Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 25, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba A disturbing demand Re: Trump demands an apology from bishop who asked him to ‘have mercy’ on LGBTTQ+ people and migrants (Jan. 21) Of all the chilling acts U.S. President Donald Trump has committed since embarking on his lunatic rampage mere days ago, somehow the one that has horrified me most is his demand that Bishop Mariann Budde apologize for imploring him to show mercy and compassion towards un- documented workers and LGBTTQ+ people. That demand — so monstrous and terrifying in its arrogance — encapsulates the spirit of Trump’s regime. His rejection of her plea testi- fies to an implacable hardening of the heart, a repudiation of basic humanity — and yet through- out his campaign, he has represented himself as a Bible-revering Christian and is exalted as such by an appalling array of fundamentalist leaders. This cynical, brazen, evil distortion of the com- mandments of Jesus, and the propagation of that distortion to the ignorant, incenses me. Budde’s exhortation to mercy and compassion is exactly in the spirit of Christ, and was deliv- ered with incredible gentleness. Jesus unfailingly spoke truth to power, and everyone who calls themselves a Christian is called upon to do the same. He confronted the self-righteous “reli- gious” people of His day with their hypocrisy and condemned it relentlessly — and that is exactly what got him crucified, by hypocrites exactly like Trump and his cronies. Jesus demanded that peo- ple stop paying lip service to God and instead act righteously, and told us precisely and specifically what that means: It means to plead the cause of the widow and orphan, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the poor and the weak, and protect the helpless and the stranger in our midst. Trump and his band of rapacious cowards can claim to be Christian all they want — but remember: God is not mocked. God bless and protect all who, like Budde, have the cour- age, integrity and true Christianity to speak out against inhumanity and oppression! REENA KREINDLER Winnipeg Purchasing power Re: “Supporting Canada” (Letters, Jan. 24) I agree wholeheartedly with Gerald Trudeau’s letter about buying Canadian. We have very good consumer labelling in this country and determining where goods are produced is not hard, even without a “Made in Canada” sticker. During the world wars, Canadians grew victory gardens. Maybe I’ll expand the garden a bit and grow some more fruits and vegetables to dry, can and freeze. We have many local producers of meat, fish and dairy. There are many alternatives to Florida orange juice for vitamin C, some growing in my yard or the bush behind. And in the meantime, those oranges from Peru are pretty good, as are the grapes from South Africa and the avocados from Mexico. My dog’s food is made in Canada, as are her liver treats. And my local vet clinic is a locally owned business, unlike some of the alternatives. I won’t be buying anything from the guys who deliver their foreign wares in the big gas-burn- ing trucks with the tiny wheels that keep getting stuck on my street. As I continue to downsize, I’ll be posting lots of items in my local Buy Nothing group so my neighbours don’t have to either. My old car is going to need to be replaced sooner or later, and I’m pretty sure at least one major appliance is going to fail. I’ll be reading the labels. So as Manifest Destiny 2.0 unfolds and Team Canada, a couple of blue bricks short of a load, dithers, I’ll be reading through the seed cata- logues in the comfort of my living room, lit and heated by our own Crown corporation, sipping some Ontario wine. LORNA LEADER Winnipeg Reconsidering EV tariff If “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” and apparently “there are no rules in a knife fight,” now that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to impose 25 per cent tariffs on the “51st state,” would it be reasonable — in the dual interests of mitigating manmade climate change and electric vehicle affordability — to drop the 100 per cent tariff (implemented when we were in lockstep with the U.S.) that we put on $10,000 Chinese EVs? ANDY MAXWELL Winnipeg A plan for Ukraine Re: Kremlin scoffs at Trump’s claim that a drop in oil prices will help end Ukraine conflict (Jan. 24) Well the solution is simple. Trump just needs to make Ukraine the 51st state. That sadly means Canada would then be relegated to the 52nd state in rankings but this does align with his promise and desire to expand the U.S. geographically and makes the new territory part of NATO, pulling all of its members into the conflict (provided the U.S. is still a member of NATO in the coming weeks). The U.S. gets a sizable foothold in the re- gion and access to the precious metal reserves Ukraine sits on that this war is more about than people seem to want to discuss, and as Putin’s new neighbour Trump can slap a 25 per cent tariff on Russia on Day 1 to help raise funds to rebuild and repair the damage done to Ukraine during the war. It may sound insane, but insane also aligns with a lot of what Trump has been saying when it comes to global affairs. I’m sure Zelenskyy might have some strong feeling on this approach, but why let foreign sovereignty get in the way of a good plan, right? It’s always strange days when reality is strang- er than fiction, and fiction doesn’t sound much different than reality. BRIAN SPENCLER Winnipeg Sources of hope Re: In step with dinosaurs (Jan. 20) Maximilian Scott is one of many Earth-friend- ly representatives of younger generations who offer hope in times of seemingly blind-to-science destruction and the decline of moral and ethi- cal values. The question of what it means to be a human has long been a theme among artists and philosophers, and is now becoming more of a topic for historians, environmentalists and everyday people, and is slowly entering the world of politics. Questions of quality of life and the very con- tinuance of the human species are commonplace and major anxiety-inducers to both young and old. Scott illustrates the vital nature of these issues in his references to both rapid climate change and human responsibility for the extinc- tion of life forms around the planet. Scott, along with many young researchers and writers in diverse fields of study, are picking up the gauntlet of advocacy for Earth-friendly research and values. As an older person I enthusiastically welcome these younger, passionate voices of hope. While offering glimmers of optimism, these voices also bring into focus the urgent need for public awareness and discussion of what it means to be human, and what roles personal and corporate responsibility, and so-called capitalist structures, play in defining the future of humanity. The fact that a young paleontologist from Michigan studying in Manitoba is bringing such valuable information with a hopeful attitude to the world puts a huge smile on my face. Even better, he is not the only source of research and hope. He is only one of many. GARRETT LOEPPKY 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 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. OUR VIEW YOUR SAY COMMENT EDITOR: RUSSELL WANGERSKY 204-697-7269 ● RUSSELL.WANGERSKY@WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A8 SATURDAY JANUARY 25, 2025 Fiddling while Main Street burns A S cities have expanded over the decades, many have been faced with the task of reviving their respective main drags, but in Winnipeg it seems we are faced with the chal- lenge of keeping ours from burning entirely to the ground. The Sutherland Hotel has joined a growing list of Main Street-area landmarks, such as Vulcan Iron Works and Holy Ascension Greek Orthodox Church, which have been destroyed by flames. The once three-storey hotel is now just another pile of debris piled up in a city that seems not to know what to do about the mess. The hotel had been closed since last summer after a different fire. Its loss is keenly felt, not only because of the blot it now makes on the city, but also because its destruction dashes plans to repurpose the build- ing for affordable housing. Destructive fires, particularly at vacant build- ings, are nothing new for Winnipeg, but the losses are felt acutely on Main Street. This paper report- ed last week that city firefighters have fought 39 fires in just four years on a five-block stretch of Main. This rash of fires in the downtown core can be seen as a consequence of a rat’s nest of social ills, all of them festering for want of a comprehen- sive solutions: poverty, addiction, mental health issues, and crime. So who is responsible for this mess? According to Mynarksi Coun. Ross Eadie, it’s not the city. He correctly identified money as “the underlying issue” of the situation while speaking to this paper in the aftermath of the Sutherland’s destruction. Building owners, he says, don’t have the money to deal with these va- cant or run-down properties. He blames the fires themselves on criminals. Criminality has a role to play in these fires. As much as criminals must bear responsibility for their actions, they are not actually to blame for the presence of empty or derelict buildings. That responsibility rests on either the buildings’ owners (who, as owners, are responsible for the upkeep of their properties) or the city itself (as, broadly speaking, it’s responsible for the safety of Winnipeggers). “Should the city raise property taxes to buy the buildings and do something with them? Because that’s ultimately what it comes down to,” Eadie told the Free Press. If that’s the only option, that is what we’re left with. But surely there are other solutions, because the status quo is untenable. Money is the underlying issue to this problem because it’s the underlying issue for most of these crises. As with mental health and drug addiction, the problem of vacant, rotting buildings along Winni- peg’s Main Street is the result of a long period of dereliction of duty by the people whose responsi- bility it is to provide the resources necessary to avoid a mess like this. Years of austerity — and in the case of property owners, plain negligence — are hitting us where it hurts, yet again. The result is one fire after another, turning more of Main Street and other parts of the city into char and rubble each year. Often, buildings damaged by fire are lighted on fire again. And again. And again. There are clear life and safety risks, and fire-damaged buildings in a variety of stages of destruction do nothing but continue to drag neighbourhoods down. There are people who, for one reason or other, come to rely on these buildings in poor repair for some form of shelter or community. Poverty is certainly a factor in this situation, but the people who own these buildings, and the members of city council, are not the ones who get to plead it. EDITORIAL Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES Wreckage of the Sutherland Hotel ;