Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 1, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba Government priorities lacking Re: City rolls out plan to remove camps from public spaces, Oct. 30 I am amazed how quickly the city is responding to a protocol of removing homeless camps from public spaces. What amazes me even more is how slow the city and province have been to respond to elec- tion promises to address homelessness, with shel- ters overflowing, encampments, bus shelters — let alone washroom facilities being at a premium. Priorities? BILL SCHICK Winnipeg Advocate Act needs teeth Re: Spooky season spending stays strong, Oct. 29; Fearful Fictions, book review, Oct. 30; Why the rule of law matters, Think Tank, Oct. 30 On Friday, Manitobans revelled in costumes, haunted forests and pumpkin-spiced treats, but the real fright arrived today. Today is when the Seniors Advocate Act comes into force — and as it stands, the office opens without the powers needed to protect our elders. I hand-delivered a detailed brief to the Legis- lative Building urging that the advocate be given investigatory authority. The reply I received was polite, while still not offering any assurance of protection. That is not equal justice. As author Lindsay Wong’s stories remind us, aging is unavoidable. As Leah Kosokowsky and Anik Bossé wrote in their Think Tank piece, the rule of law only protects us when it applies equally. In Manitoba today, individuals can be scruti- nized, but corporations — which set staffing lev- els, budgets and policies — remain beyond reach. The Free Press has already carried letters warning of systemic failures in seniors’ care. When the same concerns surface again and again, the lesson is clear: if it is predictable, it is preventable — and inaction is negligence. Across history, jurists have reminded us that the wealthy and powerful can usually defend their own interests, that it is the poor and the vulnerable who require — and deserve — both the arm and the shield of the law. Yet our seniors are being left exposed. So I turn to Manitobans themselves: what can we do, together, to ensure this office is not sym- bolic but real? How do we move our government to amend the act before it is too late? This is not only about to- day’s elders. The choices we make now will shape the protections available to our children and our children’s children when old age comes to them. Our elders — and the generations who will follow them — need us, and they need the law to stand with them, to assist them and to protect them. ANNE THOMPSON Winnipeg Time for action Violence on Winnipeg Transit continues to rise — and our operators and passengers are the ones suffering. Given the recent pellet gun assault, we felt it was necessary to write this letter to express our deep concern for the safety of our members. As of October, there have been 221 security incidents in 2025, already surpassing last year’s total of 220. We are now on track to exceed the record high of 257 incidents set in 2023, with two months remaining in the year. Operators are facing a growing number of assaults involving weapons, firearms and pepper spray, and these attacks are becoming disturbingly common. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 has long advocated for stronger safety measures, including fully enclosed operator shields. While these have finally been approved, installation isn’t expected until late 2026. It shouldn’t take years to implement protections that can save lives today. The recent addition of Winnipeg Police Service officers on buses has made a positive difference, but more action is needed. The community safety officers, introduced in early 2024, are engaged in prevention aspects on transit to curb the esca- lating violence. Fare inspections have shown results, but public education and enforcement are still lacking. There are no visible campaigns reminding riders about safety, respect or fare compliance — and no fines being issued to those who disregard the rules. We are calling on the City of Winnipeg to act now: increase the safety presence on buses and at terminals, accelerate the installation of operator compartment enclosures and launch a public awareness campaign to promote safe and respectful transit use. Transit workers show up every day to keep this city moving. It’s time for the city to show up and protect them. CHRIS SCOTT PRESIDENT AND BUSINESS AGENT, ATU LOCAL 1505 Winnipeg Taking action I read Bella Luna Zuniga’s Think Tank piece Advocacy in the age of Wi-Fi, and I marvelled at both her insight and her articulation. Her brilliantly worded piece describes the world’s tragic situation with regard to the internet. She argues, specifically, for advocacy regarding injustices and challenges us to work against misinformation. But her message resonates beyond those issues. I hear her call to putting feet on the ground — I take it personally and vow to be those feet. I am re-invigorated to write that email, to offer a genu- ine smile to my neighbour, to read a novel instead of perusing my algorithm’s suggestions, to notice which trees still have leaves and which do not, to be generous in both my deeds and my outlook. Keep the faith; we are not alone in wanting to live life in the present, as honestly as we can and with real people next to us. Kudos to Bella, and kudos to all of us who still believe we can make a difference. MARY ANN LOEWEN Winnipeg What about the law? Re: Why the rule of law matters, Think Tank, Oct. 30 When I saw this headline, I actually smiled be- cause I thought that finally someone was finally expressing an opinion on how we can only exist in safe and healthy communities if we are protected from those who break the laws of the land. Was I disappointed. This article was written by the CEO of the Law Society of Manitoba and the president of the Law Society of New Brunswick and in it, they make unsubstantiated claims that the rule of law in Canada is under threat. Not the rule of law that prevents others from harming us or stealing our property. Not the rule of law that allows the government to inter- vene when a civil disobedience demonstration threatens the free passage and livelihood of our neighbours. No, their claim concerns the rule of law that prevents the government from eroding our rights and freedoms. They offer no proof, or instances of this that we could either agree with or chal- lenge. Rather, they cite the results of surveys, but not the questions asked. In one instance, they write that their own re- search showed that nearly half of Canadians fear “the erosion of the rule of law happening here that they see happening south of the border.” That would mean that over half of the popula- tion do not fear it. Would that half welcome it? We don’t know because we don’t know if that question was asked. Yes, our justice system is under strain. You would have to live in a media vacuum not to realize this. Yes, the government realizes this. Again, you would have to live in a media vacuum not to know that the public wants the bail system reformed and that the government is responding. I am not arguing the validity of the article’s premise. I am saying that these are two educated people who should realize that before we, the pub- lic, can accept their bold statements as the truth, we require visible proof of their validity. STAN TATARYN 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 NOVEMBER 1, 2025 Ford’s anti-tariff ad leaves bruise S AY what you will about Ontario Premier Doug Ford — he knows how to get under a fellow populist’s skin. Ford succeeded in irritating U.S. President Donald Trump with his decision to run a TV ad critical of Trump’s tariff scheme, utilizing old footage of former president Ronald Reagan to make the point that the late president — still greatly admired among many Americans — would not have approved of Trump’s methods. Reaction to the ad among Trump and his sup- porters was swift and furious. MAGA acolytes denounced it, claiming it skewed Reagan’s words, while Trump claimed the ad was AI-generated (it was not). He immediately threatened to impose an extra 10 per cent in tariffs on Canada, “over and above” what he has previously laid out. The clips of Reagan, pulled from a 1987 speech, are authentic, although a case can be made they did not include the full context of Reagan’s words regarding the U.S.’s trading relationship with Japan — the subject of the comments — at the time of the speech. It’s a thin argument. A TV ad cannot contain the entirety of the speech, given the time con- straints on such ads. Ford has declared the ad a success, claiming the TV spot has been viewed a billion times as of earlier this week, with viewers from as far away as the U.K. and India. He explained in a letter to the Wall Street Journal that his government ran the ad because “we all benefit from being re- minded of (Reagan’s) wisdom,” making an appeal to Americans themselves, rather than spending the letter swinging at Trump himself. One may question the wisdom of Ford’s move, as it clearly infuriated a volatile American pres- ident at a time where Canada-U.S. relations are poor. However, we should keep in mind just who we are dealing with. Trump is a highly reactionary leader who tends to respond positively only to total genuflection. He is not interested in arguments, especially from leaders and nations he believes are the U.S.’s lessers. The reality is, whatever fire the ad may have lit is destined to blow out quickly. Ford had something to gain by running the ad — reminding Americans about the folly of Trump’s tariff scheme — and very little to lose. The list of things one can do to keep Trump happy and keep negotiations stable is very short — give him exactly what he wants, all the time. The list of things you can do to make him take his ball and go home is very long. However, Trump’s volatility works against him, because he often speaks rashly without an awareness of what it is he can actually do in response to provocation. This, plus the reality that he is making many ene- mies, real and perceived, and so is assailed from many angles at once, means he is unlikely to keep his focus on any one of them for too long. Even in the short-term aftermath of Ford’s ad, Trump was already hedging on whether or not his punishing extra tariffs would come into effect: “I don’t know when it’s going to kick in, and we’ll see, but I don’t really want to discuss it,” he said Monday. That indecisiveness bodes pretty well for future meetings with Prime Min- ister Mark Carney, who has proven able to keep Trump’s temper at a low simmer. Trump is already beginning to forget about it. But Americans have received a potent reminder of the damage Trump is doing to a long and pros- perous international relationship. Ford is unlikely to go down in history as a widely beloved Canadian leader, but credit where it’s due. He understands his target, threw a punch that landed and left a bruise for the world to see. EDITORIAL Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Ontario Premier Doug Ford ;