Letters, Oct. 28

Vote, people!

Re: Get out and exercise your franchise (Editorial, Oct. 24)

I’m now in the autumn of my life but have voted in every single election since I was first eligible, which at that time was the age of 21. This was impressed upon me at a very young age by my father, who said it was every citizen’s duty to vote.

The apathy with regard to voting these days is appalling. And I know that some of the people who do the most complaining about how things are being done are those who don’t bother to vote. Perhaps to overcome this, Canada should look at doing what Australia and several countries in Europe and Latin America have done, which is to make voting compulsory.

Doreen Mork

Winnipeg

Farewell to the Hercules

The retirement of the CC-130 Hercules from the Royal Canadian Air Force marks the end of an extraordinary era.

As a former civilian reporter with 17 Wing CFB Winnipeg’s Voxair newspaper, I had the privilege of flying aboard the Hercules several times. On my first flight, the aircraft commander even allowed me to briefly take the controls 20,000 feet above Lake Winnipeg.

Years later, I flew aboard a Hercules returning from Resolute Bay after covering Exercise Arctic Ram in Canada’s High Arctic. We had travelled north aboard a magnificent CC-177 Globemaster and returned on the venerable Hercules.

I also witnessed the aircraft’s versatility during an air-to-air refuelling mission involving CF-18 Hornets en route to training in California.

The Hercules was never a glamorous aircraft. Its greatness lay in its reliability, versatility and ability to perform whatever task Canada asked of it, often under difficult conditions and far from the spotlight.

For decades, Hercules crews delivered supplies, transported personnel, supported northern operations and carried out lifesaving search-and-rescue missions. After interviewing countless aircrew members, technicians, and SAR techs during my years at Voxair, I came away with a deep appreciation for the professionalism, expertise and dedication that define the RCAF and the Canadian Armed Forces.

The Hercules was part of a proud legacy of exceptional aircraft flown and maintained by exceptional people.

Its retirement marks the end of an era, but not the end of that legacy.

Martin Zeilig

Winnipeg

A questionable move

Re: MPI cuts off public parking downtown (Oct. 26)

In Manitoba Public Insurance’s rate application, it acknowledged that “difficulty in attracting knowledgeable SMEs (subject-matter experts) as full-time employees” is a risk to project deliverables.

Reading through MPI’s new modernization roadmap, one can see that they are planning on replacing their ERP (enterprise resource planning) system and modernizing basic insurance (i.e., Autopac), neither of which will be an easy project to tackle. Seeing as MPI has these major projects in their sights and seeing as they acknowledge difficulty in attracting in-house talent for these initiatives, one would think they would do everything they can to give themselves a competitive edge in the recruiting pool.

One way MPI could be more competitive when it comes to attracting and retaining talent is letting employees work from home, either full-time or hybrid. Commuting and parking downtown is not cheap, and asking employees to do so is essentially a pay cut. Remote work can allow for better work-life balance, better psychological health, and other non-monetary perks to an employee. Remote work also allows access to a bigger talent pool. MPI could hire individuals across the province rather than just focusing on Winnipeg for these roles.

Asking employees involved in project delivery to come into the office full-time seems like MPI shooting itself in the foot. It frustrates the employees MPI says it needs most and makes it more difficult for MPI to replace them. MPI will have to significantly increase project-related salaries to make up for the deficit. Add on lost revenue from the parking spaces, and costs associated with increasing the number of on-site staff, and I fail to see how MPI is being responsible with ratepayer money with this move.

Christian Le Breton

Headingley

In bed with all kinds

Re: “Careful who you mix with” (Letters, Oct. 26)

In response to Kurt Clyde, I agree that Turkey is no democracy. If Canada was dealing only with countries that valued human rights, then we would also not be trading with the United States.

Trump is currently supporting Russia against Ukraine and supporting right-wing extremists in many countries, including separatists in Alberta. He invaded Venezuela, started a war in Iran and threatens invading Cuba, while demanding control of Greenland and referring to Canada as “the 51st state.”

Within the U.S. he’s dispatching ICE agents to arrest residents and citizens, killing some, and deporting others to countries they have never heard of without any due legal process. He has no respect for U.S. or international law, including suggesting that the International Criminal Court in The Hague should be dismantled with no U.S. citizens held to account.

We should not be blinded by our next-door neighbour.

Nettie Lamb

Carman

AI risks demand oversight

Artificial intelligence offers Canada genuine opportunities in health care, agriculture, research, productivity and economic growth. But the risks deserve equal attention.

Existing criminal laws remain purely reactive, punishing fraudsters only after harm occurs, while proposed bills such as C-34 and provincial rules target specific, end-use cases, such as protecting children or hiring transparency. None establish proactive safety rules for AI developers or manage the infrastructure demands of massive data centres.

Meanwhile, as the U.S. and China race for AI dominance, exponentially advancing systems risk escaping human control — rendering safeguards like a kill-switch useless.

Canada can enforce compliance by conditioning market access and public procurement on independent safety vetting. Proactive standards won’t block investment; clear rules build the trust required to ensure lasting economic prosperity.

Wayne C. Wagner

Winnipeg

On the money

Re: “Odds are …” (Letters, Oct. 27)

Pauline Johnson is right on with her assessment of sports gambling ads becoming a societal scourge.

The full negative effects and devastating consequences, especially on young bettors, will likely not be realized for a long time — but they will be there. The temptation to win easy money will always be there, as will the temptation to recoup losses. To take it one step further, we have already seen instances of death threats to people perceived to affect sports outcomes.

There are obviously massive advertising dollars involved, but it seems to me that the companies that televise (sports) events could back off somewhat and become more responsible corporate citizens.

Brian Dyck

Winnipeg

Now you want to talk …

Suddenly, U.S. President Donald Trump would like to make a deal with Canada that Prime Minister Mark Carney can sign.

Wow! Carney should not be in a hurry and procrastinate until the upcoming U.S. midterm elections are over. He should also insist that any U.S. deal with Canada be signed with a pen and not a pencil.

Robert Moskal

Winnipeg