Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 27, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A6 OUR VIEW �o YOUR SAY WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2015 Freedom of Trade Liberty of Religion Equality of Civil Rights A 6 PERSPECTIVES AND POLITICS EDITOR: Shannon Sampert 204- 697- 7269 shannon. sampert@ freepress. mb. ca winnipegfreepress. com EDITORIAL LETTERS FP COMMENTS TWITTER VOL 143 NO 77 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2015 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204- 697- 7000 Publisher / BOB COX Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Engagement / JULIE CARL Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor Production / STEVE PONA Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Night Editor / STACEY THIDRICKSON Director Photo and Multimedia / MICHAEL APORIUS W What's your take? The Free Press wants to hear from you. Email: letters@ freepress. mb. ca Post: Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, R2X 3B6 Please include your name, address and daytime phone number. Follow us on Twitter @ WFPEditorials For a how- to video on writing letters, visit winnipegfreepress. com SCAN PAGE TO LEARN HOW TO HAVE YOUR SAY . Improve child care for poorest kids Mary Agnes Welch and Mia Rabson clearly demonstrate that returns on public investments in child care are high, that supply is inadequate and that parents bear a major cost burden ( Child care's big benefits, Jan. 24). Returns on child care are especially high for poor children, as child care ameliorates many of the developmental and educational effects of poverty. As research by Dr. Susan Prentice has indicated, child- care spaces are maldistributed, with lower- income areas receiving fewer spaces. Even the poorest parents receiving full income- tested subsidies usually pay a $ 2- per- child- per- day surcharge. Parents on welfare, with benefits far below the poverty line, must pay $ 1 per child per day of their inadequate benefits for child care. A province that purports to have a poverty- reduction strategy should try to reduce intergenerational poverty by making child care more accessible to poor children. SID FRANKEL Winnipeg Recognizing complexity of racism Re: Racist label provokes mayor ( Jan. 23). The last several days have evoked a kaleidoscope of strong emotions. First I was angry, until I realized anger is a useless emotion. Then I was in denial until I realized to deny racism exists in Winnipeg is to lie. I then felt defeated and languished there for several days. Today, however, I am proud of my city and its leadership. Mayor Brian Bowman, flanked by dozens of Winnipeg's finest leaders, seized this ugly slur as an opportunity to break down barriers, to shine the light on racism. Grand Chief Derek Nepinak encouraged us to " stand up and be strong and talk about racism," while Ovide Mercredi knocked it out of the park with his declaration " I have a right to be different." Once again, Winnipeg leads the nation in tackling complex issues head- on. MICHAEL BENNETT Winnipeg �� Re: Tory boss rejects Maclean's conclusion ( Jan. 24). Of racism in Winnipeg, Brian Pallister says " It's not my experience." Really? A white, upper- middle- class male hasn't experienced that Winnipeg has a race issue? What a surprise. MARLENE PERRIN Morden �� A lawsuit and possible termination are probably the least effective outcome in the case of a Winnipeg School Division teacher's unfortunate Facebook posting ( Teacher's paid leave terminated , Jan. 22). Face- to- face mediation, perhaps within a healing circle, would more likely result in ownership of the teacher's hurtful comments, followed by apologies and possible forgiveness. Litigation and harsh punishment leave only bitterness and recrimination in their wake, ensuring that all affected parties lose in the end. HENRY WEDEL Winnipeg Shoal Lake deserves bridge Money earmarked for the Waverley railway- crossing problem should be redirected to a bridge for the Shoal Lake No. 40 community ( The price of comfort , Jan. 24). This is a concrete way to show support for correcting the hardships endured by Shoal Lake No. 40 residents - so that Winnipeggers continue to enjoy the ease of access to fresh water for all our daily needs. Building a bridge for Shoal Lake No. 40 will redress the inequality of the lack of reticulated fresh water, the loss of life on frozen lake crossings and loss of emergency services for Shoal Lake residents. GARY CHERLET Winnipeg Cranston an inspiration As a teenager striving to improve my figure skating and coaching skills, Toller Cranston's unique, dramatic and artistic style was my inspiration ( Figure skating mourns colourful Cranston , Jan. 25). In his interviews and on the ice, his humour was everpresent. Skating with such creative passion, he had the courage and determination to do it his own way. Admired for his athleticism and zest for life, Cranston was a Canadian hero. NORMA JONES Winnipeg Truth in CFL advertising A few years ago, in a humorous attempt by the CFL to compare itself with the NFL, our league created the slogan " Our balls are bigger." In light of the recent trials and tribulations of the New England Patriots and the under- inflated footballs, there may be some truth to the assertion after all. SPENCER SCHELL Winnipeg Pondering Portage and Main There are two camps in Portage and Main talk: suburbanites who want to drive through downtown as fast as possible, and people who know what they're talking about. @ pylons15 City staff were instructed in April to consider options on how best to reopen Portage and Main, but all they've done is walk there. # wpgpoli @ julespenner The fact that council does not know the legal position of Portage and Main is a sign governance in the city has been adrift for decades. # wpgcouncil @ ecojosh Standing at Portage and Main yesterday waiting for a bus, I was struck at how desolate the landscape was. @ jmikuska Winnipeg is backwards; people in power fixated on opening up Portage and Main to foot traffic, yet streets are crumbling. @ will_ highfield If only there was the same passion on Winnipeg's city council to take concrete steps to house the homeless as there is for the " iconic" Portage and Main. @ nancyChippNdale Fixing the NDP Re: How does the NDP fix itself ( Jan. 22) ? It does appear that the NDP may have destroyed their castle from within and will have to take stock of the rubble to begin directing energies toward rebuilding. - kachina �� " Until, perhaps, Kevin Chief becomes NDP leader after the next election." The only bright star in the fading light of the NDP. But what good is that bright star if you don't replace the rest of the dimly lit bulbs that got us to this point in the first place? - moedip �� @ moedip: Yeah, I don't think even Kevin Chief can polish hard enough or long enough to bring any shine in this rundown, rust bucket of a political party. - emcee51 �� As much as I admire Kevin Chief, I think that he is tainted because he's part of the current cabinet. To be acceptable, he would have to resign his cabinet position and run for the leadership after the next election, when the NDP is going to have to rebuild from the bottom up. - OBSERVER6 �� @ OBSERVER6: Perhaps if he flipped to the Liberals after the NDP are roundly defeated. - Old Flin Flon �� This is overstated. The Chr�tien/ Martin split was papered over successfully several times. After the NDP chooses its leader, the knives will be put away and there will be enough unity to put up a strong fight against a socially backwards PC party with an unpleasant man as leader. - Spence Furby Portage and Main redux Re: Committee wants legal details of opening up Portage & Main ( Jan. 26). I'm old enough to remember the traffic nightmare Portage and Main was back in the 1970s. Given the increase in traffic, I do not believe there is any way to open pedestrian traffic without a significant investment in rerouting vehicle traffic. I'm not sure that's an investment Winnipeggers want or need at this time. Portage and Main is a very unique intersection. Comparing it to other cities is a waste of time. - fooch �� Please leave Portage and Main alone. Traffic is bad enough without adding pedestrians to the mix. - Holly Hannah �� Don't fix what's not broken. - Striker �� Let it go. - Tamaro M ANITOBA Tory Leader Brian Pallister focused on the wrong issue last week when he decided to quibble with the suggestion Winnipeg is Canada's most racist city because of the way it treats aboriginal peoples. He and others who object to the characterization of Winnipeg in a Maclean's magazine story would do better if they spent more time talking about the problem and possible solutions. Because if the city doesn't see the aboriginal question as an emergency, then it most assuredly will suffer a fate far worse than a negative headline. To be fair, Mr. Pallister acknowledged the challenge, but his matter- of- fact tone made it seem like it was just another one of those issues in the poverty file. Mayor Brian Bowman, by contrast, was manifestly alarmed by the devastating collection of statistics and comments in the Maclean's article, written by Winnipegger Nancy Macdonald. Instead of denying the article or questioning its methodology, he gathered up as many leaders as he could find to demonstrate a united front during a news conference Thursday. For that, he deservedly received accolades from political leaders across the country. Here at home, some key leaders such as Premier Greg Selinger and Tory MP Shelly Glover have been quiet. They haven't said much, if anything, about the need to step up efforts to resolve Winnipeg's racial divide. The provincial and federal governments, of course, are heavily engaged in aboriginal issues, but the pace of change has been glacial on all fronts - education, justice, employment, health, social services and infrastructure on First Nations communities. The private sector must be part of the solution, too, yet the silence from the business community was the most deafening of all following the magazine article. Major corporations need to ask what they are doing to combat racism and help aboriginal peoples feel welcomed and included in the community. The banks, insurance companies, shopping malls and other large employers need diversity policies that actively recruit aboriginals. They also need to provide training, so their employees won't automatically suspect wrongdoing whenever an indigenous person walks through the door. It's often said refugees receive more support than people from First Nations, who frequently feel like they are travelling to a strange country when they leave their homes for Winnipeg and other cities. Once here, they experience hostility and resentment. Mayor Bowman's call to action was not merely about rescuing indigenous peoples; it's about saving Winnipeg itself. Nearly one in five Manitobans today is of aboriginal ancestry. Within a decade, according to some estimates, one in three children entering kindergarten will be aboriginal. Success in the future, in other words, will depend on aboriginal people becoming a vital part of the community's social and economic fabric. They must be seen as an opportunity, not a problem. A lot of people stood tall when Winnipeg's racial divide was brought to national attention, but too many were silent or invisible, including politicians and business leaders. Others remain distracted by labels and headlines. The murder of Tina Fontaine has been called a turning point in the city's race relations. Maybe so, but prejudice is a light sleeper, and politicians have a habit of forgetting. When it comes to racism in Winnipeg, however, silence is no longer an option. Silence is no longer an option Monument to missing, murdered aboriginal women at The Forks. WAYNE GLOWACKI/ WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES A_ 06_ Jan- 27- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A6 1/ 26/ 15 5: 23: 21 PM ;