Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 8, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Consider Smith over Poilievre Let’s shake up things in Canada for a change. Pierre Poilievre unfortunately has Trump-like tendencies. Danielle Smith, the current premier of Alberta, should be the leader of the federal Conservatives. She would get a strong vote from this writer and a weak vote for Poilievre in the next federal election. ROBERT J. MOSKAL Winnipeg Trudeau’s departure Justin Trudeau is gone. His government has not been an outstanding one, but certainly no worse than most past administrations. What really did him in was reflexivity, that same group psychosis that produces stock market bubbles and panics, a positive feedback loop that distorts in a particu- lar direction. In this case polls, media, skittish politicians fearing job loss, a few self-serving and opportunistic resignations each reinforcing the other with every iteration. The alternatives are a gaggle of lacklustre Lib- erals, a party leader who supported the govern- ment until it looked like it was safe to jump ship, another who would like us to believe that all our problems will be solved by “axing the tax” and another who would as soon turn his province into another country. Looks like a spring election. NORMAN BRANDSON Winnipeg Justin Trudeau is resigning. I know there were many of his Liberal colleagues as well as other party members wanting this as well, a lot sooner than he did. I’m sure this was one of his toughest decisions he has had to make concerning his ca- reer in a long time and I’m sure the ones saying he took too long with this decision would have done the same thing. If Pierre Poilievre becomes the next prime minister we will not be a better Canada. He wants to take away the carbon tax. We need this to help with greenhouse emissions for better air quality for everyone. He doesn’t like the $10-a-day day- care or the new dental plan, to name a few. I feel if he wants to run for prime minister he needs to get his national security clearance to re- view classified documents and learn the names of Conservative parliamentarians reportedly linked to foreign interference. He has not done this yet! I can’t imagine having the responsibility of be- ing the prime minister of Canada, everyone who wants this job says they can do it much better! Time will tell. If the Conservatives get in, we’ll become more like the United States. Heaven help us! SANDRA COUTU Winnipeg Tragic response to tragic fire Re: Second blaze hits Morden golf clubhouse (Jan. 6) It is a tragedy that the great citizens of Morden worked so hard to rebuild their golf clubhouse only to have it burn down for a second time days after celebrating its grand reopening. At the same time I was dismayed to read online comments which used a racial and ethnic slur to describe the cause of the fire. There are those in southern Manitoba who are quick to decry what they consider to be a “movement or an agenda” which emphasizes the importance of social justice and non-discrimina- tion. Morden will rise above these ashes and once again rebuild. And it will rebuild with the help and support of the pluralistic society that is now part and parcel of southern Manitoba. MAC HORSBURGH Winnipeg Good luck in Greenland Re: Donald Trump Jr. to visit Greenland (Jan. 7) Clearly the Trumps skipped school on the day that Greenland was discussed in geography class. As an island that is 80 per cent covered in ice, it doesn’t seem to be a likely takeover candidate for the U.S. The population of 56,583 is 89 per cent Greenlandic Inuit, with the balance being from various European countries. The capital of Nuuk has a population of 19,872. There is a silver lining in Donald Jr.’s visit and his dad’s desire to annex it to the United States. Greenland could become the 51st state (Canada never will) and Donald Jr. could be its new gover- nor. Imagine the photo ops with him and his dad in their sealskin parkas. Erik the Red, the Viking criminal who was exiled to the island and misnamed it in an attempt to attract more people, must be smiling from Valhalla. WALLY BARTON Winnipeg Path speed limit too high The proposed speed limits for e-bikes on active pathways and trails is a good idea but 28-32 km/h is too much. It should be at least 10 km/h while passing pedestrians and other bikes then increased for when the pathway is clear. I use an e-bike as a mobility aid while walking my dog and I’ve had e-bikes and scooters fly past at maybe 15-20 km/h and a collision at that speed would result in bad injuries. I’ve also witnessed it while driving by pathways as well. Think about it, would you want a bike or scoot- er flying past you at the same speed as a car in a school zone? Also, from experience I can say most cyclists, be they riding electric or manual, don’t ring a bell or give a heads up when coming in from behind, and don’t get me started at how many bikes obey stop signs. JASON SUDYN Winnipeg Building bridges I am not a Wolseley-area resident, but live not far from Omand’s Creek Park. I have used this bridge many times, as a walker, recreational cyclist and a commuting cyclist. Though not a Wolseley-area resident, I and so many others like me, are all taxpayers. It is not, Wolseley area tax dollars alone that will go into a new bridge, nor only that of cyclists, it will be a piece from all of us. Thus, all of us deserve an opinion on this topic. The chances of building a bridge that meets the needs or desires of all, is between slim and none, bordering tightly on none. The best the city can hope for is to appease as many folks as they can, from all sides. So, a solution, possibly a little more costly would be to have a split bridge, cyclists on one portion, pedestrian traffic on the other. The cyclist portion would be wide enough for two opposing direction riders, to pass by each other safely. The pedestrian portion should be wide enough to accommodate a couple of walkers side by side, from opposite directions, wheelchairs and walkers. If cyclists can’t control the urge to ride on the pedestrian path, then stantions of a sort may deter them, while still leaving room to manoeuvre a wheelchair past. I’m not a bridge designer, so those ideas would be left in the hands of those who are. Some complain of the height of the bridge, oth- ers the width of it (personal tastes). Make it func- tional, above flood concerns, and wide enough to accommodate the two modes of transportation noted above. Occasional visits by bylaw officers can curb abuse by the few inconsiderate cyclists out there. The issue is the same at the Assiniboine Park footbridge, cyclists who weave through pedestrians instead of walking their bikes the short distance across. If that weren’t an issue, a singular styled bridge at both locations would be completely suitable, but that’s not the reality. Anyway, my point is that there are ideas out there that may be good, but unshared. Mine is sure to be picked apart by naysayers from all sides. But it’s all sides that need to shelve their myopic, dare I say, self-serving views, and come up with plans that move the needle away from none, past slim and over to fighting chance of making a majority happy. IAN CAMPBELL 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@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. OUR VIEW YOUR SAY COMMENT EDITOR: RUSSELL WANGERSKY 204-697-7269 ● RUSSELL.WANGERSKY@WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A6 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 8, 2025 Time to accept our duty to assist youth T HEY say it takes a village to raise a child. That being the case, should the village not put a roof over the head of a child in need? That’s the logic behind a proposal by Winnipeg housing advocates for the city to follow a Welsh- born “Duty to Assist” principle in combating youth homelessness. It’s an idea worthy of serious consideration. Put into practice — Wales enshrined the prin- ciple in law with its 2014 Housing (Wales) Act — the Duty to Assist means local authorities bear responsibility for preventing youth homelessness. Specific to the plight of unhoused youth, it also means teachers and other professionals who work with students have an obligation to help students find housing when needed. That responsibility goes beyond simply point- ing a student in the direction of a service which might provide housing; the professionals helping the student must understand the referral process and guide the (consenting) student. Guidance through the process is important, according to Winnipeg School Division trustee Betty Edel, who is also senior director of End Homelessness Winnipeg’s housing supports team. She says the current system is difficult to navi- gate and leads to long waits. Some efforts to find housing prove futile. There are many fronts in the war on homeless- ness, one of which is keeping youth experiencing unstable housing situations from winding up in permanent homelessness. The consequences of homelessness on young minds are long-lasting: Edel’s team, in consulting with youth, found students struggling to find stable housing have difficulty focusing on school work, as well as dealing with personal challenges stemming from mental-health issues and trauma — the latter of which are no doubt exacerbated by the lack of a safe, stable place to stay. Left unresolved, these issues effectively set students up for failure, and their situation is unlikely to improve. The number of homeless youth is substantial: 22 per cent of Winnipeg’s unhoused population are under 24 years of age, according to the most recent street census data. Advocates working close to the affected young people are keen to move forward on the idea — a follow-up meeting is planned for early this year between housing advocates and metro school division superintendents. That’s all well and good, but buy-in from the administrator of Manitoba’s education system — the provincial government — would be a big help. Late last month, a spokesperson for Housing Minister Bernadette Smith “acknowledged the ‘vital role’ that community leaders play in shap- ing solutions to combat homelessness” (Advocates say schools should have duty to assist, Dec. 28), but the spokesperson made no specific mention of Duty to Assist. The province would do well to move forward on the idea, and to partner with municipal govern- ments on the issue, given the municipal responsi- bilities Duty to Assist lays out. Helping youth in need find stable, secure housing so they can focus on their education and other needs will have pos- itive ripple effects for the rest of their lives, and put them in a better position to have a positive impact on their communities. “If we say we want to end homelessness, we need to get upstream,” Edel told the Free Press. That’s exactly right. The unhoused represent one of the most vulnerable groups in any given community, and young or underaged homeless are arguably even more vulnerable. Helping them escape perilous housing situations before their homelessness becomes an entrenched fact of life is something to which any compassionate society should devote energy. It’s essential that when the time comes for that follow-up meeting on accepting a Duty to Assist, there are provincial and municipal officials at the table, too. EDITORIAL Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Betty Edel, senior director of End Homelessness Winnipeg’s housing supports team. ;