Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 17, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A6 Unfair to royal couple Re: Editorial cartoon (Jan. 14) I can’t believe the cartoon in Tuesday’s Free Press. It was so nasty — the caricature of Meghan with these horrible thick lips to make her look like all the British tabloids wish she looked. It’s un-Canadian; we don’t trash people like that. Maybe in American or British tabloids, but not here in Canada. I’m ashamed the Winnipeg Free Press would publish such a stereotypical image. You should rethink your sources of what is funny, and/or tasteful. Oh, and by the way: I’m an anti-monarchist — it’s just about common decency. SCOTT MALABAR Winnipeg Foul ball Re: Astros cheated, Dodgers paid price (Jan. 15) Major League Baseball came down fast and hard on the Houston Astros for stealing signs during the 2017 World Series. The cheating scheme involved many players that led them to the tainted victory. Yet the players who responded to the “tip-off trash-can beat” seemingly got away with no monetary punishment. Cheaters should never prosper. Each player on the Astros team received a substantial bonus for “winning.” This from mlb.com: as 2017 World Se- ries Champions — “The Houston Astros share of players’ pool (2017): $30,420,155.57; value of each of full share: $438,901.57.” How about forfeiting that? MARC FOREST Winnipeg Celebrate with new flag Re: Manitoba’s fl ag stuck in the past (Letters, Jan. 15) Connor Macfarlane outlined perfectly all the disadvantages of our boring and old-fashioned flag, and then gave the Manitoba government excellent ideas for a new one. What could be more in keeping with our 150th anniversary celebrations than a new, distinctive and wholly Manitoban new flag? Surely it’s not too late to at least get a competition started. MAUREEN HUGHES Winnipeg Childish mindset Re: Blue Bomber takes stand over remarks (Jan. 14) Excellent letter from Ken Reddig of Pinawa. The mockery of anyone with any disability ranks among the lowest of the low. Very Donald Trump- like. Wendy Williams should run for political office with her childish mindset. Reddig’s reference to Jean Chrétien was most apropos. However, he should have mentioned Chrétien’s verbal retort, too: “At least I only talk out of one side of my mouth.” HOWARD WIEBE Winnipeg Consider historical context Re: Monumental decision (Jan. 15) There are those who look on “reconciling our his- tory” as an invitation to take down monuments and rename schools, parks and streets. This because some historical figures who have in the past been recognized in this manner are now judged to have been bad people. So we cry out: I’m offended! Erase that name! But we should keep two things in mind. No one is perfect. We all have regrets about something we said or did or mistakes we made, in ignorance or in the heat of the moment. A person should not be vilified solely on the basis of one perverse action or misguided belief. A person of historical significance should be judged on the totality of his or her life. Even if you do not agree with that, context must be taken into account. Many things which are total- ly unacceptable in 2020 were considered the norm in 1867 or even 1967. There are basic and timeless tenets of right and wrong but there are also infinite nuances of what is “acceptable behaviour,” which change over time. We should not invoke our 2020 morality and rise up in righteous indignation over something some- one did at a time when it was generally considered to be quite acceptable, no matter how offensive we may find it now. History is a place where they do things differently. ROBERT FOSTER Winnipeg Condemning misconduct Re: Embattled funeral director’s licence revoked (Jan. 29, 2019) Many residents of Winnipeg will recall from 2018 and early 2019 stories surfacing around the tragic circumstances that led to the cancellation of Chad Wheeler’s funeral director’s licence. The licence was cancelled by the Funeral Board of Manitoba on Jan. 29, 2019 after it found that Wheeler had broken several laws and regula- tions. The board’s investigation found that on 19 separate occasions Wheeler took money for pre- arranged funeral services, but failed to transfer that money to a trust account as required by law. He had also sold pre-arranged funeral plans without a licence. Unfortunately, the situation cast a dark cloud over the entire funeral profession in Winnipeg and Manitoba. When families lose a loved one, they rely on funeral professionals and trust them to make the right decisions with their personal finances, as well as properly caring for the re- mains of the deceased. This trust allows a level of independence to funeral professionals to organize funerals with as little input from families in order to respect their time of mourning. Without this trust, our profession would not be able to ad- equately and properly support families. Funeral directors and funeral establishments are regulated across Canada to ensure that our profession continues to provide exceptional and respectful services to families during their time of need. While the circumstances around Wheeler were unfortunate, we do commend the regulating authority for taking the steps to first suspend, and then cancel, his licence. Regulatory authorities for funeral professionals exist so situations like what happened in Win- nipeg do not happen. They also issue licences to individuals only after they have gone through rigorous checks. For example, Wheeler continued to sell prearranged funeral services after March 2016, despite the lapsing of the licence allowing him to sell such services. We pride ourselves on being a regulated profes- sion across Canada that ensures that all of our services, from handling remains with dignity to helping to create trust accounts for families, are legitimate and transparent. Just like any other profession, however, there will sometimes be cases of misconduct, which we will continue to collectively condemn as the few do not represent the many. Canadians trust us to help them during their time of need, and we will continue to do so. BRETT WATSON PRESIDENT, FUNERAL SERVICE ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Ottawa Accept truth of climate change I’m getting a little hot under the collar, and everywhere else, when I again read of the con- sequences of climate change and the people who then deny it. The last decade has been hottest ever measured; this has been confirmed by both NASA and the U.K. Meteorological Office. The blame lies with human beings and the changes they have made and caused. Please warm up your brains and accept the truth, and then try to remedy what we have done. DENNIS FITZGERALD Winnipeg LETTERS AND FP COMMENTS WHAT’S YOUR TAKE? THE FREE PRESS WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU. The Free Press is committed to publishing a diverse selection of letters from a broad cross-section of our audience. The Free Press will also consider longer submissions for inclusion on our Think Tank page, which is a platform man- dated to present a wide range of perspectives on issues of current interest. We welcome our readers’ feedback on articles and letters on these pages and in other sections of the Free Press ● Email: Letters: letters@freepress.mb.ca Think Tank submissions: opinion@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 OUR VIEW YOUR SAY PERSPECTIVES EDITOR: BRAD OSWALD 204-697-7269 ● BRAD.OSWALD@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A6 FRIDAY JANUARY 17, 2020 Transit Plus upgrade a need, not a want A PUBLIC transit system is only as good as its weakest route, and in Winnipeg, that seems to be Transit Plus. The service, formerly known as Handi-Transit, faced intense criticism and was the subject of a 152-page report by the Manitoba ombudsman in 2019. The report was prompted by a 42-page com- plaint filed in 2016 by the Independent Resource Living Centre on behalf of Handi-Transit users. A prominent issue in the report is accessibility of information about the service itself, no small irony for a system meant to be accessible to those unable to use the fixed-route transit system. Among the report’s recommendations are the establishment of a dedicated email or web portal to handle complaints, clarity regarding why and how the service might reassess a client’s eligibil- ity to use it, clear information regarding accepted payment methods and revised procedures for issuing a “no-show” charge to a client. It also recommends creating a comprehensive Transit Plus user’s guide. In terms of actual access to transportation, the report recommends abolishing the “500-metre rule” — which dictates access is only available to users within 500 metres of a conventional transit route — and instead providing service within city limits or within 1,000 metres of an established bus stop. The ability of Transit Plus to reach its clientele would likely be enhanced if its vehicles were allowed to use diamond lanes like other transit vehicles. That recommendation was approved this week by the city’s public works committee. The com- mittee also forwarded the ombudsman’s recom- mendation of a $3.5-million increase in funding for Transit Plus for consideration in the city’s 2020 budget. Transit Plus’s budget in 2016, when it was still known as Handi-Transit, was roughly $13 million (and was around $7 million in deficit). Its rev- enues exceeded $6 million, including more than $5 million in provincial funding and $1.1 million from fares and other sources. The city’s 2019 preliminary budget did not break down the part of the total transit bud- get dedicated to Transit Plus, nor the provincial funding for the service. But it did note that chang- es to provincial funding for the city (a major part of which was a 50-50 cost sharing of public transit terminated by the Pallister government during its first term) mean the city faces funding uncer- tainty for some services. The ombudsman, in comparing Winnipeg’s paratransit service to those in other jurisdic- tions, highlighted the concept of comparability of services between conventional transit and para- transit. Access to transportation should be com- parable for users of each type of service, even if they operate differently. Transit Plus (and its predecessor, Handi- Transit) have been operated by private contrac- tors since 1997. The ombudsman’s recommendations to improve Transit Plus, if adopted, would help increase ac- cessibility for users. The additional $3.5-million price tag may prove difficult during the current fiscally challenging budget process, but equal access to transit should be considered a need, not a want. Without it, many people with disabilities can’t readily get to where they need to go as part of their everyday lives. The city should promise to improve the Transit Plus service, even if it means finding additional funding within existing budgets. The province should stop forcing the city to shoulder the bur- den of public transit, and restore its reasonable share of funding to what, for many Winnipeggers, is an essential service. EDITORIAL MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A civic report recommends a $3.5-million funding increase for Transit Plus. Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis A_06_Jan-17-20_FP_01.indd A6 2020-01-16 6:33 PM ;