Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 25, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A10 POLL Should tobogganing be banned on city land? Previous polls: Do you believe the Maclean's story on racism in Winnipeg can be turned to the city's advantage through dialogue? Yes. Mayor Bowman got us off on the right track. 23% No. The magazine article was off target. 42% Maybe. It's a harsh reality to face, but at least we are talking about it. 35% Will you be going to Raw: Almond, the pop- up restaurant on the river at The Forks? Absolutely, can't wait! 7% I wish I could, but not this year. 20% No, I went last year, and that's good enough for me. 1% I have no intention of going. 72% Is the Jets' winning streak getting your playoff hopes up? Absolutely, we're going all the way this year! 39% I'm happy they're winning, but I'm not banking on anything. 41% No, I know better than to get my hopes up. 5% I don't care about the Jets. 15% Are you disappointed about the postponement of the Heritage Classic? Yes, I was looking forward to attending the game next season. 22% Not really, I'll attend whenever it is held. 15% No, I wasn't planning on attending regardless. 34% What's the Heritage Classic? 29% BLOG OF THE WEEK: UNDER THE DOME OPINION WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014 A 10 Winnipeg Free Press Sunday, January 25, 2015 winnipegfreepress. com Vote online at winnipegfreepress. com H OW does the NDP fix itself? If you believe some people out there, the short answer is that it doesn't, at least not in the immediate future. They say they the only way for the ruling party to fix itself is to sit in opposition for a few years. They say that by sitting opposite Brian Pallister and a Progressive Conservative government, the NDP will finally be cleansed of the deep animosity that has built up within its ranks over the past few months. If things don't change within the NDP soon, many MLAs will lose their seats in the next election. Or they may choose to retire before Manitobans go to the polls. Should the Tories win, scores of political staff would also move on to new careers. This would open the door for a new generation of Dippers to take over, a generation unsullied by the goingson at the Manitoba legislature since late October. This new generation would be focused only on forming the next government, not passing the knife back and forth to stab themselves over who should lead them. The thinking is the new NDP leader under this scenario would be Point Douglas MLA Kevin Chief, who has so far taken the high road in the almost- daily self- flagellation that now defines Today's NDP. What we're witnessing is just how damaged the party really is, just how deep the anger is. Some NDP members are angry five cabinet ministers resigned over the continued leadership of the party by Premier Greg Selinger; others are angry Selinger decided to stay on as premier and lead the party into a fractious leadership campaign to be decided March 8. Some say Selinger could have gone gently into that good night and no one would have been the wiser at just how poisoned the Manitoba government is. Others say if Theresa Oswald and the four other ministers had kept their mouths shut, no one would have been the wiser, either. We've already seen that anger in the barbs lobbed in the early days of the leadership campaign by NDP backbenchers Rob Altemeyer, Dave Gaudreau and Jim Rondeau against Oswald and her crew. To think this animosity within the party will magically vaporize March 9 and the various factions will join hands with the new leader on the convention stage is frankly laughable. The wound is just too severe. Whoever wins the leadership - it really doesn't matter who - will only guide a limping NDP into the next election in April 2016. Selinger, Oswald and Steve Ashton do not have the power to reverse things. They say there are five stages of grief, and we're already seeing them, despite the body still being warm: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The NDP is in the anger stage now. If things don't change before the leadership vote, the party won't get past it. Until, perhaps, Kevin Chief becomes NDP leader after the next election. If he wants it. Bruce Owen blogs on the Winnipeg Free Press website. bruce. owen@ freepress. mb. ca Mending Today's NDP no easy task BRUCE OWEN C OMMENTERS on the Free Press website were divided on a Maclean's article that declared Winnipeg the most racist city in Canada. Is it time to cancel my subscription to Maclean's for their inaccurate, divisive journalism? - beetle Anecdotal metrics. Solid journalism. - 23612942 Here's another thread trying to minimize the impact of racism against a fast- growing indigenous population with a pointless discussion about the relative merits of a particular article. Get over it and face reality. Winnipeg is hurting because of racism. - volunteer1 I read the article, and I thought it was interesting how you had to read about two- thirds of the way through before it concedes the point that much of the violence within the indigenous community is inflicted by other indigenous people. Someone in Toronto seeing the cover on a newsstand might conclude whites are antagonizing minorities when that is clearly not the case, but that wouldn't sell as many copies. - lollipopsandsunshine Not having lived in any other Canadian city, I couldn't comment on whether Winnipeg is the most racist city in the land. However, if it isn't, I would be surprised. It always was racist, just well- hidden. Now, with Internet anonymity, people set their true feelings free. I am fairly amazed at things I see on the streets of Winnipeg or hear at private functions. Unfortunately, I have lost friends over this issue, and I don't think it's going to go away any time soon. The media and politicians of all stripes fuel the stereotypical views of all those that hold them, in my opinion. - threee A sensationalist Maclean's article does not prove Winnipeg is the most racist city, but Winnipeg, bro, we have to talk. You've got a problem. - Woofers There is no doubt racism ( and sexism and homophobia) exists in Winnipeg. But based on this article, I don't feel it is a just conclusion that we are the absolute worst. Did they do a random survey across the board? Did they just chat with a few aboriginal people downtown? Doesn't sound like all that much of a study was done to reach this conclusion. - LOKA I question the title of most racist city. Listening to my relatives from Toronto leads me to believe Toronto may possess this ignominious award. - BM I would hope that people outside of Manitoba would dismiss the Maclean's article, realizing there is absolutely no valid science applied to arrive at such a conclusion. - emcee51 To truly illustrate the level of intolerance Winnipeggers display, we've never elected a gay mayor or a female mayor or an aboriginal mayor. Wait, what? Never mind. - anonymity_ personified For a magazine to label an entire city racist because of the actions of a few of its inhabitants is to apply the same kind of stereotypes that racists do to justify their own behaviour. - JFalconerIV Readers divided on ' racist city' claim BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES The best- case scenario for the Manitoba NDP would be an eventual party leadership by Point Douglas MLA Kevin Chief. A_ 10_ Jan- 25- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A10 1/ 24/ 15 6: 48: 16 PM ;