Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 23, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Bad move by Kinew Re: U.S. booze down the drain (Oct. 21) There are good decisions and bad decisions. The knee-jerk reaction by Premier Wab Kinew to remove all American wine and spirits from Mani- toba Liquor Mart shelves was a very bad decision, both financially and logistically. We are now paying the price with $29,000 down the drain, and probably, more spoiled booze to come. The more logical approach would have been to quickly sell off the American stock at bargain prices, then not reorder. U.S. President Donald Trump has more than three years left in office, how much more product will end up down the drain? TERRY MEINDL Winnipeg Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries states that it hasn’t had to deal with “any significant spoil- age” of American liquor that was pulled off the shelves. I guess they think $29,000 worth of liquor and $2,400 to dispose of it in an environmentally friendly way is chicken feed in the big picture, but to me it represents all the provincial income taxes and sales taxes that I have paid in the last three or four years. Instead of squandering my contributions to the provincial treasury, that liquor, along with the other $3.4 million worth of American liquor in storage, should have been sold and no further American liquor purchased until the problem with the U.S. is resolved. The Manitoba government didn’t hurt any American company with this foolish decision. The only ones they hurt were the Manitobans who continue to pay some of the highest provincial income tax in the country. BILL PARKES Winnipeg I have to question the decision of the powers that be, regarding the “storage” of all of the stock of American liquor on the shelves of all of the liquor marts in Canada. This booze that has been taken off the shelves has been paid for. Since it was already paid for, wouldn’t it make more sense to sell out instead of storing it? Then just do not order any more until the tariff deal has been settled. It likely had a huge cost for every liquor store in Canada, taking this product off the floor and putting it into storage. Now, according to the Free Press, they are also throwing out certain product. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! RICK SPARLING Winnipeg Carbon boondoggle Re: Carbon-capture technology has its flaws (Think Tank, Oct. 21) Alex Passey documents many of the flaws of direct air carbon capture. An overriding concern is that renewable energy must be used for the direct capture and storage technology, other- wise there would be more carbon produced than captured. However, much more carbon could be saved than captured by using the renewable energy required for direct air carbon capture to replace existing fossil fuel usage. There is no free lunch. When renewable energy is used for direct carbon capture, it cannot be used to replace fossil fuels. Why is the Manitoba government investing our taxpayer dollars in a boondoggle that will actual- ly produce carbon rather than save any? DENNIS LENEVEU Selkirk In defence of community mailboxes Re: “Not a fan of community mailboxes” (Letters, Oct. 22) In response to Michael Dowling’s letter, I would like to point out a few things about life in rural Manitoba and mail delivery. I grew up in a small farming community in Westman. There was no home mail delivery. Ru- ral residents rented a mailbox. My parents paid a yearly fee to have the privilege of a mailbox for well over 60 years, as did their parents. A prime example of a two-tiered system. I now live in a small city which had home deliv- ery, and I now have a community mailbox. Yes, it was a minor inconvenience to go to the new system and not have home delivery. However, if it’s -40 I choose to stay at home or stop on a grocery run and pick up the mail. It’s a hardship only if you make it one. LOIS WALES Selkirk We have had a community mailbox for a few years now and I prefer it because it can sit there until I decide to pick it up. A little walk to the mailbox is not going to hurt anyone that is able. Most of it is flyers anyway, and it is safely locked up until I want it. BRIAN JONES Winnipeg Service issue I walk in our neighbourhood several times a day, and I see two transit-on request buses sitting empty and standing idle on our streets. In the months since their addition to our transit services, there has only been one rider in view on one of the buses. Can anyone explain this ser- vice? Expanding it to night runs is more feasible than empty buses during daylight hours. RENNIE BODI Winnipeg Canadian football better At a time when Canadians for the most part are taking an elbows-up stance against things American, the CFL governors have taken an elbows-down position. The league is trying to transform our uniquely Canadian game into a form that an American television audience can understand. The object of course is understandable. The CFL is trying to get a lucrative American television contract. The income from this contract will be used to support the privately owned teams, in some of Canada’s largest markets, that can’t get their act together and build a fan base around their team. From a Canadian fan’s perspective, the field dimensions, the three downs, the rouge and the 12th man all make the game unique. The Canadian kicking game adds opportunity exciting plays. The NFL fair catch eliminates any possibility of a return. Similarly, placing the goal posts at the back of the end zone eliminates most runbacks of missed field-goal attempts. The new NFL kickoff format is a joke. There are more touchdowns scored per game in the CFL than the American game. Who cares if there is the odd “kadoink!” when a quar- terback’s attempted pass hits the goalpost? When I lived in Australia between 1985 and 1987, American gridiron football was being intro- duced to the country on television. The Aussie’s used to laugh at the huge oversized players who need long breaks between plays and sucked on oxygen at the bench. Aussie rules was a fast game by comparison, with few stoppages in play. Sometimes, you just don’t appreciate what you have until you lose it. Keep the CFL the Cana- dian version of gridiron football unique. Don’t change the game in the hopes of drawing a few American subscribers. Those who like our game probably follow it already. Changing it to some compromise between the NFL and CFL may add a few American viewers, but it will occur at the expense of losing some of the Canadian audi- ence. I for one will not follow the CFL after 2026 if the proposed rule changes go through. The league has already insulted its supporters by not consulting with its fan base before announcing its changes. Why did they not do so? They didn’t want to hear the fans opinions. The CFL could go a long way to gain more public support by promoting Canadian junior football, high school and university football more than they do today. JOHN FROSTIAK Balmertown, Ont. 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 THURSDAY OCTOBER 23, 2025 The CBC: trying hard to define its future T HE CBC has a plan, or so it says. The public broadcaster, faced with con- tinuing questions about its relevance and threats of defunding from the federal Conser- vative party, last week released its blueprint for the next five years. The goals are lofty in terms of the CBC’s expressed intention to grow its audience by reaching segments of the public that currently do not consume its content, but what remains unclear is whether the plan’s desired out- comes are realistic or just fancifully aspirational. Like all traditional media outlets, the CBC is struggling to maintain its footing in an envi- ronment in which massive global social-media entities have become dominant players, using their digital might to become primary sources of information, while at the same time demonstrat- ing no care or compunction regarding whether their algorithm-driven streams purvey is reliable information or corrosive misinformation and/or disinformation. In seeking to “allocate resources to address gaps in its service delivery” the plan states, the CBC “cannot afford to rely solely on existing users and fans as confirmation of its value to the public.” In its role as the publicly funded national broad- caster — and the term “broadcast” is loosely applied, as what was conceived as a radio and then television provider has aggressively sought to shift its mandate into online print publication, as well — the CBC has identified three specif- ic avenues of audience expansion as its focus: children and youth, newcomers to Canada and a more amorphous group described as “non-users or dissatisfied users.” The document, titled “CBC, Here for Canada: 2025-2030 Strategy” states reaching these groups will require “a redirection of efforts and resourc- es, and an increased focus on audiences using digital and third-party platforms” — in other words, further straying from the radio and televi- sion arms that are its foundational purpose. Some of what the CBC is proposing makes sense, and is in keeping with its mission as the na- tional public broadcaster: seeking to distribute in- formation in rural and northern regions current- ly underserved by other media, creating content aimed at promoting national unity by fostering connections and countering polarization, and seeking to be a public broadcaster that reflects the diversity of Canada’s growing population. Other facets of the plan will be decidedly more difficult to achieve — most notably, the intention to create a CBC following in rural (and specif- ically, western Canadian) parts of the country where people tend to be dissatisfied by the public broadcaster. When asked if this refers to those Conservative-leaning folks in Saskatchewan and Alberta who support Pierre Poilievre’s oft-re- peated pledge to defund the CBC, corporation president Marie-Philippe Bouchard said there could be some overlap between the plan’s targets and that disaffected population, but she doesn’t consider it a major factor. One interesting aspect of the plan is that the CBC — which, despite the billion-dollar budget it’s granted annually by the federal government, continues to compete with privately owned media for ever-more-scarce advertising dollars in local markets — intends to create “resource sharing and training partnerships with other media and partners to strengthen local news ecosystems,” and has set a target of hiring journalists to serve 15 to 20 communities with a population of more than 50,000 that currently have little or no CBC/ Radio Canada presence. Canadians deserve a strong and relevant public broadcaster; as it navigates the next five years, the CBC can play a major part in curated media’s battle to fend off misinformation and protect democratic processes. And it must do so in a way that is supportive of a healthy, broader Canadian media ecosystem, rather than merely self-protec- tive and self-promoting. Sounds like a better plan. EDITORIAL Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis SPENCER COLBY / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Canadian Broadcasting Corporation president and CEO Marie-Philippe Bouchard ;