Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 12, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A6 Not the same old same-old Can we come out of this COVID-19 pandemic a better world? I am heartened to read that yes, we can. Here are some small signs from one day's news: Some provinces have recently raised the wages of workers in seniors' homes. There seems to be some recognition of the value of income supplements for low-income people. The French government just announced a subsidy for bicycle repairs. We now see the value of universal health care, which includes the hard-working employees of this system. Many Manitoba seniors are say- ing, "We don't need a subsidy, give it to those who really need it. If you don't, we will." These are good stories. As billions of dollars are earmarked for recovery packages and economic stimulus, we have choices to make that could aim for the same thing: a just recovery for the people and the planet. Some examples: do we value the Canadian Foot- ball League more than the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra? Do we still want a provincial/federal economy based on oil? I hope our government officials look ahead before they subsidize the old life we had. HENRY J. REMPEL Winnipeg Premier Brian Pallister and his government are fond of stating their reluctance to pass on the burden of debt to future generations. Even if this proposition were true (and many economists would disagree), debt isn't only monetary. Indeed, we're in the process of accumulating a huge climate debt that will unduly burden future generations of Canadians - including my own daughter. If the Progressive Conservative government were actually good fiscal managers, they'd be wary of cutting funding to groups that are help- ing to reduce a type of debt that can't - unlike monetary debt - be eliminated through econom- ic growth. PETER MILLER Winnipeg Seniors and subsidies Re: Do not collect $200? (Letters, May 9) Kurt Clyde's letter states "I cannot believe the attitude displayed by Dan Lett in his column.. He fails to mention that these seniors have paid a ton of taxes over the years to support government social welfare programs." Clyde also fails to mention a few facts. I, too, am a senior who has paid taxes for over 45 years. I look at those taxes as the price for the fact I have lived in first-world conditions all these years, not just as support for social welfare programs. Over my lifetime, and with a Grade 12 education, I have had access to jobs that paid a living wage, not minimum wage, and that access has let me live well and face retirement in a good financial position. Clyde appears to assume his financial stability has come solely from working hard and being prudent. That certainly is admirable, but it does ignore many present-day facts. There are many reasons a willingness to work hard and being prudent might not be enough to live comfortably. Consider the different abilities of individuals, the lack of access to education or a stable home life, the high cost of post-second- ary education today that by no means assures well-paid jobs, the high cost of living, especially shelter, and other societal barriers and biases that are too numerous to mention. Consequently, I cannot believe the attitude displayed by Kurt Clyde. LAUREL DAMAN Winnipeg Re: Seniors to get $200 for pandemic expenses (May 6) People! Settle down! Every dollar of this money will be going into the economy. Those of us who don't need it will perhaps help a struggling grand- child, friend, neighbour or charity. Those of us who do need it, and there are many, will spend it on necessities. Then there are some who will spend it on fri- volities, such as flowers, chocolates or books from our beloved local bookstore. Everybody's happier for a few moments. Two hundred dollars is a drop in the bucket, but the total sum spent will be a positive thing all around. W. RUTH WOOD Winnipeg Funding for football I find it amusing that certain MPs of all politi- cal parties question financing national sports leagues like the CFL and Canada Soccer. Especially when there was little debate in providing subsidies to big corporate giants like Bombardier and Loblaw in the past. Governments of all levels have even funded Canadian teams from the four major sports leagues. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and True North have benefited from the tax subsidies and perks. To compare all sports leagues in Canada to the four major leagues in North America is ludicrous. The CFL, like other minor leagues, relies on attendance for the majority of its revenues. The NHL, NFL, MLB and the NBA share a revenue stream in the billions. I have no problem with providing financial aid to the CFL and other leagues like it in Canada. These leagues, like small businesses, contribute to the economy with sponsorships and provid- ing full-time and part-time jobs for their suppli- ers. The CFL funds amateur football programs through their 50/50 draws and sponsors. What is $150 million, when our federal govern- ment in the past has given billions to corpora- tions that don't even have head offices in this country? I consider the CFL more Canadian than MLB and the NBA. WAYNE NEUMANN Winnipeg Not green thinking Re: Province cuts funds for environmental groups (May 8) It is ironic that Premier Brian Pallister would cut $0.00036 billion ($360,000) from environ- mental groups when he will spend $3.5 billion on infrastructure in the next two years. The cut is devastating to the nine environmen- tal groups, but is merely a rounding error in the budget. ALLISON ATKEY Sandy Hook I am confused and worried at the scattershot approach the provincial government is taking under the guise of the pandemic. Seemingly out of the blue, seniors receive a $45-million windfall, while at the same time sev- eral environmental organizations have $360,000 worth of their funding cut. You do the math. The rationale given for both actions is to navi- gate the financial fallout from the pandemic. I am sorry if this creates any whiplash effect. The hardships seniors might be experienc- ing are, by and large, unsubstantiated and discredited for the vast majority of Manitoba's seniors. I am further confused when reviewing the government's priorities in Moving Manitoba For- ward Budget 2020, which lists providing better services and protecting our environment as the top two priorities. There is a major disconnect between govern- ment policies and actions. These environmental organizations are sup- porting Manitoba's Climate and Green Plan. These organizations have, collectively, educated about climate change and its impact. They have worked to help Manitobans reduce greenhouse- gas emissions, they have promoted positive envi- ronmental actions that include children's health and the environment, water issues, organic lawn care, eco-driving that reduces fuel consumption, recycling and composting - to name a few. My guess is that the people working in these non-profit organizations supporting government priorities might also need this employment to pay their rent, mortgages, groceries and maybe other expenses like children. What I don't see our government providing is a solid, aligned plan to support Manitobans, the economy and the direction that they them- selves have set. Manitoba can do better, be it in a pandemic or in any other circumstance we might find ourselves in. LORI TIGHE 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 TUESDAY MAY 12, 2020 Pandemic bills will be paid by all Canadians T HREE million Canadians, about 17 per cent of the labour force, lost their jobs in March and April as Canada struggled to curb the spreading coronavirus epidemic. Another 2.5 million people worked less than half their usual hours in April. Never has Canada seen such rapid immobilization of its working people. Statistics Canada's labour-force survey, issued last Friday, gave the country its first careful description of the economic damage Canadians suffered in two months of pandemic-induced lockdown. It also showed, however, that plenty of Canadians are still at work, still getting paid, still generating wealth. More than a quarter of employed Canadians, the survey showed, quit going to the office during March and April and worked from home. In the fields of public administration, utilities, educa- tion, agriculture, professional services, finance, insurance and real estate, the reduction in hours worked from February to April was less than 15 per cent. On the other side of the coin, the reduction in hours worked was 35 per cent or more in manu- facturing, wholesale and retail trade and con- struction, and close to 60 per cent in hotels and restaurants. Quebec, which has had the worst COVID-19 experience of any Canadian province, also shows the worst job losses. Manitoba and Saskatchewan, at the other extreme, have enjoyed a relatively smooth ride through the pandemic and suffered the least economic damage. Employers laid off their lowest-paid workers and kept the higher-paid ones. The surpris- ing result was that average hourly earnings in Canada were 10 per cent higher in April this year than they had been a year earlier. The lowest- paid workers had simply been removed from the equation. The federal government has launched a whole alphabet soup of programs to benefit the newly- unemployed and the near-unemployed. The purpose was partly compassionate, to help them feed and house their families, and partly intended to keep them from going to work and spreading the virus. For the time being, the government is simply borrowing the money to pay for these programs. Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux estimates this year's federal deficit will be $250 billion. Finance Minister Bill Morneau looked like a spendthrift a year ago when he budgeted a deficit of $19.8 billion; now he is overspending his revenue at 12 times that rate. Like all free-range chickens, however, these ones will eventually come home to roost. The fortunate majority of Canadians who have so far dodged the virus and kept their incomes intact should not expect to slip away to the washroom when the bill is presented. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said time and again in his pandemic reports, we are all in this together. The pandemic has shown there are categories of workers in Canada who often get the short end of the stick. They include the young people who take precarious jobs waiting on restaurant tables and cleaning hotel rooms. Then there are the less-educated workers, many of them recent immigrants, who are hired by personal care homes and meat-packing plants. Their pay rates suggest a low value is attributed to their work, but if they try to quit their jobs to avoid catching COVID-19 at work, they are sud- denly told they are essential workers and must turn up. The privileged majority, having been spared these misfortunes, will have ample opportunity to contribute when the bills are presented. EDITORIAL ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the M�tis A_06_May-12-20_FP_01.indd A6 2020-05-11 4:13 PM ;