Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 13, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba On board with rail proposal Re: Commuter line proposed in rail relocation talks (Nov. 11) I like the idea of building a commuter rail corridor between Winnipeg and Gimli. It makes sense in a lot of ways. I’m thinking while they’re at it, how about expanding the corridor to accommodate bicy- cle traffic? Naturally there has to be a buffer between the trains and the bikers, however it’s doable if there’s the intent to do so. The ride to Gimli is undertaken every year when the MS bike ride takes place in August. I’ve done it a couple times and it would be great to have the opportunity to do it whenever I please. I’m sure there are other bikers who feel the same. Having Gimli and other little spots along the way could be a boost to the local economies. This bike path would also be a positive boost to peo- ple’s mental and physical health. It’s a win-win for everyone. We should seize this opportunity while we can. LOIS TAYLOR Winnipeg Honouring all veterans Re: A complicated campaign (Nov. 8) I enjoyed the story by Ian Stewart. I was in attendance at the cathedral on Remembrance Sunday and participated in the service at the monument. I was very upset at the condition of the monument. Is no one responsible for maintaining monu- ments in the city of Winnipeg? Where is Veteran Affairs when it comes to maintaining this pre- cious reminder of our past? These men were sent by the Canadian government and were soldiers of said government. Why have they been forgotten? Something is very wrong with this picture! I hope the Royal Winnipeg Rifles will start a campaign to have this monument restored in memory of these souls who were doing their job as Canadian soldiers. The Manitoba government should also be involved in this process to remind us both sides were involved not just one side. How is it fair to glorify some but not others? I hope by this summer attention will be given to this process and restoration will be completed. WAYNE BEATTY Winnipeg Value of tenants Re: Rent control loopholes must be dealt with (Think Tank, Nov. 10) Politicians seem to forget that there are many more voting tenants than there are apartment businesses and condominium investors. Tenants inject a lot of money into the communi- ty and the economy over a long period of time. High density multiple unit residential buildings are much better for the environment than spread out, low-occupant housing. If politicians neglect the all important rental populace, they will certainly alienate a great many people over a very long period of time. Singles, couples, families with children, se- niors, students, those with disabilities and those who prefer higher density living don’t appreci- ate or forget broken promises and dismissive attitudes. HOLLY BERTRAM Winnipeg On self-righteousness Years ago when my son was but three or four years old, he attended another child’s birthday party and within days came down with chicken pox. What upset me most was the fact another parent took it upon themselves to decide “herd immunity” was in the best interest of the rest of us and knowingly exposed otherwise healthy kids to their infected child. In other words, they decided to play God, while conveniently forgetting to inform other parents as to their decision with zero regard for the social contract we are best advised to honour. The measles outbreaks are but another exam- ple of such self-absorbed righteousness. People seem intent to refute the science with respect to vaccines for a host of reasons but are more than content to wheel their sick children into emergency wards when the disease presents itself in a life-threatening manner. How many others are unwittingly being ex- posed to these decisions driven by faith, politics or self-professed expertise with respect to some- thing the influencers know precious little about but have discovered the means to benefit by? I dread to think what might lie ahead, a resur- gence of polio? What will the vaccine deniers have to say about it? I rather suspect they’ll reserve the right to abandon their part of the social contract until such time as they are forced to rely upon it and the efforts of those who fight to maintain and honour it. DAN DONAHUE Winnipeg New system not great for all Re: “Fan of new system” (Letters, Nov. 10) I am pleased for Christine Hallick that the new Winnipeg Transit setup does such a good job get- ting her to and from the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. Ms. Hallick doesn’t mention the part of Win- nipeg in which she lives, and although the new arrangement may work well for her, it is not the same for everyone. I live in Osborne Village and I am also a sub- scriber to the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Under the former system I was able to get a bus at River & Osborne that would transport me in one easy trip to the front door of the Centennial Concert Hall. Now, under the new schedule I must take no fewer than three buses to get to the same desti- nation, the first to Portage and Colony, a second to Portage and Main and a third to Main and Market. Somehow this does not strike me as an im- provement at all. I rest my case. GARFIELD MCRAE Winnipeg Let nurse practitioners fill system gaps As we prepare to mark Nurse Practitioner Day on Nov. 18 and celebrate the health minister’s proclamation of NP Week in Manitoba, it is im- portant to reflect on what this recognition truly means. Nurse practitioners are autonomous, highly trained clinicians who provide comprehensive as- sessment, diagnosis, treatment and management for patients across all care settings. They have been an integral part of Manitoba’s health-care system for decades and today their role is more essential than ever. Our province continues to face significant health-care access challenges. Across Manitoba, patients struggle to find consistent primary care, and rural and northern communities remain underserved. Nurse practitioners are ready to help close these gaps, but we need the system to support that readiness. This means ensuring that alternative fund- ing models are established to reflect the value, complexity and equivalence of care nurse prac- titioners provide. The federal health minister’s letter earlier this year affirmed that services delivered by nurse practitioners are recognized under the Canada Health Act. Therefore, provinces have the flexibility and responsibility to compensate them accordingly. Aligning Manitoba’s payment structures with this interpretation would allow nurse practitioners to practice in more flexible and sustainable ways, better meeting patient and community needs while strengthening our health system overall. Nurse practitioners know the communities they serve. We see the gaps and we can fill them. As CEO of the Nurse Practitioner Associa- tion of Manitoba, I am proud of the leadership, commitment and compassion they bring to health care every day. But we need a co-ordinated strat- egy that allows us to fully contribute to Manito- ba’s health-care future. Recognizing nurse practitioners is a mean- ingful first step. Empowering them is what will make the real difference. ASHLEY CARRUTHERS 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 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13, 2025 Human rights and learning to read I T’S a human rights issue, plain and simple. A report released late last month by the Manitoba Human Rights Commission makes clear the province is failing young students and their families by not providing adequate assess- ment and supports related to basic reading skills. And reading, the report declares, is as funda- mental as education gets. “Reading is the foundation of learning and a fundamental skill that shapes every aspect of life,” the document’s executive summary states. “Students who cannot read well are more likely to face challenges in school, work and everyday life. When students cannot access reading instruction, it affects their confidence, mental health and long-term opportunities.” The problem, it seems, is that many Manitoba schools long ago abandoned the evidence-based methods for teaching that were, for decades, the baseline technique for reading education. Rather than relying on “structured literacy,” which focuses on phonics and relating sounds to specific letters and letter combination, many schools had opted for a more “modern” style of teaching that emphasizes exposure to a variety of texts featuring different topics and increasing levels of complexity/difficulty. Without a grounding in the phonics-related connection between letters and sounds, howev- er, many students have fallen behind. And the schools that were supposed to be teaching them how to read have failed to adequately recognize when they couldn’t, and therefore were unable to determine why and provide opportunities to catch up. The risks are not evenly distributed across the education system. Owing to a number of factors, both individual and more broadly socio-economic, some groups are at greater risk of falling behind than others: students with reading disabilities, including dyslexia and other related challenges; students living in poverty; BIPOC (Black, Indig- enous, people of colour) students; and, students learning English as a second language while also contending with the rest of the curriculum are at greater risk of not meeting basic reading standards. “I didn’t get taught the right way and it made my reading worse,” said one nine-year-old student interviewed by the Free Press for a feature story examining the commission report’s findings. “It was really hard because I felt really sad. Sometimes, after school, I came home and cried in my bed because I was so sad because I didn’t know what to do.” Her story is, lamentably, not uncommon, nor are the revelations of numerous parents who de- scribed hundreds of hours and many thousands of dollars spent on private tutoring aimed at getting their kids’ reading level up to the grade-appro- priate standard they wrongly assumed in-school teaching would achieve. The report, titled ‘Supporting the Right to Read in Manitoba: The ABCs of a Rights-Based Approach to Teaching Reading,’ represents the first phase of a two-part analysis of literacy education in this province. Its eight recommen- dations should be quickly considered and adopted by the provincial government and throughout the education system it oversees. This isn’t a philosophical debate over which of the currently available reading-education tech- niques is best, seeking a compromise that satis- fies the inclinations of various schools of thought. It’s about ensuring young Manitobans are given the best chance of acquiring the reading skills that will allow them to succeed as adults in an ever-more-challenging world. The commission has laid the groundwork, but the report’s authors have clearly stated they are human-rights professionals, not educators. Whether this report and its expected followup will have the desired impact will be determined in the province’s classrooms. As the report implores, “Ensuring that all children are given a fair and equal opportunity to learn to read is a matter of human rights, dignity and equality.” EDITORIAL Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Basic reading skills are fundamental. ;