Letters, May 1

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/05/2025 (298 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Time to build

Re: Carney got the job, time to see if he can handle it (April 30)

Tom Brodbeck’s opinion piece provides much food for thought. Brodbeck lists many potential impediments to the initiatives that are necessary to defend Canada’s economy — and by extension our sovereignty from the orange menace to the south.

Among those are the divisions he identifies as extant in our society; east versus west and progressive versus populist.

I had occasion to spend a month on Vancouver Island and then drive across Western Canada back home to Winnipeg this spring. One of the perks of being retired is having lots of time to talk to folks and this is something that I enjoy. I did not hear any “east versus west” sentiment when talking to folks along the way, in B.C., Alberta or Saskatchewan.

What I did see were people concerned about the economy, jobs and housing, particularly in BC. I also saw a consistent and strong resolve to “buy Canadian” and much patriotism. The sentiments of east-west division and “anti-wokeness” are, I believe, driven mainly by politicians who have created these issues to distinguish themselves for political advantage.

I firmly believe that if the Conservative Party had promulgated more thoughtful policy and less taglines, and if Pierre Poilievre had put away his dog whistle earlier in the year, they might have a majority government.

Post-election, what Canadians have every right to expect is that Prime Minister Mark Carney will create policy that benefits all Canadians and strengthens our country. The Opposition has a role to criticize with a view to improvement rather than obstruction and cheap shots. It is time to build; not to tear down.

Tom Pearson

Winnipeg

Exam has its benefits

Re: Grant Park removes advanced-placement test due to student stress (April 30)

I am perplexed as to why Grant Park High School principal Jamie Hutchison and Winnipeg School Division superintendent Matt Henderson made the entry exam used to sort graduating elementary students into different academic streams sound like some sort of stressful Hunger Games-style ordeal for students. That was not my family’s experience at all.

Our son was lucky enough to be accepted into the Grade 7 flex stream for the current school year. As he was finishing elementary school, our family asked for the exam and in-person assessment, which was held on a weekend at Grant Park. Nobody forced him to apply, and he understood he might end up receiving a rejection letter. Adversity is a part of life, after all.

Our family is disappointed to hear the flex program will be merged with the general stream at Grant Park next school year.

Nigel Moore

Winnipeg

Pragmatic approach to death

Re: Death – a summing up (Think Tank, April 30)

In addressing this awkward topic, the author has taken a pragmatic approach, dulling the pain and anguish that many feel about the prospect of dying, the inevitable fate of each of us.

They say most do not fear being dead; they are most uncomfortable with the process of getting there. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Raymond Moody’s Life After Life about near-death studies. Readers may refer to the International Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDS) for up-to-date research about this phenomenon.

I would like to add words of gratitude to local heath-care professionals, including nurses, doctors and law-enforcement who have played a role in dealing with three family deaths over the past year.

Ed Labossiere

Winnipeg

Poilievre should step down

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre should show the same integrity the other party leaders who lost their seats have shown, do what’s best for his party and step down.

Instead he will pressure some poor MP in a very safe riding who actually put the work in and knocked on doors to step down and give up their dream so Poilievre can continue his lifelong ambition to become prime minister at all costs.

He doesn’t care about his party and he certainly doesn’t care about the working people he conned into believing his lies and misinformation.

Will the Conservatives actually work with the Liberals to accomplish everybody’s goals for the betterment of the country, or will they obstruct everything the Liberals do and bring them down at first opportunity just so Poilievre can try again?

Try it and see how well that goes over for the general public who want progress, not another election.

Jason Sudyn

Winnipeg

Bad joke

Re: Tories quiet as election fortunes wane (April 29)

I was angered then saddened (but still angered) upon reading of the “anti-Liberal” merchandise being hawked by a family of Conservative supporters at a reception following yesterday’s election win for the Liberals. The merchandise included “anti-Liberal rash cream” and anti-bacterial wipes labelled “anti-Liberal wipes”, intimating that Liberal supporters are unclean or are in some way diseased. These products were said by the family to be a “joke.”

Sorry — no, not sorry, not funny.

Also, in response to the Liberal vote, the mother of the family whined an exasperated lament “I don’t understand why people still want to live in the same nine years, the same over and over again, like nothing is going to change.” Yeah, like we Conservative opponents haven’t had to endure over 20 years of Pierre Poilievre’s vitriolic, ad hominem, far-right rhetoric in and out of the House of Commons.

Oh well, at least the people in his own riding did us a favour by turning off his megaphone in the House, if only temporarily.

R. J. Janis

Winnipeg

Singh’s legacy

Re: Singh steps down as party leader, concedes election and his own seat (April 28)

Jagmeet Singh will be remembered as the “father” of dental care, pharmacare, child care and the CERB benefits that kept many Canadians from bankruptcy during the pandemic.

It’s a huge loss to progressive Canadians that Singh is not there as we move forward into the future.

Mike Davidson

Winnipeg

Carney not fit

Anyone who supported Liberalism for this vote, has jeopardized the future of their children and grandchildren. I doubt that they will do any soul-searching on this fact!

Very disappointing, but Mark Carney has not significantly fulfilled his duties to deserve this elected position. Very typical of the Liberal approach to transparent representation.

Claude Nolin

Winnipeg

Studded tires doing damage

The need for studded tires in Winnipeg is suspect at the best, the usage of studded tires at this time of year and in the coming warm months is only causing damage to our already stressed-out roads.

Why are studded tires allowed in non-snowy seasons? They offer less traction than regular snow/seasonal tires on dry road surfaces.

Time to regulate the studded tires in this province,

Regulations that make sense exist elsewhere.

Gary Billson

Winnipeg