Letters, Oct. 1

Many thanks

My life changed the day after Thanksgiving, 1967. My wife and I crossed the bridge at Fort Francis, Ont., and were accepted into Canada; she was a citizen and I was a draft dodger. We went to Winnipeg, looked for work and found rooms upstairs in a nice home owned by an older couple.

I remember the wind and cold that December as I went around town, failing to find a job. But our small savings dwindled fast and, after Christmas, we were forced to make a tough decision, to stay or go.

I am almost 80 now and I have never since found myself in such a hard spot. A few days after paying our next months’ rent, I had to ask our hosts for our rent back. They were due it and they had earned it; I had no rightful claim on it.

But I did ask, explaining our situation and in the greatest kindness I ever received, they gave it back to us so we could try Vancouver. Frankly, I am crying remembering it.

We eventually returned to the U.S. but I will never forget the support and kindness we found in Winnipeg and in Canada. We were essentially refugees; thank you for helping us.

And I pray that you can be patient with your goon of a neighbour while we struggle with our current nightmare.

Remember that many of us look to you for patience, common sense and, yes, forgiveness.

David Lanning

Bemidji, MN

Expertise matters

Charles Dickens was right about good math being the difference between happiness and misery.

Decades of engineering work has taught me that in complex problems the correct answer is often counterintuitive. Scott Forbes prefers to call unexpected results “absurdity” (Time for 21st century leadership at MB Hydro, Think Tank, Sept. 24). “Absurd” would be an appropriate adjective for his implication that former CEO Alan Danroth’s background undermined the choice of natural gas combustion turbines for peak load demands.

Those without the tools and expertise to build and run the complex models needed to evaluate future generation options should not reject unexpected results but should try to understand why the results make sense. That would be constructive.

Claiming that unexpected results are because a Crown corporation “lives in the past” is not.

Daniel Prowse

Winnipeg

Time and health

Did anyone else see the irony when Premier Wab Kinew announced at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre that Manitoba would adopt permanent Daylight Time (DT) and had hired 17 new psychiatrists this year?

Evidence linking permanent DT to increased health and accident risks is so substantial that the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends abolishing DT in favour of permanent Standard Time. Saskatchewan already observes permanent Standard Time.

Medical research indicates that permanent DT can increase anxiety and depression by disrupting circadian rhythms and reducing exposure to essential morning sunlight. Studies also warn that it can worsen mood disorders, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Perhaps that helps explain Manitoba’s need for more psychiatrists and other health professionals.

A 2022–23 University of Manitoba study concluded that anxiety and depression are the most common health disorders affecting Manitobans. Yet the Manitoba government dismissed this research and the recommendations of medical professionals in Manitoba, Canada, and the United States, choosing permanent DT because some Manitobans requested it through an Engage MB survey.

Manitobans’ health and well-being should matter enough for the government to heed expert advice. Permanent Standard Time would have been a no- or low-cost way to improve health, but the government adopted permanent DST despite the known risks.

Manitoba’s population is about 1.5 million. Of those residents, 41,760 — 2.8 per cent of the population — preferred permanent DT in the voluntary Engage MB survey, and voilà: it is here to stay. Only 72,000 Manitobans, or 4.8 per cent of the population, completed the survey. Its results overrode — dare I say, trumped — the advice and recommendations of qualified medical and research professionals.

Use surveys for their proper purpose: gauging public support for a policy, such as ending seasonal clock changes. Qualified professionals should shape the policy itself, including which time Manitoba adopts permanently.

In the decision to adopt permanent DT, those roles were reversed, and medical expertise was disregarded.

B. Velestuk

Winnipeg

Taking an hour away

Regarding the Letter to the Editor with the title “Time bandits,” Sept. 23, one can also reasonably say that remaining on Daylight Time adds one hour to everyone’s life.

It’s a matter of perspective.

In actuality, neither is really an accurate statement. Time is an arbitrary human created application of convenience.

Removing the element of “human time” from how long a person lives does not change how long a person lives.

Glenn S. Hansen

Winnipeg

Prices and profits

Predictably, federal Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre used the rising price of diesel as an opportunity to self-promote and try to make himself relevant to Canadians.

I might find him credible if he also targeted private sector pricing and profits in the oil and gas industry, rather than suggesting the solution lies solely with government (reducing or eliminating taxes).

Poilievre hasn’t suggested alternative sources of revenue to finance government funded programs which are intended to help Canadians.

If he is so concerned about defeating poverty and enriching the middle class, why didn’t he recommend profit limits on the industry?

After all, it seems only fair to place limits on both private and public revenue streams.

The fact he stated he doesn’t want to phase out oil and gas, and wants to produce more of it is icing on the cake. He isn’t the person to lead a country into a successful future, with this backwards ideology.

Michelle Burdz

Winnipeg

Getting information out

As we approach another civic election, we are again challenged on who is the best candidate and who we want to elect. The average citizen/voter does not have the time or motivation to research all or even many candidates for mayor and/or councillor and/or school trustee.

I suggest that we establish a web-based template that outlines the candidate’s position on a top ten or so of topics, their qualifications and experience ,and also allows them to add on other topics.

The template would allow for maybe 200 to 500 words on each topic. Topics would likely include key issues such as taxes, parks & recreation, Winnipeg Transit, Winnipeg Water and Waste, the Winnipeg Police Service, road construction, etc.

Candidates would complete this template within two weeks of announcing they are running. Updates would be allowed throughout the campaign. The idea would be to provide an easy comparison of candidates for voters.

Media outlets such as the Free Press could publish these daily or weekly for voters without web access and/or manage the website. As well, they could analyze the accuracy of candidates’ statements.

Voters could use this site to obtain a basic outline of each candidate and determine if they want to do more research on the candidates that they like, or to pick their candidate.

Jim Lawrence

Winnipeg