Letters,

United in grief

Re: Grass fire not seen as threat before catastrophe, military says (Oct. 19)

We are all Canadians. Coming from a large military family, including my own daughter, I feel that when such a disaster occurs, we all feel as if our own have fallen. God bless the Canadian Armed Forces, and the first responders, at this terrible time.

Diane R. Unger

Cooks Creek

Reconstruction rethink

I am a citizen of the Interlake who is deeply alarmed about the ongoing and deplorably unsafe condition of Highway 8, caused by the poor planning and implementation of the massive construction project that, ironically, is being done to increase public safety.

While the installation of passing lanes on this highway is a good idea that is long overdue, how is it that there has been such a gross lack of oversight in the construction of these improvements?

It is incomprehensible that construction of this project wasn’t undertaken in stages, with one or two sets of passing lanes being constructed to completion this season, with the remainder being built next season. This would have certainly minimized safety hazards and driver inconvenience.

The current situation has rendered Highway 8 unusable for some drivers, resulting in heavy and sustained traffic on alternate routes which are not as well-designed and maintained. These include highways 7 and 9, PTH 231 and other east-west roads.

At this late date it is apparent that construction will not be anywhere close to completion this season — an alarming situation with winter fast approaching.

This highway is the major transportation route from Winnipeg to the communities of the Lake Winnipeg beaches, Gimli, Arborg, Riverton and the many smaller communities along Lake Winnipeg. It is heavily used for daily commuting, commercial freighting, farm vehicles, seasonal and weekend recreational traffic and by local residents.

The lack of planning, oversight and supervision on this entire boondoggle has been incompetent to the point of criminality, given the ongoing serious risk to public safety.

Ron Scott

Gimli

And justice for all …

Re: The door opens slightly for accountability (Oct. 20)

Rarely has a case been reported on as extensively as the overcharging on the renovation of the police headquarters. If a sidewalk poll was taken, the majority of people asked could outline the case and no doubt offer an opinion.

Lord Hewart, the Lord Chief Justice of England came up with this famous quote in 1924:

“Justice must not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.”

This is critical at this time. The wealthy and privileged, especially, should not be seen as being above the law. Yet there is a presumption by most of the guilt of certain people, and that, too, is wrong.

Let’s get it before the courts and settle it once and for all.

Stan Tataryn

Winnipeg

Better eyecare access required

Four to five times a year, I travel to Winnipeg to escort my elderly mother from her personal care home to specialized eye appointments.

Each trip highlights the glaring disconnect between administrative convenience and patient reality, as her appointments are at a facility in the East Exchange, a location which poses an exhausting obstacle course for the very people who rely on it most — frail seniors and patients with severe visual impairment.

Reaching the facility is an ordeal in itself. Situated on a congested downtown street with virtually non-existent parking, families arriving with walkers and wheelchairs often find the sole accessible drop-off spot blocked by commercial delivery trucks. Worse, seniors navigating mobility issues or cognitive decline are too often met by rushed specialists who appear too overburdened to answer basic questions or explain critical diagnoses.

Our elders deserve dignity, not distress.

If Manitoba centralizes tertiary ophthalmology downtown, the province must also invest in decentralized alternatives. Why is there no robust mobile eye clinic visiting personal care homes and assisted-living facilities to assess seniors where they live?

Forcing our most vulnerable citizens — and the families who travel to support them — to run a downtown gauntlet just to preserve their eyesight is unacceptable, and our health-care system must address this gap.

Krys Teague

Cochrane, Alta.

Conservation guided by science

Re: Reversing Manitoba’s moose decline (Think Tank, Oct. 16)

Hank Hristienko’s recent article highlights a fundamental conservation principle — wildlife management must be guided by evidence.

The threatened eastern wolf offers a similar lesson. Fewer than 1,000 mature eastern wolves are believed to remain in Canada, and conservation groups are calling for stronger habitat protection and science-based recovery measures.

In Western Canada, wolf reduction programs have been used to protect caribou. However, conservation advocates argue that such measures may have limited success if habitat loss and degradation, the root causes of decline, remain unaddressed.

The lesson for Manitoba is straightforward ‚ lasting conservation depends on science, habitat protection, and addressing root causes rather than symptoms.

If we want future generations to inherit our rich wildlife heritage, evidence-based conservation must remain at the centre of public policy.

Martin Zeilig

Winnipeg

Canada can’t look away from Sudan

World Food Day came and went last week (Friday, Oct. 16) and it’s easy to take a full plate for granted.

In Sudan, nearly 20 million people face acute hunger, more than 40 per cent of the country. More people are living in famine there than in the rest of the world combined, and 825,000 young children are expected to suffer severe acute malnutrition this year.

Canada has stepped up before. In April, Ottawa announced more than $120 million for the people of Sudan and the region. But that help is undercut when the overall aid budget is shrinking by $2.7 billion over four years, while Sudan’s humanitarian plan sits less than half funded.

International aid costs just 32 cents of every $100 the government spends. With Budget 2026 weeks away, Canada should stop the cuts and prove that our compassion doesn’t end at a single announcement.

Nashaat Khan

Ajax, Ont.

Credit where it’s due

Thank you to Manitoba Hydro for notifying us well in advance about a planned power outage in Westwood on Monday, Oct 19. It was nice to let people know so they could make plans to either be away all day or, like me, just stay home and read a book.

Irene Peters

Winnipeg