Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 20, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A8 OUR VIEW �o YOUR SAY WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, MONDAY, JULY 20 , 2015 Freedom of Trade Liberty of Religion Equality of Civil Rights A 8 PERSPECTIVES AND POLITICS EDITOR: Shannon Sampert 204- 697- 7269 shannon. sampert@ freepress. mb. ca winnipegfreepress. com EDITORIAL LETTERS FP COMMENTS TWITTER VOL 143 NO 247 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 Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS 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 Common sense cycling Councillor Russ Wyatt is to be commended for his stand on the so- called active transportation plan ( It's not about bikes, it's about openness , July 14). My wife and I are ' active' cyclists. But we're also Winnipeg taxpayers, and to spend $ 334 million - which is just the preliminary estimate - on bike paths and related street changes is absolutely insane, given our existing infrastructure needs. When we want to cycle somewhere, we simply avoid major streets. But if we build these paths, there will be diehards who will expect to be able to cycle to and from work even in the middle of winter. And woe unto us if these paths aren't properly cleared of ice and snow, even though we have our hands full clearing our existing streets and sidewalks! To paraphrase Russ, it's not just about bikes and openness - it's about common sense. LARRY ROBERTS Winnipeg Cain's stain I'm not sure German historian Michael Wolffsohn is using the term " mark of Cain" correctly in the article Auschwitz ' accountant' sentenced to four years , ( July 16). The mark of Cain was not designed to identify the Biblical Cain as a murderer. A close reading of Genesis 4: 13- 15 reveals that it was placed upon Cain to protect him from those, who in his words, " will kill me." ARTHUR E. AMMETER Petersfield Greater protection, good Re: Manitoba likely to meet UN wilderness protection agreement but Canada far behind ( July 13). I am pleased with Mia Rabson's coverage of the CPAWS report on protecting nature. If Manitoba continues with current protected area initiatives and invests more on its commitment to support indigenous nations with conducting land- use planning for their large resource areas, we believe that Manitoba could conserve as much as 20 per cent, rather than the international goal of 17 per cent, of our wild lands and waters by the target date of 2020. As the boreal forest in northern Manitoba is largely intact without commitments for development, we still have the chance to plan for a balance of conservation and sustainable economic developments; an opportunity most countries have lost and many are envious of. For our long- term health and prosperity, Manitoba should follow Quebec and Ontario by committing now to launch a process to protect half of our northern boreal forest region while managing sustainable developments to largely benefit northern communities on the remainder. Canadian governments were told in a letter by more than 1,500 scientists that we need to protect at least half of the boreal from developments so that it remains fully functioning. This is critical as the boreal is the world's largest source of fresh water, a major source of global oxygen production, and helps to slow the effects of climate change by storing carbon in its trees and soils. RON THIESSEN Executive director, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Manitoba chapter Recycling waste, indeed On Wednesday, I put out my garbage and recycling bin for collection. My garbage was collected but not my recycling, so I left the bin out overnight thinking they missed my house and would come back. Much to my chagrin, when I returned home Thursday I found my recycling bin had not been emptied, but a pink sticker was affixed to the front of the bin entitled " Keep me safe." I find it very distressing that we have money in the budget to send people around to drive the streets to put stickers on people's bins instructing them to keep their cans safe like some wayward child Had the person who fixed the sticker actually opened my bin lid, they would've seen it was full. A better use of their time would've been to contact the city and report that my recycling had not been collected. TIM HELLSTEN Winnipeg Not at arms- length Re: No energy spent on saving energy ( July 15). What we have here is the political usefulness of Manitoba Hydro to the NDP government and not a commitment to energy saving measures. Any initiative which may potentially erode this political comfort zone will either be rejected outright or, at best, paid lip service to by this government. We need look no further than the election campaign of 2011 to see how the NDP uses this Crown corporation. Signs were painted all over the province insinuating that with any government but NDP we would have no electricity. Even if Premier Selinger bows to pressure and establishes an independent energy agency, it is doubtful such an agency could operate without government interference. Any commitment to energy conservation is best left to a new government. DON PALMER Winnipeg Bombers lose The Bomber project is done. Coaching is suspect and we should have nailed these guys. @ rbdreger Woke up in a cold sweat, dreamin' about it. @ Hiwaydog Watching last night's Bombers game again this morning. Everything really is better with bacon. @ GlendaGartner I should've stuck with my original pick of the Stampeders over the Bombers. Oh well, live and learn. Always trust your gut instinct. @ AmericanCFLFan That stung. Still stings!!! @ ArthurBignell So close yet so far Bombers. I caught a ball with a beer in left hand and disappointed the Stamps fans. @ heavyrums For all the Bombers fans complaining. You need to relax. Have a beer and chill. @ ericthviking Real estate woes Re: Bumps on the road ( July 18). I say there are more real estate manoeuvres afoot. Something stinks to high heaven. I don't trust the people involved, including ( especially) Marquess. I believe there is a demand for affordable infill housing which is why I'm perplexed not a single structure is underway. Perhaps Streetside will expedite matters? - groot �� That land is not really a great place to live. They tried for pre- sales and there was minimal interest. Winnipeg buyers and renters are pretty finicky and want great value. I think it is a dud piece of property. Why is this " have- not" city so fixated on Bus Roads? - ve4mm �� Unfortunately, what you consider affordable and what developers consider " affordable" housing are likely about $ 100K or more apart. In Silver Heights, there are a couple of condo developments being built on the site of the old Silver Heights Collegiate. There is at least one building of rental apartments. The condos are selling for approximately $ 280K and up. This is an older part of St. James with lots of mature trees on the surrounding streets. I am not sure who the target market is but this housing might appeal to older people who want/ need to sell the houses they have lived in for decades. This development would allow them to remain in the area. - emcee51 Power woes Re: Schreyer says NDP bungling Hydro ( July 18). Schreyer may be correct about Hydro's current plans, but then he recommends wind power, a low capacity factor, low power density generation not capable of responding and adjusting to changing electricity demand ( not to mention all the mining and CO2 emissions required for the steel, rare earth elements and concrete). - Thstle �� An " arms- length" agency for energy efficiency? That would probably work as well to avoid NDP interference as the " arm- length" crown corporation called Manitoba Hydro. Has anyone considered the costs of setting up and running this? - user- 6882849 �� What greater indicator could there be that its time to throw the lot of them out than when a man who has NDP tattooed on his own arm steps forward and says his own party is hurting their constituents? A friend who works for Hydro and is in the know tells me that the Hydro has been instructed to initiate construction of Bipole III at various points along the route in order to make it unfeasible to deep- six the project when the NDP gets the boot. Our great grandchildren will swear at us for allowing this to happen to our beloved province. So much potential down the sewer. - keener1 I T was the easiest pledge for Canada's premiers to make. At the first ministers' conference in Newfoundland last week, the provincial leaders promised to move, with or without the federal government, on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. But which, how and when? No details were given. The premiers did pledge to get together in Manitoba next year, when the second national round table on missing and murdered aboriginal women happens. That's good - most of them didn't attend the first one in Ottawa, last February - but it's hardly a strong start. The premiers, meanwhile, laid out almost nothing in terms of what they would to do to improve the standard of living for aboriginal people, to improve graduation rates, cut rates of incarceration and reduce the levels of violence suffered by indigenous people, especially women and girls, on and off reserves. The TRC report has lots of advice in all these areas, but it was not the first to pull together the dismal statistics, or the best practices in communities where progress is being made. Those examples may be working almost in isolation, but they are beacons of possibility. They are happening across Canada, but rarely or too slowly do they become widespread. The premiers did manage to come up with a report on reducing the disproportionate number of aboriginal children coming into the care of child- welfare agencies. The report looked at best practices across Canada where some progress is being seen. What works best, it noted, are social service programs that are culturally relevant and designed by the communities themselves. Manitoba ought to be leading the pack on this. Across the provinces, it has the highest proportion of aboriginal children in care; even Saskatchewan, with a greater per capita of aboriginal children, doesn't come close to Manitoba. The premiers legitimately point out that Ottawa must come to the table on an issue that starts with attacking poverty, addictions and family violence, but that shouldn't stop them from adopting and adapting now those programs that are shown to work. Until all governments, First Nations included, improve living conditions and reduce rates of mental illness, high- school drop out and addictions, pledges such as the premiers' " commitment to look at government decisions through a lens that promotes respect and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples" are just empty homilies. Prime Minister Stephen Harper should have been in Newfoundland with the premiers - he has refused to join the annual first ministers' conferences for years now. Further, Mr. Harper has said almost nothing about the summary report that contained 94 recommendations from the TRC, since its release in June. That's a shame. The final report is to come later this year, but many of the recommendations could be acted upon now, to make headway on reducing the violence on- and off- reserve that puts women and children at greater risk. In fact, two months before the first national roundtable on missing and murdered aboriginal women was held in Ottawa, Manitoba's chiefs had issued a report, called Families First and prepared with the Public Interest Law Centre, that laid out some common- sense and off- theshelf ways to keep women and girls safer from violence, and raise the alarm in communities immediately when they go missing. There should be a plan for action, ready for when the TRC's final report is in place. And for their part, before they show up for the Manitoba roundtable on missing and murdered, likely next spring, Canada's premiers should be ready to talk about how they, too, have started the work to keep aboriginal women and girls safe. TRC recommendations deserve a plan ANDREW VAUGHAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger, with P. E. I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan, at the conference in Newfoundland. A_ 08_ Jul- 20- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A8 7/ 19/ 15 5: 04: 08 PM ;