Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 16, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A6 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMNEWS I TOPICA6 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2022 Handgun used in tragedy Re: Time to restart handgun-ban discussion (Editorial, March 12) This past month, our family had a young and loved member take her life with a handgun that had the serial number removed so it could not be traced. I had a career in the military and so know something about handguns. I see no value for them in Canadian society. A ban on handguns will save the life of some- one else’s loved family member. The lives of our police forces will be safer, too. Isn’t that we want for all Canadians? BRIAN CROW Winnipeg Please solve this riddle: how will banning legiti- mate, licensed and regulated handgun ownership reduce handgun crime? The three sources of crime guns mentioned in your editorial (smug- gled, home-made, 3D printed) are already prohib- ited and subject to criminal prosecution. By the way, there are two other sources: firearms stolen from legitimate owners such as sporting goods stores and private individuals, and those trafficked by “legal” rogue handgun own- ers. Those also are, obviously, prohibited avenues of possession. It would be helpful to know the breakdown of the 182 handguns seized by the Winnipeg police in 2021. My guess, based on other Canadian gun statistics, is that most fall into the smuggled and stolen categories. Full disclosure: I am not a handgun owner, al- though some years ago I was a member of a shoot- ing range and shot a handgun owned by a relation. I went through the training and licensing process to legally posses a handgun. I did so partly to en- joy the hobby and partly to better understand the ownership and licensing process, as at that time I was a lawyer practising criminal law. My solution for reducing handgun crime is vig- orous enforcement of the existing firearms laws and severe penalties for all gun crimes. RANDALL JANIS Winnipeg I totally agree Canada should ban personal ownership of handguns. I was born and grew up in Britain, which maintained strict gun laws, where police on the beat did not carry sidearms. Gun violence was virtually unheard of. It would be a sad day in Canada if it gets to the point where someone out for a morning jog in bright daylight may lose their life from a gun shot because someone thought they looked suspicious. My vote in the next election will certainly be decided by this issue. ALAN INNESS Winnipeg For Omicron, good times ahead Re: Two years of uncertainty, two years of death (March 12) Notwithstanding the lullaby of Broadway assur- ing Manitobans COVID-19 is no longer the threat it once was, your paper would be wise to plan on publishing a similar feature to this one another two years from now. There will be a whole new host of the dead and debilitated to write about by then. The Stefanson government’s decision to follow the dictates of politics rather than those of sci- ence guarantees the good times will just keep on rollin’ for Omicron and whatever merry band of variants turn up to join the party. ROSS MCLENNAN Winnipeg California critic misses point Re: New columnist controversial (Letters, March 14) Tom Pearson writes from Indian Wells, Calif., as he criticizes Deborah Scnitzer’s new column as pretentious and “attempting to shroud seniors, men and women alike, with a pall of depression that we don’t really experience.” His letter seems like ableist commentary from a white, wealthy male living in a climate that doesn’t barricade him in with six-foot-high snow walls and minus 30C temperatures. Very easy for a “healthy” active senior living in privilege to make judgments on the rest who are not. Pearson completely missed the point. Schnitzer’s article was a thought-provoking call to action to create a better world and to insist that all are treated well, especially those entering their third act. I’m looking forward to much more from Schnitzer, and a lot less from the Pearsons of the world. JACQUELINE CASSEL-CRAMER Winnipeg Respect the ‘W’ Re: Bombers football club tells Manitoba Liber- als to stop selling items with ‘W’ logo (March 15) The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a communi- ty-run team, which means that when a political party starts selling counterfeit merchandise with the distinctive “W” logo on it, we are all being hurt. Every dollar counts when it comes to keeping the team together. We’ve already lost key free agents this off-season due to the revenue crunch. I would hope that a party that wants to run Manitoba would in the future be more careful with our local institutions and respect the “W.” RALPH A. MURLAX Winnipeg City growth outpaced hospitals It was 41 years ago that Winnipeg celebrated the opening of a new hospital in the northeast cor- ner of our city. Reported population of Winnipeg proper was 583,000, so with 2,437 beds overall the ratio was one bed for every 239 residents. Population has steadily increased for 41 years, now reaching 833,000, plus very big growth in our surrounding bedroom communities. We still have 2,437 patient beds overall, but now the ratio is one bed for every 341.8 residents – 102.8 more patients per bed. The 1981 ratio, applied to 2022 population, would require 1,045 more hospital beds just for the status quo from 41 years ago to be achieved. Noah didn’t wait until is was raining to build the ark, and there were no bureaucrats or consultants back then. P.E. SVEINSON Winnipeg Clown therapy would be missed Re: No one laughing over clown therapy’s un- certain future (March 15) It’s sad to see Shared Health is considering whether to continue the clown therapy program at Children’s Hospital. I’ve seen this program in action and it is heartwarming. The kids who come to the hospital for care are often traumatized, and it takes a huge load off everyone, including parents and health-care workers, when the kids are entertained by the clowns. KEN CAMPBELL Winnipeg Canada needs pro curlers Re: Team Jones announces current curling season will be their last (March 15) Manitoba and Canada have produced some of the best curling teams in the world for years. It is a very demanding sport, both on the curlers and their families as they are apart from September to May. Yet scribes and fans of the game put the blame on the curlers themselves when they fail to bring back medals from the Olympics and world championships. Folks, open your eyes. Many other countries have professional curlers, while we in Canada choose teams two months before the big event. Countries such as Japan, China, England and Ko- rea play eight to 10 months of the year, with many of them coached by Canadians. Until we make our teams professional curlers, we will play second fiddle to the rest of the world. PAUL ROY Emerson Leave ice drains to city Re: Citizens should clear ice drains (Letters, March 4) I pay taxes to have the streets plowed in the winter and cleaned in the summer, as well as hav- ing the sidewalks cleared of snow, and the drains cleared of ice and leaves as needed. Period. If those energetic enough want to do the city’s work for it, they are welcome to come to my neighbourhood anytime. GLENN ZARETSKI 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 WEDNESDAY MARCH 16, 2022 Province should drive its electric advantage S OMETIMES opportunity knocks, but some-times it glides up as quietly as an electric vehicle. Interest in EVs has suddenly soared in Mani- toba and elsewhere, thanks to gasoline that now costs between $1.70 and $1.90 a litre and has driv- ers considering alternatives to their traditional fossil-fuel guzzlers. Winnipeg vehicle dealers say the supply of EVs can’t keep up with the demand, which has climbed steeply in recent weeks as sanctions against Russian oil imports helped boost the price at the pumps. For the Kia EV6, there’s a 12-month waiting list. For the Toyota RAV4 Prime, 100 people are already queued. For a special model of Tesla, the waitlist stretches to 2023. The swelling demand is obviously a problem for would-be buyers who can’t get an EV promptly, and it’s also a problem for the dealers who could grow their business if they had more electric vehicles to sell. But for the government of Manitoba, the surge of interest in EVs should be seen as an opportu- nity. This province has long lagged behind many other jurisdictions when it comes to providing rebates for EV purchases and also ensuring a re- liable network of fast-charge stations. As a result, ownership of EVs in Manitoba has been disap- pointingly paltry, with only one per cent of all vehicles being electric and seven per cent being of hybrid variety. Adding a provincial rebate to the existing federal incentive is an important way to whittle down the initial sticker-prices of EVs, which remain higher than for gas-powered vehicles — although EV owners know the difference in price is recovered over the lifespan of the vehicles, owing to lower fuel costs and lower maintenance costs because EV engines are relatively simple with fewer parts. The other stumbling block for Manitobans still kicking the tires, so to speak, about the possibility of making their next vehicle an EV has always been a fear of getting caught far from a charging station when the battery runs down. It’s less of a concern in the city, where most EVs are charged at home and have adequate power to drive throughout the day without needing one of the 68 public charging stations in Winnipeg. Although such personal practicalities are obviously important, a larger consideration is the devastating impact fossil-fuel vehicles continue to have on the planet. Time is running out to stabilize a climate that is warming rapidly and creating severe consequences. The scope of the global climate crisis can seem overwhelming for individual citizens, who might wonder what difference they can realistically make. Perhaps one can be summed up in two words: drive electric. As well as benefiting the planet, an increase in the number of Manitobans driving EVs would add credibility to this province’s substantial investment in developing and attempting to sell electrical power to other places. A province that lags behind in conversion to EVs, yet promotes electrical power to other jurisdictions, is a prov- ince that doesn’t appear to believe in the product it’s trying to sell. As residents of a province that exports electricity, Manitobans can stand behind their own product by choosing electric to power their vehicles. The future of gasoline prices is as unpredict- able as the future action of Russian President Vladimir Putin but, while gasoline prices are high enough to tempt drivers to consider switching, the government should move quickly to make the EV option more attractive by providing provincial rebates and an adequate system of highway fast- charge stations. The window of opportunity to hasten the transi- tion to EVs has opened unexpectedly and rapidly. Manitoba should act before it closes. EDITORIAL Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS High gas prices are driving interest in electric vehicles. 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