Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 27, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Selecting teacher candidates Re: Province tackles teacher turnover (Aug. 26) As an educator with a number of years teach- ing in northern communities, I read the article with a great deal of interest. As mentioned, the problems with teacher reten- tion and student achievement have been ongoing. I would welcome this initiative with a couple of caveats. First, care should be taken to select can- didates who are highly motivated as well as nu- merate and literate. I would also recommend that teacher candidates complete their practicum in public schools in urban centres. This serves two purposes — exposing the candidates to a variety of educational practices which are generally not seen on the reserve and providing a role model for urban students and teachers. I would also like to see some First Nations/ Northern schools develop as best-practice schools. KATHLEEN LITTLE Winnipeg Pandemic’s impact Re: Supporting the right to read for all (Aug. 25) Jon Gerrard makes excellent points about the connections between appropriately supporting students, especially those with learning disabil- ities, and positive behavioural outcomes. Our political leaders ignore this knowledge at our collective peril. But it is also vital to note that a growing body of research now points to COVID-19 infections, even mild ones, as a factor in psycho-emotional chang- es throughout the population, including in youth. As an illness with well-documented neurological effects, COVID can produce detectable chang- es in the regions of the brain associated with behaviour (such as impulse control), in addition to its more widely recognized effects on memory and concentration. We cannot consider youth behaviour without also reflecting on the contribution of multiple rounds of COVID infection on the developing brains that dwell behind the unmasked faces of those we are sending back to school in the coming days, as COVID levels once again begin to surge throughout North America. Failing to protect children and adolescents from the ongoing pandemic leaves a legacy etched into growing bodies and minds. KRISTEN HARDY Winnipeg Firefighters’ duties Re: St. Vital fire station temporarily closed (Aug. 18) In viewing this article focused on the availabil- ity of fire/paramedic services in south Winnipeg, I wondered if the recent fire event and property loss situation and the late arrival of fire crews was the result of pumper units having already been deployed on medical calls. Current practice is to simultaneously dispatch both fire trucks and paramedic units to deal with such calls. The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service incident response report on the city’s website declares that over 100,000 fire department service calls are made annually, most of them being medical response calls. With virtually all the calls also being attended by both fire and paramedic crews, the monetary cost to the city and its taxpayers must be staggering. And it would be sad indeed if property fire loss is added to that cost as the re- sult of this practice, and tragic if there are lives lost in those fires. JACK GOODMAN Winnipeg Creating better child care Re: Affordable child care space meaningless for families unable to find space (Aug. 22) Tom Brodbeck’s recent opinion piece raises im- portant concerns about the challenges, federally, provincially and territorially, to deliver on their promises of accessible, affordable child care for Manitoban — and Canadian — families. However, while the lack of available spaces is urgent, we must not lose sight of the broader and equally critical goal: building a quality early learning and child care system within a coher- ent policy framework. Measuring success solely by the number of new spaces, as politicians and citizens so often do, is short-sighted. Expansion without aligned policies and a well-supported, well-trained workforce undermines the very objective of providing meaningful early learning experiences. As highlighted in the Atkinson Centre’s News- letter of Aug.21 — Patchwork to Policy Coher- ence: Building Coherent ECE Systems — Cana- da’s early childhood education (ECE) landscape remains fragmented. Access, affordability, and quality vary significantly across regions due to inconsistent regulations, wage disparities, and uneven educator training requirements. The lack of a unified system leads to consequences that go beyond inefficiency — it directly impacts chil- dren, families, and the ECE workforce. Without robust workforce development, expan- sion outpaces staffing capacity. Programs open without enough qualified educators, children miss out on quality care, and educators continue to face low wages, minimal professional recogni- tion, and little say in system design. On this point, we — I write as interim CEO of the Canadian Child Care Federation — strongly agree with Brodbeck’s conclusion: governments must get serious about workforce development. It’s not just about creating more spaces — it’s about creating better ones. MARNI FLAHERTY Ottawa, Ont. Sorry state of facilities Anyone travelling from Winnipeg eastward on the TransCanada highway may have the need to stop at the Pinegrove rest stop. This is a very busy spot but the condition of the ladies rest room is deplorable. There are two toilets, one of which has been out of order all summer and the door on the other cubicle (the handicap one) does not close. This is a disgrace! Surely we can do better than this for our regular travellers and visitors to our beauti- ful province. MARGARET SCOTT Winnipeg Time for national service Re: The benefits of national service (Think Tank, Aug. 23) David McLaughlin’s op-ed, The benefits of na- tional service, looks like one of those ideas whose time has come. At a time when unemployment among young people is very high, it would afford an opportunity for meaningful work and experi- ence to those need it. It would also be an opportunity to foster understanding and build relationships between people with differing ethnicities and socio-eco- nomic backgrounds. There is no better way to, for example, understand the perspectives of Indige- nous people than to spend some time with them, working side-by-side. And it might help to get some folks off the streets and back into mainstream society. Great idea! TOM PEARSON Winnipeg The needs of dyslexic students Re: “What it means to be literate” (Letters, Aug. 23) Thank you to writer Natalie Riediger for speak- ing on behalf of the dyslexic community and asking Ken Clark and all other educators, retired or otherwise, to focus on the issue of teaching reading and writing in the most effective way. It’s laughable, and frankly abhorrent that the province of Manitoba, all school divisions and teachers are even spending time debating what needs to be done in this province to effectively teach all students to read and write. The research is clear. Other jurisdictions have already begun changing to structured literacy. Our province and our school divisions are kicking this issue down the road and failing our students every single day. When we know better, we do better. Our province now knows better and is refusing to do better. Families need to unite and hold this province accountable for the failure and gross neglect of our children. The disparity in literacy rates correlates to in- come because families who can afford expensive assessments and tutors can remove the barrier to literacy for their children. Access to this funda- mental human right should not depend on income. Dyslexia affects one in five people. This is not a small problem. JENNIFER RODRIGUE 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 A6 WEDNESDAY AUGUST 27, 2025 Retaliation, tariffs and strategy — it’s a process Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision last week to roll back some of the retaliatory tariffs Canada imposed on U.S. imports marks a clear shift in Ottawa’s trade strategy. For the first time in months, the federal government is moving away from a posture of tit- for-tat escalation and signalling a willingness to lower the temperature on Canada’s ever-changing trade dispute with the U.S. It is not without risk. Trade policy under U.S. President Donald Trump is anything but stable. What the president praises one day, he often disparages the next. His comments following Carney’s announce- ment — describing Ottawa’s move as “nice” — are hardly a guarantee of lasting goodwill. If history is any guide, the prospect of new tariffs being imposed with little warning remains as real today as it was yesterday. Still, the prime minister’s pivot deserves rec- ognition for what it is: a pragmatic step aimed at creating an opening for meaningful trade talks with Washington. After months of stalemate and mounting costs for Canadian businesses and con- sumers, doing nothing was no longer an option. When Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs in response to U.S. levies on steel, aluminum, and other goods, the move was justified. Ottawa had little choice but to stand up for its industries and workers against an administration bent on wea- ponizing trade. Retaliation was meant to show that Canada would not be bullied, and to create leverage at the bargaining table. But time has shown the limits of that approach. While the tariffs inflicted some pain on U.S. exporters, they also drove up costs for Canadian manufacturers, farmers, and families. In many cases, businesses that depend on cross-border supply chains ended up as collateral damage in a war they never asked for. For a country so dependent on trade with its southern neighbour, there is no denying the im- balance of power. Canada is a significant market for American goods, but the United States is in- dispensable to Canada. When Washington decides to play hardball, Ottawa has only a handful of cards to play. Carney’s decision reflects a sober recogni- tion of that reality. By easing some of Canada’s retaliatory measures, Ottawa is extending an olive branch designed to restart dialogue on more equal terms. The alternative — digging in further — risked prolonging a costly stalemate with no end in sight. Critics will argue that Canada has given up leverage by blinking first. They may be right, to a degree. In a textbook negotiation, one does not surrender bargaining chips without extracting something in return. But real-world diplomacy rarely follows the textbook, especially when one side refuses to play by the rules. The U.S. president has shown time and again that he views tariffs not as a negotiating tool to be traded away, but as a cudgel to be wielded at will. To cling to the fiction that Ottawa’s retaliatory measures would eventually force Washington’s hand is to ignore the reality of the Trump era. The prime minister has made a calculated retreat, one that acknowledges Canada’s limited options while keeping the door open to progress. The gesture may or may not bear fruit, but it re- sets the tone of a relationship that has become in- creasingly acrimonious. If nothing else, it signals to American businesses and policymakers that Canada remains committed to finding solutions, even when Washington does not. If it leads to renewed talks and fewer barriers at the border, it will be remembered as a turning point in a strained relationship. If not, Canada may find itself back where it started — only with fewer bargaining chips. Carney’s move was likely the best Canadians could hope for at this stage of the game. Time will tell if it was the right one. EDITORIAL Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis SPENCER COLBY / THE CANADIAN PRESS Prime Minister Mark Carney ;