Letters, Sept. 2

Opinion

Opening doors to compassion

Re: Standing up against internet hate (Editorial, Aug. 28)

Kudos to the Free Press for highlighting the rise of hatred as an outcome of the anonymity of social media. Though we tend not to use the word “hatred” in public discourse, it seems that the word “love” is even more rare.

I suspect that if we did a straw poll asking, “What is the opposite of love”, most would respond with “hate.” Yet, spiritually oriented writers tend to see hate as the opposite of fear, as suggested by the editorial’s line, “doubting or fearing your neighbour, rather than loving them.”

In practical terms, it’s hard to simply make a decision to be loving towards a neighbour. What one can do, however, is to become more open to that neighbour’s reality. In doing so, the door opens towards a more compassionate understanding and possibly a less fearful stance.

Perhaps the only way to combat media hatred is for main line publishers, such as the Free Press, to boldly name it for what it is. It behooves us all to read posts with a critical mind and when spotted, seek out the “knowledge gap” that drives the hatred. As the former secretary general of the United Nations succinctly put it: “Information is liberating.”

Edwin Buettner

Winnipeg

Lifeguards did their best

Re: Parents of teen who drowned last spring sue city, lifeguards (Aug. 25)

Along with the City of Winnipeg, the parents are suing four lifeguards for negligence. This event is a tragedy for all concerned.

While I am sympathetic to the parents and family of the victim, I am not sure that suing the life guards is fair or appropriate. I swim at a City of Winnipeg facility on a daily basis. I normally attend the Sherbrook Pool, but have gone to Cindy Klassen when the former was closed for cleaning or repairs. I see the lifeguards working on a daily basis and observe that they are diligent and responsible. These young people are well-trained to care for the swimmers in their charge. The last thing that any lifeguard wants is to have a pool user drown on their watch.

I believe that the pool at Cindy Klassen is more difficult to supervise because of the presence of bulkheads which divide the pool into three sections. The article stated that Adam was spotted in the deep end. When the lifeguards brought him to the pool deck after seeing him underwater, they did CPR techniques until the paramedics arrived. It would have been very stressful for all concerned. I believe the lifeguards are well-trained and would have done their best to resuscitate this swimmer.

I fail to see how suing responsible lifeguards would contribute to the parents’ closure in the death of their son. I believe the City of Winnipeg lifeguards are responsible workers who would have done their best to resuscitate this unfortunate victim. Suing them is not helpful. The court case might also discourage other young people from training and applying for lifeguard positions in the future.

Ruth Swan

Winnipeg

Blow to small business

The elimination of the U.S. “de minimis” exemption on Aug. 29 rightly caused a lot of concern. This exemption has allowed shipments under US$800 to enter the U.S. duty and tax free since 2016. There is no doubt that this decision by the U.S. will cause loss of profit and sales for a lot of small businesses in Canada, mine included. Regardless of the duty or tariffs applied, there will at the least be new brokerage and handling fees and delays. However perhaps some perspective is required.

In Canada the de minimis value is only C$40. Between $40 and $150 there is no duty but you pay both GST and PST. Above $150 you pay both. So anything over C$40 coming into Canada has a minimum of 12 to 15 per cent tax added to the cost depending on the province. By contrast, the U.S. has no federal tax and does not collect state tax on goods coming across the border. U.S. retail associations have been lobbying for years to get Canada to increase the de minimis amount.

In the U.K., the de minimis amount is 135 pounds, currently C$250 but the U.K. collects VAT (value added tax) on all shipments, which adds 20 per cent to cost of goods entering the U.K. The EU is similar in that the de minimis value is 150 Euros (C$240) but they also charge VAT on all shipments which ranges from 19 per cent to 23 per cent depending on the country.

These policies in the U.K. and the EU have effectively closed my business off to sales to these countries. I am not pointing these things out to minimize the negative impact that the cancelling of the de minimis exemption is going to have on small businesses. But to show that it has been exceptionally generous to small businesses since it was raised from US$200 to US$800 in 2016. At US$800 it was the highest in the world. But other countries did not follow suit and, according to some people, there were some countries actually targeting and taking advantage of this policy. The Biden administration was in fact already considering changes to or elimination of the de minimis exemption before Trump took over.

My products are currently exempt from duty under both the CUSMA free trade agreement and the U.S.’s own tariff schedule. However the 35 per cent general tariff could be arbitrarily applied, at which time I will probably lose most if not all sales into the US and I doubt my business will survive that.

I cannot afford to absorb that cost and doubt that most of my customers can either. So I might have to say goodbye to my little business. A sad but more frequent commentary on where our world is currently headed.

Rob McConnell

Winnipeg

Inefficient work

Re: “Frustrations with roadwork” (Letters, Aug. 28)

A writer comments on the city having to optimize its budget because of manpower shortage when roadwork is being done and that’s why some roadwork isn’t being done for some time in some places. If someone at city hall is optimizing the budget, then they must not know the city has paid for a brand-new stretch of sidewalk that wasn’t needed.

I saw the larger-than-normal sidewalk blocks being removed and then placed very carefully into the back of a dump truck without breaking them, and taken away. Then that stretch of sidewalk was prepared for the new concrete that has now been poured.

I know the sidewalk I am referring to was in perfect shape because I have walked on it many times to the strip mall it is beside. All I can think is that someone on the construction crew must have thought those larger pads would be better used somewhere else and the new sidewalk can be cut to the size of pads one normally sees on a city sidewalk.

George Morawski

Winnipeg

On self-righteousness

Re: Criticism is not fear or hate (Think Tank, Aug. 27)

I appreciate the thoughtful and measured tone of Dennis Hiebert’s op-ed. He explains how fear combined with anger produces hate which can lead to criminal activity when externalized.

He makes the point that criticism is not hatred when used appropriately and challenges his readers to acknowledge their own biases when criticizing others.

That is an extremely important point as we all tend to be self righteous when defending our point of view!

Elfrieda Neufeld Schroeder

Winnipeg

Sad sight

Re: Residents petition government to take action against ground squirrels (Aug. 24)

With regard to the ground squirrel issue and the residents’ petition, on biking the pedestrian/bike path starting at Lindenwood Drive West and McGillivray to Waverley, I counted 78 evergreen trees dead or dying.

There were large holes at the base of these dying trees, with ground squirrels in and out of them. They only go for the evergreens, not the other trees, I noticed.

In the morning they scamper across the path to the grass gully next to McGillivray. Bikers beware. This tree culling by these ground squirrels is a sad sight to see.

Jeanette Badali

Winnipeg