Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 24, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba Get tough on impaired drivers Re: Is public protest the only way to make system work? (Think Tank, June 13) Premier Wab Kinew made a statement: “Every- one in Manitoba has the right to feel safe. Events like the one over the weekend are unacceptable. Our government is committed to working with the city and law enforcement to make Winnipeg’s streets safer and committed to enhancing safety across all of Manitoba.” He was addressing gun violence at the time, but why would the choice of weapon used to kill someone make a difference, whether it be a gun or a vehicle, when the outcome is the same? Manitobans are never going to feel safe until our justice system starts treating all criminals the same by the crime they commit and not their choice of weapon. Fact, Tyler Scott Goodman killed Jordyn Reimer on May 1, 2022, when he got behind the wheel of his truck impaired. Fact, a concerned patron at the bar took Goodman’s keys away. Goodman’s drinking buddy later retrieved the keys and gave them back to Goodman. These ac- tions directly facilitated Jordyn’s death. Without the keys, Goodman could not have driven. Why should this person not be held accountable? Why should he not be prosecuted for his part in the killing of an innocent victim? The Reimer family is only asking for justice for their daughter, but additionally for change so that no other family will ever have to go through their nightmare. Our city will only be safe when a message is sent that all offenders will be held accountable and there will be consequences for these criminal acts regardless of the weapon used to kill. I urge Premier Wab Kinew to stand behind his words and start making impaired drivers and their accomplices that kill innocent victims ac- countable for their choices and crime. Whatever happened to the punishment should fit the crime? Deterrence will come when accountability fits the gravity of the crime. Our government needs to step up and help the Reimer family get justice for their dear Jordyn and all future victims of this completely avoidable crime. It is a shame they are even having to fight for this. VANESSA BLAIR Winnipeg Inclusion matters Re: A desperate fight to be included (June 18) Thank you for highlighting the problems with the Inclusion Support Program, which funds spe- cialized care so children with special needs can access child-care facilities. The most appalling part of the article was discovering that some child-care centres will not accept children with special needs because of the struggles to secure funding. I can relate to this. My five-year-old son has special needs and requires a dedicated caregiver at his child-care facility. To secure funding for this caregiver, his father and I had to secure reports from his pediatrician, occupational therapist, speech language pathol- ogist, former caregiver, and child-care experts at his centre. We spent hours advocating for our son and I know I had many sleepless nights where I struggled to think that my son may not get the support he needed. However, we were fortunate in our case to have the unconditional support and advocacy of every staff member at Transcona Jaycees Daycare Centre. I lost track of how many times the direc- tor, Jennifer Stewart, applied on my son’s behalf and comforted me through the process. I also recall her greeting me with a hug and congratula- tions the day funding was secured. This amazing woman was able to put a dedicated staff member in place within days and my son has thrived ever since. Including my son in daycare provides a foun- dation for him to become a successful member of our community. If we abandon these children at such young ages, where does that leave them and what does that say about us as a community? Let’s do better. KATHRYNE CARDWELL Winnipeg War, what is it good for? Re: Time to pay the bill for national defence (Edi- torial, June 21) While I fully recognize that mine may be a minority voice, I still feel compelled to respond with an opposing view to Friday’s editorial. There are too many voices in the Free Press and in the media promoting an ongoing war narrative — too few which counter the powerful military, indus- trial, political, and academic complex promoting violent, militaristic responses. Maybe it’s time for a western nation like Can- ada to lead the way in recognizing that violent solutions have run their course? Our neighbour to the south spends insane amounts on the military, including nuclear re-arming, and believes that personally owned guns will protect, while reap- ing the consequences with now almost regular mass shootings on its streets and in malls and schools. Canada is experiencing this as well. Violence leads to increasing violence, domes- tically and internationally. Eight hundred to 900 U.S. and NATO military bases around the world likely do more to encourage rather than deter opposing military responses. More than ever, rather than increased military spending, we need to invest those human and financial resources to address health, infra- structure, education and environmental needs. Diverting even a portion of our military spending on exploring and genuinely promoting peaceful solutions could go a long way to diffusing future potential conflicts. In every potential conflict there are diplomatic and negotiated solutions which are too often ignored or dismissed. It’s time to invest in national defence! But not by following the NATO demand and spending more resources for militarism. It’s time for Canada to take the lead by investing in peaceful, life-giving solutions instead of more violence. I daresay that’s a risk worth taking. Even our so- called ‘enemies’ could see us as a friend. ERNIE WIENS La Salle Lively environments Re: St. Norbert Forest set for tree cutting, planner says (June 20) If the planner of this proposed massive 5,000-occupant building had done his due dili- gence, he would know that no one chooses to live in such an industrial-sized institution, especially not for “assisted living”, where many room-bound residents are dependent on windows and balco- nies to be able to see mature trees and gardens nearby. But there will be no trees nearby. Perhaps, to improve the occupancy rate, an arrangement could be made with a local over-crowded penitentiary, where inmates used to bare walls would be willing to move to a new set of bare walls. We could call the development “Alcatraz on the Red.” Advocates for the rights of incarcerated people would object to their being in barren surround- ings, just as advocates for the health of older adults are recommending that each person has access to parks with birdsong and the cooling shade of trees. JEAN A. PATERSON Winnipeg R.I.P., Mr. Sutherland We lost a great one. The legendary Donald Sutherland passed away at the age of 88. From classics like Invasion of the Body Snatchers to the Hunger Games films, he’s always been a phenom- enal on-screen presence. May you rest in peace. We’ll miss you. PAUL BACON Hallandale Beach, Fla. 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 inclu- sion 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@winnipegfreepress.com Think Tank submissions: opinion@winnipegfreepress.com ● 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 COMMENT EDITOR: RUSSELL WANGERSKY 204-697-7269 ● RUSSELL.WANGERSKY@WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A6 MONDAY JUNE 24, 2024 Crime in Winnipeg — by the numbers T HE day when the Winnipeg Police Service releases its annual crime stats is always a busy news day. The statistical details are the closest things we have to a once-a-year empir- ical lens to try and make sense of the individual crimes that make the news and shape our views about our own safety in the city. Egregious crimes, the horrendous and incom- prehensible, tend to dominate news pages and conversations. Teens attacking strangers at bus stops with machetes for no obvious reason: brazen armed robberies in shopping malls. Security guards stabbed while trying to stop shoplifters. The most talked-about crimes end up setting the public tone for how safe we feel in our city, and whether we feel we are safer now than a year ago, or than five years ago. The crime statistics from 2023, compared to past years, are a mix of ups and downs. Overall crime is down: 2023’s 70,472 reported crimes is down 2.2 per cent from 2022, but still 8.6 per cent higher than the five-year average. The year-over-year numbers for property crimes has fallen by close to seven per cent. Shoplifting reports have shot up by 45.2 per cent over 2022, while thefts from vehicles dropped by almost 25 per cent. It is, of course, an imperfect lens. The 70,000- plus reported crimes are exactly that — they don’t include crimes that may have occurred, but that people may not bother reporting any more, for a variety of reasons. Fluctuations in the relative occurrence of different types of crimes can change with how opportunities change: a crackdown on the theft of catalytic converters is credited with causing the drop-off in thefts from motor vehicles, for example. But in all the numbers, the most startling this year is the growth in violent crime, and more par- ticularly, the growth in violent crime by youths. This year’s statistics show a growth of 12.1 per cent in violent crimes (driven by an increase in assaults and robberies), while violent crime by youth rose by almost 16 per cent over last year, and 43 per cent over the five-year average. It is the flashing warning light in the statistics, the area that needs to be addressed most — and by “addressed most” we don’t mean the usual sug- gestions of longer sentences and harder time. Young people are not just smaller adults. They react in different ways to peer pressure and belonging, and, with their brains at an awkward stage in the midst of development, react with sheer emotion rather than careful calculation. One of the pillars of the justice system, where punishment is supposed to be effective because it deters people from committing a crime, is not effective on a person who isn’t even equipped to see the full repercussions of their actions. Teenagers fall right square into the middle of that demographic. What’s needed is a clear effort to address the causes of youth violence, rather than simply addressing the fallout from it. Addiction, poverty, homelessness and a whole rank of other social ills are creating this growing violence, one that lash- es out regardless of who the victim might be. Young people finding an outlet in violent crime need other opportunities and a way out. But more: they need supports at the beginning of their lives, not after the fact. The police agree: “We can’t arrest our way out of this problem,” Supt. Dave Dalal said when the statistics were released. “We need other solutions that are addressing the root causes.” Otherwise, we’re just treating the statistical symptoms, and not the much deeper illness involved. And that’s not a cure — it’s barely a Band-Aid. EDITORIAL Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Police Service Supt. Dave Dalal ;