

Blind bidding deserves second look

Manitoba’s real estate market is legally bound to the blind bidding process, whereby prospective homebuyers are asked to submit their best offer without knowing the amount of competing bids. The real estate division of the Manitoba Securities Commission is the provincial regulator of the real estate market.

Supporters argue that the process is fair, because all buyers are treated equally and sellers are free to choose how they market their properties. However, this misses the central question — is blind bidding good policy?

Buying a home is often the largest financial decision a person will make. Yet buyers are expected to commit hundreds of thousands of dollars without access to information that would allow them to make an informed decision. In a blind bidding environment, buyers are forced to guess what others may be offering and frequently bid far more than would actually be necessary to purchase a property.

Answers hard to come by

Re: Judge health care by results, not whether it’s for profit (June 3)

When universal health care was first rolled out, doctors pushed back against it, thinking it would limit their ability to earn a living.

After it was implemented, the single-payer model meant they were no longer part-time doctors and part-time debt collectors. They didn’t have to turn away patients who couldn’t pay, so the number of patients they had increased. Ultimately, they made more money with fewer headaches. They were, as said in the article, private contractors who negotiated the rates for their services with the government — a practice that continues today.

Business knows what time it is

Re: Considering a unified prairie time zone (Think Tank, June 1)

I must reply to Bryan Oborne’s op-ed regarding a unified prairie time zone. There is absolutely no reason to have a unified prairie time zone. Oborne suggests it will be better for business and help make Manitoba a “have province”, an assertion that has no evidence to back it up, in my opinion.

Time zones do not interfere with business. Big businesses operate around the world and time zones are not a problem. I know of many very small businesses (five employees or less) that have done business in Asia (10 to 12 hours difference) for 30 or 40 years with no problem. If there is a good business case for doing business in a different time zone, businesses will find a way to do it.

Honouring vitality

Re: No road map for dementia’s daunting journey (May 30).

Janine LeGal’s profile of Interlake couple Paul Chorney and Carol Radway that details their personal journey through Carol’s health challenges connected to Alzheimer’s disease and Paul’s struggles in his caregiver role, is honest and insightful. I was lucky to have met Carol when volunteering at an Alzheimer’s Society art program and can remember her expressive eyes and sweet smile.

I’ve found, sadly — through working with residents in long-term care centres — that it’s often hard for workers and others to acknowledge and honour the vitality of those whose communication and cognitive abilities have been impaired by dementia.

Funding defence

Re: “Snowbirds can wait” (Letters, May 26)

Gerald Farthing’s claim that there are greater priorities for Canadians than funding the Snowbirds is dead-on, and what’s ironic about the fuss some Canadians are making over the issue is the fact no one has seemed particularly concerned as successive governments during the past half-century continually underspent on the nation’s military in general.

Most of this neglect began when Pierre Trudeau was prime minister. He pointedly avoided service during the Second World War; then, as prime minister, he was quick to criticize American involvement in Vietnam while cynically claiming Canadian defence spending could be minimized since the U.S. would protect us regardless. Former prime minister Jean Chretien was no better, as he stated that any money designated at all for the military was too much from the outset. Other national leaders, from Brian Mulroney to Justin Trudeau, were in much the same category with the result being that, after 50-plus years of neglect, the new defence commitments might take even longer to rectify, especially as the Canadian government has the reputation of consistent foot-dragging and indecision when it comes to modernizing its armed forces and attracting new recruits.