Letters, Sept 23

Opinion

Mayor’s plan flawed

Re: Mayor to launch weekly bulletin on bail offenders (Sept. 12)

The recent announcement by Mayor Scott Gillingham, reported in the Free Press on Sept. 12, said that the City will publish a weekly bulletin highlighting individuals accused of breaching bail conditions, raises serious concerns. While community safety is a shared priority, this initiative risks undermining fundamental principles of our justice system, including the presumption of innocence.

While individual names are not published, the practice of publicly highlighting alleged breaches of bail conditions presupposes guilt and risks confusing allegations with proof. The criteria for determining who is selected as the so-called “worst” offenders are entirely opaque and subjective. This lack of transparency undermines fairness and the presumption of innocence.

This initiative appears aimed at pressuring the courts to deny bail more frequently by creating public scandal around alleged breaches. Yet, the reality is that most accused persons do comply with their conditions. By focusing selectively on a few cases, the bulletin creates a misleading narrative that undermines confidence in the courts and risks fostering moral panic.

The criminal justice system already operates under immense strain. Prosecutors manage overwhelming caseloads, defence counsel often work for modest Legal Aid tariffs, and judges weigh public safety carefully every time bail is considered. Contrary to popular rhetoric, every bail decision involves a detailed, individualized inquiry under the Criminal Code, where public safety is paramount.

If the mayor’s proposal achieves its intended effect, more legally innocent people will spend extended time in pretrial custody. This not only risks incarcerating individuals who may ultimately be acquitted, but also increases pressure on the accused to plead guilty simply to avoid lengthy detention. Numerous public inquiries have already identified this problem, warning against exactly this outcome.

As a society, we must remain committed to the rule of law. Real solutions to crime require investment in addiction treatment, housing and community supports. Programs such as the recently opened Whistling Winds Youth Recovery and Wellness facility are examples of initiatives that can reduce crime by addressing root causes. Political theatre will not make us safer, but evidence-based investment in people and communities can.

Stacey Soldier

President, Manitoba Bar Association

Winnipeg

About language

People need to realize that when Winnipeg Transit or politicians talk about the new transit realignment using words such as “increased efficiency” or “reorganization,”what they really mean is they’re trying to cut costs and services. They are not trying to make it better for the actual users.

That’s why some need three buses now instead of two to make a trip. This euphemistic wording is of the variety you find in the corporate world all the time.

Glenn Hansen

Winnipeg

Other options

I worked the rail line from Gillam to Churchill during the 1950s and 60s. In those days, we hauled grain in 40-ton wooden boxcars during the grain rush. When 100-ton grain hoppers were later developed, the track simply couldn’t support the weight. I recall watching trains pass as water squirted up between the ties — a clear sign of the challenges posed by permafrost.

The line from Gillam to Churchill was built directly on permafrost and has always required constant repair. With a warming climate, the long-term future of this route is even less secure. Since its abandonment by Omnitrax, governments have spent more than $400 million attempting to keep it open. The track speed is still limited to 25 mph.

It’s worth remembering that this rail line was never originally meant to end in Churchill. The Hudson Bay Railway was intended to reach Port Nelson, with construction beginning in 1913 before being halted in 1917. Evidence of that effort remains today — including a mile of steel bridges and a million-dollar dredger brought in from Montreal.

Now, over a century later, Port Nelson is once again being considered. The Fox Lake Cree Nation is advancing the NeeStaNan Project (“for all of us” in Cree), which proposes a 120-kilometer rail line east of Gillam. This corridor, designed with a five kilometer right-of-way, could accommodate rail, natural gas pipelines, hydro lines and fibre-optic infrastructure. A port built just north of the Nelson River’s mouth — using breakwaters to prevent silting — could serve as a modern alternative to Churchill.

The potential benefits are significant. Instead of shipping Saskatchewan potash over mountain ranges to Vancouver and through the Panama Canal to reach Brazil, it could move directly through Port Nelson. Liquefied natural gas, which is currently piped to Houston and sold abroad at great profit for the United States, could be processed and shipped from Canada. This new northern trade route would provide Canada with direct access to Europe and beyond. Like Russia, we could maintain such a port year-round with icebreakers.

The NeeStaNan Project represents a vision for sustainable northern infrastructure that could benefit all Canadians. It is time to look forward — not backward — and invest in a port and rail line that truly have a future.

Don Bailey

Winnipeg

Easy answer

Re: North Dakota missing its Manitobans, Sept 20

Americans still don’t understand why we are boycotting their country. I’ll enlighten them.

Their convicted felon president is doing his utmost to destroy U.S. democracy and everyone else’s. Never mind our economies as well.

The American electorate knew exactly what kind of person they were electing for president, but decided to vote for Donald Trump anyway.

So stop with the “Wecome Canadians”. We don’t feel like getting at the border today.

Al Yakimchuk

Winnipeg

Teaming up

Manitoba’s Indigenous people should have first dibs on moose hunted in the province, since it is an important food source for them. The people of the Pimicikamak Nation have a legitimate complaint when more southern hunters are allowed to harvest a resource that has been negatively impacted by our exceptional fire season. And they have the treaties to back their claims. For the provincial government it is a revenue stream, but not a big one. And, of course, there are always more avid hunters than there are tickets available.

So how about this: every non-Indigenous hunter who gets a moose ticket gets teamed up with an Indigenous hunter.

The paying hunter gets to make the kill, with the help of his Indigenous guide, assists in processing the animal and gets to keep a certain amount of the meat, of specific cuts. The guide retains the bulk of the meat for his family’s needs.

In this way the resource is conserved, everybody gets to go hunting, the southern hunter will probably learn a thing or two about the land and about hunting and relationships will be built. I would even say to put the issuance of tickets, and the revenue, in the hands of the band.

This would foster greater knowledge and appreciation of our Indigenous neighbours’ customs and practices, ease tensions and bring revenue to the bands.

It’s a win-win year over year for the bands, the hunters and the moose.

Geoff Ireland

Narol