Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 8, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A6 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMNEWS I TOPICA6 TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022 Sanctions not enough Re: Justin Trudeau heads to Europe to help or- ganize more sanctions against Russia (March 4) I am tired of hearing about sanctions applied to Russian oligarchs, premising that if the oligarchs are no longer able to eat high-quality caviar and drink expensive vodka on their luxury yachts that they will necessarily turn on Russian President Vladimir Putin and end his reign of terror. This theory is flawed beyond the obvious with the fact that the oligarchs are making billions on the sales of arms and are not likely to want to see that gravy train end any time soon, and they also have many other not-nautical abodes in which to indulge their decadent tastes, courtesy of the blood spilled by those blessed Ukrainians who should be treated as our allies, not as our current doormats of convenience. Never forget, we abandoned the Ukrainian people in their time of need, shepherded them and their families to their demise with ineffectual supports, allowed these hapless victims to bleed and die for an increasingly diseased and self-serv- ingly defined substandard form of democracy, an ideology, the true meaning of which we have long since lost track, both in a literal and, even worse, in a moral sense. JOHN MACKINNON Winnipeg If we want to support Ukraine with sanctions, we may have to accept some of these impacts including higher gasoline prices, on a long-term basis. If we can, we should consider driving less. If we cannot, we should consider driving a more fuel-efficient vehicle or purchasing an electric vehicle. RICHARD DILAY Winnipeg I saw today a photo of more than a dozen Russian armoured vehicles burnt out on a road near Kyiv. It’s likely the soldiers in those vehicles burned to death if they could not get out in time. Those soldiers were likely not even 20, and they have families back home. My nephew is in the Canadian Armed Forces, infantry. The thought of him being burned to death in an LAV is not very comforting. The destruction of people’s lives in Ukraine is terrible. Throwing more soldiers into this war should be a final option. IAN TOAL Winnipeg It should not require any debate to acclaim Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022. He is a hero and inspiration not only to his own country but also to the rest of the world. ELMER PAWLIUK Winnipeg The Russian government keeps accurate infor- mation from its Russian citizens. The people must be informed of the war on Ukraine. Remember Leningrad and the Nazi invasion? When the wind is strong from the south, balloons with pamphlets, as well as unmanned drones with millions of sheets of truthful information, could be launched over major cities in Russia. ROBERT THOMAS Winnipeg Scared of downtown violence Re: Woman in wheelchair assaulted in skywalk (March 3) This article has me upset and scared. Until the police and or security can make travelling in the downtown area safe, a lot of us will do our shop- ping or go to appointments in the suburbs. I tell my family to avoid downtown if at all possible, as it’s not worth the risk. Politicians and business groups often beg peo- ple to go downtown. How about they first make it safe for people to go downtown? RON ROBERT Winnipeg Hire traffic-light researcher Re: Deeply entrenched practices must be re-ex- amined (Editorial, March 7) The Free Press series “Red Light, Green Light, No Oversight” illustrates the need for in-depth coverage of local concerns by journalists in their communities. The City of Winnipeg would do well to hire independent researcher Christian Sweryda, as he does an excellent and necessary job of analyzing the safety of our roadways and expenditures by the city’s traffic division. GERRI THORSTEINSON Winnipeg Schroeder should debate Re: Politics scuttles forum in Fort Whyte byelec- tion (March 4) In refusing to participate in a public forum if right-wing candidate Patrick Allard was allowed to take part, the NDP candidate for Fort Whyte, Trudy Schroeder, needs to remind herself that the “D” in her party’s name stands for Democratic. In a properly functioning democracy, all citi- zens are entitled to run for office, and all citizens are entitled to their opinions. Schroeder’s com- ments belie an attitude that she is the arbiter for the rest of us of what is right and what is wrong. Vigorous debates about important issues, such as mask and vaccine mandates, are crucial if governments are to govern with the confidence of the electorate. If “outlandish” opinions are never entertained, democracy fails. FRANCIS NEWMAN Winnipeg Pandemic views ignored Re: Athletes have a right to ask questions, too (Opinion, March 5) Carl DeGurse writes that “when our civil lib- erties are suspended to a degree that is unprece- dented in our lifetimes, it shouldn’t be a forbidden topic.” It seems forbidden. Nobody will print the truth. I have been discussing it since March 2020, but the media has told the public the facts I re- searched are “conspiracy theories.” Most of the family and friends do not want to hear the truth after getting the misinformation from the media and television medical experts. After the media printed falsehoods about Iver- mectin as “horse medicine,” friends hung up on my friendly calls since they accepted the fiction. GERALD MACHNEE Lockport There’s been a lot of negative attention paid to Paul Stastny, a fine hockey player, for his donation to the “freedom convoy” in Ottawa. The unfortu- nate maligning of his character is shameful. Thank you, Mr. Stastny, for being bold and stipulating where you want your donation to go. You have given to a cause that many Canadians believe in, regardless of what mainstream media may say. CHRISTINE COCKERILL Winnipeg I feel so sorry for Paul Stastny. He is in the twilight of an NHL career in which he only made $80 million. He lives in an exclusive community in Colorado. His parents defected from a commu- nist country. Certainly his life experience has been such that we could expect that he would not understand how the average Canadian thinks and feels about controversial public issues such as the Ottawa protests. And not only that, some Free Press readers like myself had the unmitigated gall to criticize him for speaking out about these issues in a manner that reflects a limited understanding of their com- plexity and impact on the citizens of Ottawa. Yes, we should offer Statsny an apology … not! MAC HORSBURGH Winnipeg No need for purses Re: Miffed by Jets’ purse policy (Letters, March 4) Carrying a purse is almost always unnecessary, especially when attending a Jets game during a Winnipeg winter when everyone wears a coat. You can put a credit card, cash, vaccine card and driver’s licence in one small zipped coat pocket, perhaps an inner one. You can put your iPhone in another small, zipped coat pocket, perhaps a handy exterior upper one. Gloves can be stuffed deep into the coat’s bottom side pockets, and your hat can stay on your head. If she doesn’t already have one, letter writer Jeanne Young might want to try investing in a coat with pockets instead of a smaller purse. She’ll never miss the anthems again! Now that I’ve got that off my mind, it’s time to go back to worrying about the loosening of pan- demic restrictions and the war in Ukraine. LORNA WENGER Winnipeg LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 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 mandated 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 MARCH 8, 2022 Massive price hike is a minor inconvenience T HE Russian invasion of Ukraine suddenly hit home for many Winnipeg families last week when pump prices for motor fuel shot up above $1.60 a litre. Economic sanctions aimed at stopping Russian aggression drove the world oil price to US$118.40 a barrel last week, up from $US76.08 in early January, and retail prices here suddenly responded last week. The sharp increase in the price for a tank of gas seems like a hardship to most motorists, but the hardship needs to be seen in context. The primary victims of Russia’s aggression are the people of Ukraine, who are being driven from their homes and murdered in their streets by the Russian army. The sacrifice exacted from Manitoba mo- torists is slight by comparison. Why should we pay more for gasoline because of a war in distant Ukraine? Russia is a huge ex- porter of oil and oil products. Income from those exports finances the Russian economy and the war machine that rests upon it. Russian President Vladimir Putin must learn the hard way, since he will not listen to reasoned argument, that the world will not stand for a return to jungle law in international relations. A total of 141 countries at the United Nations General Assembly last week voted to tell Russia to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its military forces from Ukraine. Rus- sia and a tiny band of dictatorships — Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria — voted against. The world spoke. Putin laughed, because the United Nations General Assembly commands no army and wields no club. The trading nations of the world, however, hold Russia’s prosperity in their hands. Canada, the United States and west- ern Europe have agreed to sever Russia’s trading privileges so as to stop the war. Hence the rise in Winnipeg gasoline prices. The other way would be to send the military forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) countries to wage war against Russia on Ukrainian territory. That would entail far greater destruction than is now being inflicted on Ukraine. It could lead to an exchange of nuclear weapons between Russia and the western allies, bringing death and destruction beyond anything the world has ever seen. In this context, an extra 50 cents or so for each litre of motor fuel should be accepted as the lesser evil — a tolerable alternative to warfare. The price increase for motor fuel is going to keep rippling through the economy, pushing up prices for all the consumer goods that come by truck to our stores or to our doors — that is to say, almost everything consumers buy. This will be a source of continuing distress, but it is still a whole lot better than going to war. For the sake of all countries, it must be made plain that no president, no prime minister, no despot is free to send an army to subjugate a neighbouring country just because they think they can get away with it. If Mr. Putin is free to take Ukraine from the Ukrainians, why would he not be free to take the Canadian Arctic from the Canadians? The UN General Assembly said it in words, but words were not enough. Words are not all we have: we also have markets and trade. When you refuse to trade with a supplier, you have to do without. The world will have to do without Russian oil and rely on other sources until Russia listens to reason. EDITORIAL Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis ALEXEY DRUZHININ/SPUTNIK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Russian President Vladimir Putin A_06_Mar-08-22_FP_01.indd 6 2022-03-07 5:09 PM ;